Fup [Paperback]

Stupendous … it is a jewel, a gem, a diamond in the cesspool of life.

Fup shows Jim Dodge to be one of the most original literary voices.

Fup is a pint-sized powerpack of a novel. It’s got everything.

'Delightful and surprising. Jim Dodge has produced something rare: a fairy tale that is wonderfully down to earth.'

'Short, sharp and wickedly funny.'

'This novel is fupped uck.'

'Stupendous. It is a jewel, a gem, a diamond in the cesspool of life.'

'You'll love it.'

In the coastal hills of northern California live three larger-than-life characters: two humans and one duck. There's Grandaddy Jake Santee, 99 years old, an unreformed gambler, cranky reprobate and fierce opponent of the work ethic. And Tiny, adopted at the age of four by Grandaddy Jake, he's a giant young man as gentle as Jake is belligerent. And then there's Fup, an uncompromising twenty-pound hen mallard, whose unique presence imposes a sense of order on the Santee household. Hilarious, heartwarming and magical, Fup is a contemporary fable that inspires an almost evangelical fervour in all who read it. It is a work of enormous originality with a giant heart.

First published in 1983 by a small publishing house on the west coast of America, Fup has since been translated into a dozen languages and has dazzled readers the world over. By the time you have finished reading it you will understand why.

Set in the coastal hills of northern California, and spanning over a hundred years, the story revolves around three larger-than-life characters: two humans and one duck.

There is Grandaddy Jake Santee, 99 years old and convinced of his immortality, an unreformed gambler, cranky reprobate and fierce opponent of the work ethic.

And there is Tiny, adopted by Grandaddy Jake, a giant young man as gentle as Jake is belligerent. His passion is building fences around the ranch that are constantly being dug up by his nemesis, a gigantic old boar named Lockjaw.

And then there is Fup, an uncompromising twenty-pound hen mallard, whose unique presence enforces a sense of order on the Santee household.

The resulting story is hilarious, heartwarming and magical, a classic fable that you will want to return to time and time again. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

JIM DODGE is a poet and novelist. He lives on an isolated ranch in western Sonoma County and has been by turns an apple picker, a carpet layer, a teacher, a professional gambler, a shepherd for five years and a woodcutter. He is working on a new novel.