Big Fish

Rating:
Summary: Big Fun
Review: Let me tell you a little about my week. I've been working long hours, getting low pay and even less recognition. In the evenings I worked out and ate poorly. To relax, I tried to read Jane Smiley's "Moo".

Normally I read a book every couple of days. I've been slogging through "Moo" for weeks. I'm not sure whether it's exhaustion or lack of interest, but the fact is, I was bored and frustrated.

But then I found "Big Fish" by Thomas Perry. I'd known this novel existed for years, but have never been able to find a copy. I loved the author's "Metzger's Dog" and "The Butcher's Boy" and was intrigued. I opened to the first page, just to get an idea of the style, and the next thing I knew three hours had passed and I was done.

"Big Fish" is the story of two charming, relatively small-time gunrunners who become embroiled in a plot to control the world. I won't tell you how or why, because that's part of the fun, but I will tell you that along the way they collect a Hollywood agent and teach him to be a commando, and a Hollywood director and teach him to be a human being.

The writing is crisp and clean, with no words wasted on unnecessary exposition or description. Perry, in fact, is reminiscent of Gregory McDonald at his most terse and entertaining, but can be more goofy and relaxed.

This book was just what I needed to get the taste of the week and Jane Smiley out of my mouth. It's out of print, which is disappointing, but I bet you can find it used or at a library. And, who knows, as Perry's recent books become more mainstream, "Big Fish" just might be republished.

Rating:
Summary: Big Fun
Review: Let me tell you a little about my week. I've been working long hours, getting low pay and even less recognition. In the evenings I worked out and ate poorly. To relax, I tried to read Jane Smiley's "Moo".

Normally I read a book every couple of days. I've been slogging through "Moo" for weeks. I'm not sure whether it's exhaustion or lack of interest, but the fact is, I was bored and frustrated.

But then I found "Big Fish" by Thomas Perry. I'd known this novel existed for years, but have never been able to find a copy. I loved the author's "Metzger's Dog" and "The Butcher's Boy" and was intrigued. I opened to the first page, just to get an idea of the style, and the next thing I knew three hours had passed and I was done.

"Big Fish" is the story of two charming, relatively small-time gunrunners who become embroiled in a plot to control the world. I won't tell you how or why, because that's part of the fun, but I will tell you that along the way they collect a Hollywood agent and teach him to be a commando, and a Hollywood director and teach him to be a human being.

The writing is crisp and clean, with no words wasted on unnecessary exposition or description. Perry, in fact, is reminiscent of Gregory McDonald at his most terse and entertaining, but can be more goofy and relaxed.

This book was just what I needed to get the taste of the week and Jane Smiley out of my mouth. It's out of print, which is disappointing, but I bet you can find it used or at a library. And, who knows, as Perry's recent books become more mainstream, "Big Fish" just might be republished.

Rating:
Summary: Publisher! Reprint this book!
Review: The best summer reading imaginable. Buy an old copy now and don't wait for the silly publishers to get off their butts and reissue it. This is classic Thomas Perry -- odd, violent characters that you come to care about, tight plotting touched with wit and irony that make it more believable not less, and scenes you'll remember. I have to say it; Thomas Perry has this trick about writing about "bad" people as if he were their guardian angel and could see how all their decisions and mistakes built up around them and yet left them human, not sweet, but somehow compassionate, and it balances the violence and the pratfalls. Oh well, take my word for it, there's a grace to his writing that lasts after the great entertainment is over.

Rating:
Summary: Publisher! Reprint this book!
Review: The best summer reading imaginable. Buy an old copy now and don't wait for the silly publishers to get off their butts and reissue it. This is classic Thomas Perry -- odd, violent characters that you come to care about, tight plotting touched with wit and irony that make it more believable not less, and scenes you'll remember. I have to say it; Thomas Perry has this trick about writing about "bad" people as if he were their guardian angel and could see how all their decisions and mistakes built up around them and yet left them human, not sweet, but somehow compassionate, and it balances the violence and the pratfalls. Oh well, take my word for it, there's a grace to his writing that lasts after the great entertainment is over.