Big Fish

Near the conclusion of my father's life as a man, we stopped by a river during one of our last automobile rides, and we strolled to its banks to sit in the shade of an ancient oak tree. He then inhaled deeply and said, "This reminds me..."

Edward Bloom was a remarkable guy in his heyday. He was faster than everyone. He was never absent from school. He tamed giants and saved lives. He was beloved by people, animals, and women alike. More jokes than any living guy, he knew.

That's what he told William, his son, anyhow. Now that Edward Bloom is nearing death, William is anxious to find out the truth about his father—this unstoppable storyteller—before it's too late. William thus uses what little information he does have to reconstruct Edward's life via a succession of myths and stories, helping him to come to terms with both his father's enormous accomplishments and his huge shortcomings. The outcome is delicate and ridiculous, as well as funny and painful.

The life narrative of this guy, as related from father to son in Big Fish, is a mix of fiction and reality. However, the outcome is a powerful and transforming work of narrative that offers a means of reconciliation with the threshold between life and death.