Big Fish [Paperback]

Thomas Perry (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Distribution Services; New edition edition (May 14, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006173586
• ISBN-13: 978-0006173588
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,107,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

THOMAS PERRY is the author of 19 novels including the Jane Whitefield series (Vanishing Act, Dance for the Dead, Shadow Woman, The Face Changers, Blood Money and Runner), Death Benefits, and Pursuit, the first recipient of the Gumshoe Award for best novel.
He won the Edgar for The Butcher's Boy, and Metzger's Dog was a New York Times Notable Book. The Independent Mystery Bookseller's Association included Vanishing Act in its "100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century," and Nightlife was a New York Times bestseller. Metzger's Dog was voted one of NPR's 100 Killer Thrillers--Best Thrillers Ever.
Thomas Perry was born in Tonawanda, New York in 1947. He received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1969 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Rochester in 1974. He has worked as a park maintenance man, factory laborer, commercial fisherman, university administrator and teacher, and a writer and producer of prime time network television shows. He lives in Southern California.  His website: www.thomasperryauthor.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Fun, October 27, 2001

By 

Patrick Burnett "penngos" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Fish (Paperback)

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.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Publisher! Reprint this book!, July 2, 2003

By 

Jane Bedinger (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Big Fish (Paperback)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars I Read This Book Twice, April 27, 2011

By 

pafmarwak (OR) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Big Fish (Paperback)

It took some searching to find this book on-line. I read it twice because it didn't 'stick' in my pea brain the first time through; too many distractions at the time. This story had a slow start but I liked the way it built and evolved. The characters were forgettable. I'm glad Perry didn't stick with them for subsequent storylines. The Big Fish tale is not up there with the Jane Whitefield series but a worthwhile read nevertheless. I passed it along on paperbackswap.com and I hope it is still making the rounds as it is out of print.