On "Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions": A Book Review

Title: Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions

Author: Daniel Wallace

Genre: Fiction

About the Book...

William Bloom is trying to come to terms with the impending death of his father, Edward, a figure known to him more in terms of legend than in actuality. In reflection, William begins to put together the many tall tales he's heard over the years in a series of vignettes capturing the life of his father concluding with an understanding of mythic proportions.

This novella was made into a movie in 2003 staring Albert Finney and directed by Tim Burton.

What I Think...

This is actually a pretty subtle book, which I think lent itself really well to making the much more whimsical movie adaption. Wallace does a spectacular job of providing just enough detail to paint a clear picture, but that allows the imagination to still take off with it and, in some cases, speculate what qualities about Edward the particular story is trying to exemplify. It is charming and witty at parts, while still capturing the poignancy of what Edwards death means to his son.  

It's broken down into three sections that both show how Edward's life progresses, but which also effectively shows how William's understanding of him continues to grow through his acknowledgement of the stories and that alter the way he imagines his father's death (shared in four "takes" throughout the book). Most of the vignettes are no longer than five pages, so if you have very little focus (which is me right now) it makes this book really easy to pick up and read just a little of it without loosing track of what's going on overall. 

To Sum it All Up...

A sweet novella with an amusing and poignant message about the way we view others and the many stories that make up a life. ♥️

On a Dress for the 4th of July!

This started with the fabric I used for the bodice, which was given to me and as such creates the interesting challenge of trying to figure out what pattern matches the length I have rather than picking the fabric based on the pattern requirements. This fabric piece was fairly small and also had fading down the center to work around making it even more challenging.

Enter the 1946 version of Simplicity 1682, which has the advantage of three separate pieces and is very simplistic in terms of not having any tucks, darts, pockets, or really anything else you might need extra fabric for unless you do an overlay. 

My sole trip out of the house to a store since March was motivated by fabric for this dress and they were out of navy blue broadcloth. Being horribly stressed about being out to begin with, I was not going to try to find the right color elsewhere and after a quick browse through the fabrics, I came across a lighter weight and looser weave homespun fabric. I'm not sure that it's really appropriate for clothes, but it has a nice flow to it and it's soft, so at the moment I'm going to be happy with.

Some details about the construction...The silly inset (or rather of lack of inset) on Style 1 caused me some issues, since I was doing the solid inset from Style 2 and should have switched over to that part of the instructions at step 5. I attached the front piece and had top-stitched it to the bodice before realizing that both it and the facing were meant to be stitched at the same time (fortunately I hadn't attached it to the skirt yet). This meant either ripping out the seams and starting over with both or handstitching it in. I went with the later because I'm at the end of the blue thread I was using.

This was my first time making puff sleeves! I adore puff sleeves, but oddly enough I only have a few patterns that have them.

On the subject of sleeves, I also ended up making my own bias tape for this project to use on the sleeves and neckline, since what I had was a more orange-y shade. This was one of those patterns that the measurements were all over the place (3/4 inch seam allowance except for some seams that were 1/2 inch seam allowance, but only mentioned on the pattern pieces), so I think it actually should have been 1/4 inch, not a 1/2 inch in width. It does create a nice pop of color, though, when it's a little wider!

I'm going to be honest and admit the past couple of weeks have been hard on me and I wasn't really in the right mindset to be sewing this, so getting this done was a struggle. That being said, my V for Victory pin is just as much for getting the dress done, as it is to match the dress.

And to conclude this, a silly picture with the mop cap my friend's mom made me in 5th grade for our Walk Through the American Revolution day and the keys that hang beneath it.

Happy Independence Day to my US readers!

♥ ♥ ♥