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A review by ddhoffman
Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
5.0
I finally got around to reading what Tim Burton and John August adapted into one of my favorite movies. I came in with high expectations, and I was not disappointed. Mr. Wallace does a much better job of summarizing the comparison between the movie and the book in several interviews he's done over the years, but in short they were both made for their respective formats, each telling stories in the way best designed to be consumed. The stories are told in a very readable way, which keeps the whole novel churning.
What I love about Big Fish is the question: does man make the the myth, or myth make the man? It's a question that William doesn't really get a clear answer to, although he was questing for it throughout the novel. Likewise his father never gets what he was questing for either. Edward Bloom only became larger than life after death. His ambition exceeded his town, country, family, and eventually his life, but he wasn't around to see how it turned out. In the way of great tales, it's often the tale itself that is the holy grail, and with the final take of his father's death, William accepts that. He becomes the arbiter of his father's myths, and without an ounce of closure, William begins to reconcile with his dad only at the very moment of his death. It's tragic. It's beautiful. And it's worth reading.
What I love about Big Fish is the question: does man make the the myth, or myth make the man? It's a question that William doesn't really get a clear answer to, although he was questing for it throughout the novel. Likewise his father never gets what he was questing for either. Edward Bloom only became larger than life after death. His ambition exceeded his town, country, family, and eventually his life, but he wasn't around to see how it turned out. In the way of great tales, it's often the tale itself that is the holy grail, and with the final take of his father's death, William accepts that. He becomes the arbiter of his father's myths, and without an ounce of closure, William begins to reconcile with his dad only at the very moment of his death. It's tragic. It's beautiful. And it's worth reading.