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Journal Entry 1 by luckaye from Logan City, Queensland Australia on Sunday, September 13, 2009
In Big Fish, Daniel Wallace angles in search of a father and hooks instead a fictional debut as winning as any this year. From his son's standpoint, Edward Bloom leaves much to be desired. He was never around when William was growing up; he eludes serious questions with a string of tall tales and jokes. This is subject matter as old as the hills, but Wallace's take is nothing if not original. Desperate to know his father before he dies, William recreates his father's life as the stuff of legend itself. In chapters titled "In Which He Speaks to Animals," "How He Tamed the Giant," "His Immortality," and the like, Edward Bloom walks miles through a blizzard, charms the socks off a giant, even runs so fast that "he could arrive in a place before setting out to get there." In between these heroic episodes, Bloom dies not once but four times, working subtle variations on a single scene in which he counters his son's questions with stories--some of which are actually very witty, indeed. After all, he admits, "...if I shared my doubts with you, about God and love and life and death, that's all you'd have: a bunch of doubts. But now, see, you've got all these great jokes." The structure is a clever conceit, and the end product is both funny and wise. At the heart of both legends and death scenes live the same age-old questions: Who are you? What matters to you? Was I a good father? Was I a good son? In mapping the territory where myth meets everyday life, Wallace plunges straight through to fatherhood's archaic and mysterious heart.
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Journal Entry 2 by luckaye at Logan City, QLD, By Post -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, September 13, 2009
Released 2 yrs ago (9/13/2009 UTC) at Logan City, QLD, By Post -- Controlled Releases CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES: Sent as a surprise to replace Salem Falls - I know you said you didn't want another book but I enjoyed this one so much and thought you might too :)
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Journal Entry 3 by livrecache from Hobart, Tasmania Australia on Thursday, September 17, 2009
Thanks! I didn't see the film, and I didn't know it was a book. It looks really interesting.
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