Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions - Hardcover

Wallace, Daniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1565122178 ISBN 13: 9781565122178

Publisher: Workman Publishing, 1998

Synopsis

In his prime, Edward Bloom was an extraordinary man. There wasn't anything he couldn't do -- and do well. He could outrun anybody. He never missed a day of school, even in the worst blizzard. He saved lives. Animals loved him, people loved him, women loved him. He was an inspired salesman -- a visionary, in fact. And he knew more jokes than any man alive. Or at least that's what he's told his son, William. William doesn't really know his father because, actually, Edward wasn't home all that much. What William knows about his father he's had to piece together from the little bits of stories he's gathered over the years. Now, watching his father die, William grows increasingly desperate to know him before it's too late. And in a wonderful sleight of hand, William recreates his elusive father's life in a series of legends and myths inspired by the few facts he knows. Through these tales, William begins to understand Edward Bloom's great feats -- and his great failings. He manages, somehow, to reckon with the father he's about to lose. And he finds a way to say good-bye.

About this title

Review:

A charming whopper of a tale. "The San Diego Union-Tribune" Both comic and poignant. "The New York Times" Refreshing, original . . . Wallace mixes the mundane and the mythical. His chapters have the transformative quality of fable and fairy tale. "Publishers Weekly," starred review A comic novel about death, about the mysteries of parents and the redemptive power of storytelling. "USA Today" An audacious, highly original debut novel . . . An imaginative, and moving, record of a son s love for a charming, unknowable father. "Kirkus Reviews" "

From the Back Cover:

“A charming whopper of a tale.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

In his prime, Edward Bloom was an extraordinary man. He could outrun anybody. He never missed a day of school. He saved lives and tamed giants. Animals loved him, people loved him, women loved him. He knew more jokes than any man alive. At least that’s what he told his son, William. But now Edward Bloom is dying, and William wants desperately to know the truth about his elusive father—this indefatigable teller of tall tales—before it’s too late. So, using the few facts he knows, William re-creates Edward’s life in a series of legends and myths, through which he begins to understand his father’s great feats, and his great failings. The result is hilarious and wrenching, tender and outrageous.

“Refreshing, original . . . Wallace mixes the mundane and the mythical. His chapters have the transformative quality of fable and fairy tale.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A comic novel about death, about the mysteries of parents and the redemptive power of storytelling.” —USA Today

“Highly original . . . An imaginative, and moving, record of a son’s love for a charming, unknowable father.” —Kirkus Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: Workman Publishing
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1565122178
• ISBN 13: 9781565122178
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192