I recently saw the movie Fur, about documentary photographer Diane Arbus (pronounced Dee-ahn, played by Nicole Kidman) which was a fictional biography. A fictional biography seemed like a bit of a strange idea to me, a story that could possibly have taken place in her life, smooshed between real events, but that was in reality – fabricated.

Then, I realized (I was already about halfway through this novel) – that I was reading a fictional biography. Michael Winter’s The Big Why is really that, a description of events that may or may not (but probably mostly did not) occur during the time Rockwell Kent (a real american artist, see: Rockwell Kent ) was living in Brigus.

It was most interesting to me to see Michael Winter’s style, very modern, very sexual & raw, very diary-like, and full of philosophizing over anything and everything – which I appreciate – used to tell a story nearly one hundred years old. That takes place in a small fishing community. Without running water. In the middle of nowhere Canada.

But I was pleased, it works really well. I like thinking all of this is real, that this happened.