Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
James W. Fuerst was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, graduated cum laude from Princeton University, received an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School University, and earned his MA and PhD at Harvard University.
He wrote Huge while living in London and now resides in Brooklyn. He recently delivered his second novel, The Turning of The World.
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James Fuerst talks with BookBrowse's Donna Chavez about his influences and inspiration in writing Huge.
BookBrowse: Is Eugene based upon anyone in particular?
James Fuerst: I hope no one is terribly disappointed by this, but Eugene "Huge" Smalls isn’t based on anyone in particular nor is he a composite of characteristics drawn from real people (at least no real people I know or have known). He is, however, pretty explicitly cut from the cloth of fictional hard-boiled detectives such as Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe and Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, among others, and he’s also a kid, a somewhat precocious, almost-thirteen-year-old kid who has problems, a foul mouth, has experienced his share of difficulties and is trying to figure out not only who vandalized the sign at his grandmother’s retirement home, but also where he stands in the small town pecking order of things before he begins junior high in two weeks. So, I’ve always thought of Huge’s character as mostly an attempt to explore the back-story that’s missing from Chandler and Hammett’s novels - how Marlowe and Spade actually became detectives - only with more curse words and jokes.
BB: Are any elements of Huge ...
Sherman J. Alexie, Jr., was born in October 1966. A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane. Approximately 1,100 Spokane Tribal ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Huge
Try:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Josh Berk is the author of The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin (Knopf 2010), named a best book for teens of 2010 by Kirkus Reviews and Amazon.com. It was also awarded a Parent's Choice Silver medal, a starred review from School... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Huge
Try:
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin
by Josh Berk
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