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Mr. Fisher is Paul and Erik’s father. He is completely obsessed with Erik’s football career. Early in the novel, Mr. Fisher reveals he regrets not being able to pursue college football as a student at Ohio State because he was too small, which explains his obsession with Erik’s career. Later in the novel, readers learn that Mr. Fisher lost his parents when he was young. Mr. Fisher has to step in to defend the Department of Civil Engineering on behalf of his corrupt boss shortly after he arrives on the job as civil engineer after a sinkhole collapses in the community. He manages to take command of the situation, but in several scenes, he still struggles to hold things together. Mr. Fisher’s oversight of the muck fires and the insurance nightmare they pose is just one of several issues Mrs. Fisher realizes he’s overlooked moving his family to Florida, showing him to be just as oblivious to certain important details as Mrs. Fisher. Mr. Fisher distances himself from Erik after Erik’s true nature is revealed to people outside of the family and Erik is implicated in Luis’s murder. Paul sees his father as lacking courage and being shallow.

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