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Edward Bloom is the heart of the novel, but he is always mysterious and elusive, and readers can never be sure how much of his life story is fact or fiction. The novel traces his life from birth to death, but it only hints at Edward’s deeper truths because he keeps them hidden from everyone around him, including his son and wife, and even from himself. The real elements of his life are very few, including facts about his parents, his hometown, and his childhood.  By anyone’s account, he was an exceptional child who was intelligent and gifted, especially with animals and in school. Well-read and scholarly, he grew up the child of humble farmers, but he soon gained superior confidence and the ability to charm just about anyone, including animals.

Edward doesn’t evolve much internally throughout the novel. At the end of his life, he does manage to have one serious conversation with his son, Will, but Edward remains closed off. Edward likely suffers from a mid-life depression in which he psychologically houses himself in a town of his invention, a “place” he visits about once a month, which excludes his wife and son. On a purely physical level, however, Edward changes dramatically because, at the end of his life, he transforms into a silver fish and swims away. In many ways, Edward is always figurative, in contrast to his son, Will, who is grounded in reality since his birth. In his most important relationships—with Sandra, Jenny Hill, and Will—Edward is like a turtle, hiding in the shell of his fantasies and only emerging when he has no other choice.

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