Rating: 
Summary: Big fun
Review: So many comparisions have been made lately between books, that I hate to bring another up, but the latest one that pairs Mccrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood" with "Big Fish" is pretty accurate. Both novels deal with the "father" theme, dark secrets, innocuous stories and what really lies underneath them, and the south, but "Big Fish" is really very different. For one thing, it's shorter. For another, it's been made into a movie, and whether or not we like it, that colors most people's view of even the book. But all that aside, the writing in the book is excellent and regardless of what they did on the screen, "Big Fish" can easily stand on its own as a piece of literature. The characters are real without being over the top, and colorful without being draining. I highly recommend this book . . . and the movie.Also recommended: Cold Mountain, Bark of the Dogwood, Bleachers
Rating: 
Summary: Beyond belief and yet completely grounded in reality
Review: In this story of stories within a story, the reader is taken to strange places that may seem all too familiar. A character seems ridiculous and then is someone you already knew. And events that never happened - that could never happen - are suddenly remembered to have taken place. In short, the author takes the reader far away from reality to reflect upon the here and now.
Rating:
Summary: Not a big book, but has a big heart
Review: With themes of the father (or lack thereof), BIG FISH is one book (and movie) that must not be missed. What could quickly turn into a "lifetime" movie script is brilliantly handled in this novel of true "mythic" proportions. Told with humor and wit, and more than a touch of moving emotion at the end (invest in a good box of Kleenex), the author has so deftly crafted a tale of the father/son relationship that it would be difficult to even begin to describe it here. Would also recommend another great Amazon pick titled CHILDREN'S CORNER by Jackson McCrae-a great collection of stories about the recesses of the human heart.
Rating:
Summary: It Takes An Ocean To Hold This Fish!
Review: Daniel Wallace has written an adult fairy tale that can appeal to the ages, it's about families and tall tales, about truth versus reality and about what makes a person decide to get up and go each and every morning.
William Bloom is faced with his father's death and forced to deal with his tall telling father's view of how his life unfolded. Edward Bloom spent his life spinning a myth and created a legend in his own mind. As William sorts through all of the fantasy lives his father created it leads one to wonder where the truth begins and the daydream ends. Edward Bloom was loved by everything in his made-up world, he could do the whole thing faster and better and he also met the most amazing people along the way. William searches for his real father amongst the ruins of his tales and ends up conducting his own inherited legend in an unintentional twist of fate. William creates his father's death in four different ways in hopes of finding the perfection worthy of his imaginative father. In doing so he finds more than he bargained for and he skims the line between realities and dreams himself.
Wallace is a beautiful writer and has written a book like no other here. With a sense of humor and a child's idyllic wonder he tells his own tall tale through the depth of his characters. His readers will be taken on a very special journey that crosses the bridge between a warped reality and a boring everyday life. Finding the enjoyment in an exaggerated fib here and there can't be all that bad. If it takes a fantasy to fully experience life then so be it, sometimes tall tales lead us away from nightmares. Wallace brings us a wonderful fantasy laced with the sentimentality of a son yearning for a deeper understanding of his father as he lay dying. Written in almost a fairy tale format with short clips of wonder and longer snips full of moral fiber Wallace's story is unforgettable. Big Fish will make you smile, laugh and even shed a mountain of tears but mostly it will make you appreciate your own family's legends and search for a few new fish in that great big sea of dreams.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Modern Fairy Tale
Review: Summary: A story popularized by a movie starring Ewan MacGregor, this is the tale of Edward Bloom in his own words as he lies on his deathbed. Bloom is undoubtedly taking a certain liberty with the facts, as he strikes a rich vein of fantasy that is reminiscent of, but not borrowed from, a combination of fairy tales and American folklore. His tales of childhood are interspersed with "the present," in which his son, who wants a father who can be more honest with him, relates the sad details of his death, in different ways.
Writing:
Very well-written, managing to walk the tightrope between classic and entertaining without needing a net. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry. The slimness of the book allows for a reading in one sitting, which lets you really become absorbed. The movie was also terrific, but the book takes the prize, I think.
What I learned:
Maintaining a relationship with your family members is important. Dreaming big and refusing to accept the reality of your surroundings can have both good and bad consequences.
Rating:
Summary: magical...a man who is a world in himself
Review: The one book that I will cherish this year the most is hands down "Big Fish" by Daniel Wallace. It opens your heart and sets you free. It teaches you how to live and love your life - to the fullest and for what it is - to be appreciated by people you love, to stand through their test of time and be there for them when they need you.
Mr. Wallace has created a masterpiece. Simple, sweet and so true - when we chose to relate it to our day-to-day lives. The question is: what is Big Fish all about? Its about a man saving a town from a giant, its about a man who buys an entire town, a man who cannot be at one place for long - a man who wanted the world and got it - the man is Edward Bloom - the hero of this tale. A novel of mythical proportions as the cover suggests and leaves you baffled at the end of it.
William Bloom - his son, narrates the story and taking us through Edward's life as Edward is counting his last hours on his deathbed. In the process, we are treated to Edward's life - from when he was born to where he is now.
This book makes you laugh like you've never laughed and makes you cry like you've never cried. At the center of the book, despite all the tall-tales and myths we are exposed to, the readers are taken to the world of William and Edward Bloom - their relationship, the words every son and father want to tell each other and yet somewhere down the line they cannot. A mother, however, says all that she wants. A son confides everything in a mother. What happens between a father and his son is way too ambiguous - as though they don't know one another and perhaps never will. Or may be they are too much a part of another - that they overlook the similarity they share. They forget to celebrate those similarities.
Dreams and Death form a major part of this book as does living...with wit and least pathos...life to the fullest!!
Rating:
Summary: A good read.
Review: I read this book because I heard Tim Burton was directing the movie. If I hadn't known he was directing it, I would never have picked him for it. This book is far from a typical Tim Burton story-there's very little darkness, certainly nothing macabre. This short novel is the story of a dying man told through the eyes of his son. A tall tale. The book illustrates well the warped (often in a good way) perception sons have of their fathers-as mythic heroes. The book is basically a collection of fantastic incidents, the myths of the father's life. Breaking up these chapters are several versions of the actual death of the father, which the son writes and re-writes. It's in these chapters that you get to know the complicated feelings of the son toward a father who was never completely straight, always hiding behind jokes and fables. It's a good, touching story. Read it before you see the movie if you can, but it's worthwhile afterward too.
Rating:
Summary: Small book--big lesson
Review: I love the blurry line between reality and whatever lies beyond it in this book, but ultimately, I expected more from it. It kept coming close to really revealing some truth, some closure, but never did. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but when I was done (in a few hours) it was too easy to put down and not think about anymore. Having lost my father when I was 3, I tend to be drawn to these types of books that explore the father/son relationship, but ultimately often find them confusing, having no point of reference to tap into the feelings there.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff
Review: After having watched the movie, I decided it was absolutely necessry to read the book. Sadly, I was expecting the movie all over again and thus was disappointed by the beginning of the book. Not until a few chapters did I realize that I needed to respect the book as a whole different piece of art. Once I did, I was amazed. Wallace has amazing talent to portray many ideas and feelings with few words. The book is more like a long short story. However, it is a fabulous short story. Many ideas are repeated each time taking a different view on the situation. Although ultimately there is no great conclusion, no great accomplishment at the end of the book, the story in itself is such a great accomplishment. It's a feel-good book, with many unhappy thoughts that are interpretted as extremely soothing. This is the magic of Daniel Wallace. This is another quick read, and definitely worth the time.
|
