Forethoughts: Fup by Jim Dodge

So I’ve arrived at the latest title in my never-diminishing book pile and what a fun read this looks to be……clap!…clap!, or perhaps that should be quack! quack! because it’s that delightful little ‘modern fable’ from Jim Dodge, named after the duckish star of the story, Fup.

Now, I know that many of you will already know that Fup isn’t a new title. It’s been around for a while now (it was first published in 1983), but this edition is a completely new one. It’s a funky re-issue from Canongate Books due for release in the UK next week (2nd April), and it’s been lavishly and gorgeously illustrated inside and out by the obviously talented artist Emma Dibben.

Although Fup has been out for quite some time, I’ve never had the pleasure of reading it, but I’ve heard so many good things about it, so I’m quite excited about the prospect of reading it. It seems to be one of these stories that touches people, and the cover blurb, scribed using Emma’s glorious font work for this new edition, seems to play on that fact (at least towards the end):

When Fup the Duckling arrives on Santees’ farm, 99-year-old gambler Jake and his giant grandson Tiny have no idea how their lives will be transformed. The hen mallard has an iron will and a taste for liquor and soon the uncompromising Fup is ruling the roost.

Hilarious, Enchanting, Eccentric and wise. Fup is a modern classic, a gorgeous tale that will fly straight to your heart.

Wow stirring words eh? But if the ‘blurb’ or Emma’s glorious cover art doesn’t draw one to pick up Fup then the review quotes on the cover surely will. The Sunday Telegraph says that Fup has “a fairytale ending worthy of Oscar Wilde”. Elle calls it “short, sharp and wickedly funny”, while The Times, pouncing on the obvious notion that ‘Fup sounds a bit like …’, get all pun-ey and call the novel “fupped uck!” [groan!]. The most glorifying quote though has to be the one from the San Francisco Chronicle who proclaim Fup as being “stupendous – a jewel, a gem, a diamond in the cesspool of life.”

High praise indeed from the reviewers but does it all add up to making me want to read it? I should say so, and at only 117 pages for this edition it shouldn’t take me too long to find out just how good (or bad) Fup really is. I’ll be back when I know for sure. For now I’ll leave you with a few shots further illustrating Emma’s glorious artwork (click to enlarge):

Book Details
Publisher: Canongate
Published: 02 April 2009 (UK)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 117 pages
ISBN: 9781847673251

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A note about Forethoughts

Forethoughts offer an insight into my initial thoughts and impressions of a book before I read it. Informal and largely written as a stream-of-consciousness exercise in a single sitting, my ‘forethoughts’ capture an important stage of the reading experience for me – that anticipatory period before the book is first opened, when excitement is piqued for the literary ‘journey’ which lies ahead.

Captured with an undertone of blissful ignorance, at a time when the book has yet to begin its transition from being an unknown entity in my mind to eventually being something I’m wholly familiar with, my ‘forethoughts’ uniquely record my first impressions, my expectations and my preconceptions of a book. Combine my ‘forethoughts’ with my ‘afterthoughts’ (review) and the result is a record of a very personal journey through a book.