by Daniel Wallace

Having been reminded of Big Fish when trying to come to an understanding of E. J. Lavoie’s The Gardens of Goshen, I felt compelled to pick this one up and give it another go. It seems somewhat fitting that I can look back on this story and reminisce. You see, my first run-in with Big Fish was with the fantastic Tim Burton film. I absolutely loved it, and I watched it and re-watched it, but I had no idea that it was based off a novel until years later, when I came across it in a tiny book store. Naturally, I picked it up and devoured it quite briskly, the thin volume that it is, and I really liked it, though it’s almost impossible to compare it to the film version. (As such, I won’t attempt to do so here.)

Big Fish is the exploration of a son, William Bloom, attempting to get to know his emotionally detached father, Edward, on Edward’s deathbed. The story is told through tall tales built upon jokes, surrounded by myth, much the same way Edward talks to his son. This writing style helps the narrative in many different ways, the most noticeable being the fantastic quality injected into the story. In presenting Big Fish with such incredible absurdities, almost paradoxically, Wallace effectively characterizes Edward, a hugely ambitious man who spent the entirety of his life cultivating the myth of Edward Bloom. As well, this affords the author a greater degree of subtlety than would be obtained through absolute honesty, the entirety of our journey into the town of Specter being the best example of this. (Edward lives up to his legendary ego by purchasing a whole town. In doing what he thought would make him happy, he truly appreciates what would actually make him happy, but the latter happens only after it’s too late. We get to share in Edward’s silent regret toward the false life he led.)

Say what you will about it; to me, Big Fish is a mature look at the ups and downs of life, trying your best to live without regret, but missing out on some of life’s importance, nonetheless. It’s at least worth a look, in my opinion. (It also happens to be quite funny and at least a bit sad.)