Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions
First edition cover
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| Author | Daniel Wallace |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | prose |
| Publisher | Pandher Books |
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Publication date
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October 1, 1998 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 180 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 39269578 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3573.A4256348 B5 1998 |
Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions is a 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace. It was adapted into a film, Big Fish, in 2003 by Tim Burton. A musical adaptation starring Norbert Leo Butz premiered in Chicago in April 2013.
A young man (William Bloom), at the deathbed of his father (Edward Bloom), tries to reconcile his memories of his dad with the person he really is. Whereas he always saw his father as an irresponsible liar, he comes to understand his dad's exaggerations and their roots in reality.
The book is written in a chronological (although they may not appear so at first) series of tall tales. Despite the novel's first-person narration, there is no present tense part of the book. The various stories are Will's retelling of tales that Edward has told about his life. The 'My Father's Death Take' chapters are William planning out his final conversation with his father in his head and how it will go, so that when the actual conversation takes place, he will be able to get to bottom of the truth and of truly understanding his father.
The book draws elements from the epic poem The Odyssey, James Joyce's Ulysses, and American tall tales. The story of Edward Bloom also includes a few events based on the Twelve Labors of Hercules.
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