This unusual novel follows Vera, a single mother living in New York City and working at a tabloid called This Week. Vera writes stories about outlandish creatures, weird occurrences and the unbelievable. She makes all the stories up. Her brain is constantly thinking up lurid headlines for everything she observes and lately she has been dreaming about Bigfoot befriending her and letting her see where he lives. One day the paper's photographer gives her a picture he took and Vera makes up a story about the picture, choosing names and ages for the kids portayed, names for the parents, and a profession for the father. And against all odds, the match the family's true identity. so the family is suing the paper, and Vera's job is in jeopardy.Her daughter Rosie is at the age where she is starting to be interested in boys, as well as starting to not share everything with her mother.Vera's husband Lowell is a wanderer and dreamer and although they are still married and care about each other and Rosie, he lives out in California, so it is a surprise when he turns up one day. He seems to slide effortlessly back into their lives, but it is only temporary.The issue with the story makes Vera look harder at her life, her losses and her gains, her skills, and she takes advantage of a connection to the American Cryptobiological Society to explore her Bigfoot Dreams more closely, and come to terms with her reality.
Vera Perl is an unhappy thirty-something reporter with a troublesome ex, overwhelming parents and a precocious ten year old daughter. She works for a tabloid which carries stories on the stranger side of life – Loch Ness monsters, living dinosaurs, conspiracy theories, cancer cures and of course, Vera’s favourite subject – Bigfoot. After being shown a photo of two children at a Lemonade stand, Vera invents a tap water fountain of youth at a suburban family’s home which somehow seems to come true, and she finds herself in trouble. So begins a frenetic cross country journey where Vera attempts to converge reality with imagination.Prose is an exhilarating writer. Her impressive imagination is evident on every page. There are laugh-aloud moments in this book which are nicely balanced with sympathetic passages and exciting action.
Do You like book Bigfoot Dreams (1998)?
I enjoyed this novel from the 1980's by Francine Prose. It seems to be semi-autobiographical, or at least based on closely observed experiences. The point of view character is a single mother of a 10 year old who writes for a tabloid. Though this book remains fairly light in its content and narrative, it has a certain intellectual depth and emotional complexity. The reflections about relationships and the core experiences of adulthood seem open and genuine without being self-involved. The conceits about the supernatural aren't all that successful, but Prose is a talented storyteller and the book is readable and interesting despite an occasional sense of artifice.
—Polina
tThis is a favorite! A jaded tabloid reporter sees plenty of freaks every morning on the subway as she rides to work. She decides to save herself the trouble of research and begins to make up stories about these characters. She finds she can complete a day's worth of stories on her way to work, leaving her at loose ends once she in the office. One day she realizes it's about time for the annual Bigfoot story-AGAIN. What to do with him this time? He hasn't been showing up on the subway. She and a staff photographer spend a day tooling around Long Island, he snapping photos, she praying for inspiration. Her prayers are answered in a photo of two little kids running a lemonade stand in front of their house. The story this writer creates around their image becomes a case of life imitating art. Are the stories in the tabloids true? Maybe not until after they're written. This one's like the twilight zone with a sense of humor.
—Maryka
