Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish is a 2001 novel by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould's Book of Fish was Flanagan's third novel.
Plot summary Gould's Book of Fish is a fictionalised account of the convict William Buelow Gould's life both at Macquarie Harbour and elsewhere during his life in Van Diemen's Land.
Chapter titles (the twelve fish)
Source:
The Pot-bellied Seahorse The Kelpy The Porcupine Fish The Stargazer The Leatherjacket The Serpent Eel The Sawtooth Shark The Striped Cowfish The Crested Weedfish The Freshwater Crayfish The Silver Dory The Weedy Seadragon
Artwork The novel is unusual in that it makes use of paintings by the real Van Diemonian convict artist William Buelow Gould reproduced with permission from William Gould's Sketchbook of Fishes, held by the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, in the State Library of Tasmania. These images of fish are used both as chapter headings and inspiration for characters. Different editions around the world have used different images of Gould's for their cover.
Notes Dedication: "For Rosie, Jean and Eliza, swimming in ever widening rings of wonder." Epigraph: "My mother is a fish." – William Faulkner.
Awards Commonwealth Writers Prize, South-East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book, 2002: winner Commonwealth Writers Prize, Overall Best Book Award, 2002: winner Miles Franklin Literary Award, 2002: shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Award, The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, 2002: winner Booksellers Choice Award, 2001: shortlisted Australian Literary Society Gold Medal, 2002
Reviews
The Christian Science Monitor: "Lowly fish battle Tasmanian devil", Ron Charles, 28 March 2002 The Guardian "In the hands of madmen", Alex Clark 1 June 2002 The Daily Telegraph Will Cohu, Deep Down Under New York Times Michiko Kakutani, 'A Reborn Criminal Distils Beauty From a Prison's Abominable Depths' The Observer "Con fishing", Robert MacFarlane, 26 May 2002 Australian Book Review Brian Matthews, 'The Ministry of Fish'
References