A review by mjaimezuckerman
How I Came to Know Fish by Ota Pavel

5.0

Largely autobiographical, Pavel's, How I Came to Know Fish is much more than a chronological collection of fishing stories. The stories begin simply, in a childish voice and perspective, but develop to illustrate a boy's growing awareness of the world around him. Likewise, the language becomes more nuanced, the imagery more symbolic, and the ideas and experiences more heartbreaking. While the surface plot may be a fishing story, the stories are meditations on life and survival, death and memory, humor, justice, and compassion. Pavel tackles some big subjects and some big fish! I would tell anybody to read this little known book, because it does what only the best writing can do: each story breaks your heart and then restores it in a single stroke.