A tale of two Georges. George Fisher during WWII and George Fisher of the 1970’s. Two boys related by family but not by blood.

The Fisher family is a matriarchal family of entertainers. Great grandmother (Echo), grandmother (Queenie) and mother (Frankie) are the women holding this family together and keeping family secrets from each other and from the teen-aged George Fisher of the ‘70‘s. That is until the day George discovers the diary of the first George Fisher.

George Fisher is a ventriloquist dummy given by Echo to her son Joe. A reluctant ventriloquist, Joe and George join the ENSA (the British version of the USO). Throughout their partnership George keeps a diary of their life, their career, their adventures and their loves.

Unlike what has become cliché, by George does not involve an evil doll. The mannequin in this story is an extension of an eccentric family.

Author Wesley Stace weaves together the stories of these two Georges quite expertly. For as long as is practical, the chapters alternate the stories and the narrators. Each chapter ends at the precise point at which the reader needs information from the other story, seamlessly combining the two at the appropriate moment.

Stace gives the reader just enough information to unravel each mystery at the same moment the characters become aware, although, leaving a slight mystery unanswered in the end adding to the theatrical quality of the women who inhabit the lives of the Georges.

As a special bonus, Stace lets the reader in on the origins of by George at the end of the book. A very rare insight for the reader that explains some of the author’s fascination with the subject of ventriloquism and how he seems to have the power to extend that interest into the mind of the reader.

I put off picking up this book for many months simply due to it‘s length. I’m glad I finally chose to indulge myself.

• Title: by George

• Author: Wesley Stace

• Publisher: Back Bay Books

• ISBN: 978-0-316-01868-5

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