Book: Fish Tank

The great outdoorsman, grizzly expert, and author Doug Peacock once said, “I wouldn’t let a bunch of unimportant facts get in the way of telling a good story.” Bozeman author Scott Bischke seems to agree, with his engaging allegory on global warming, Fish Tank (MountainWorks Press, $13). An easy, fun, and fast read—I finished it in one sitting—the story pits an aquarium of sea creatures against a common foe: a finite and rapidly diminishing food supply. As they struggle to confront their fate, the truth becomes increasingly elusive amid a tangled web of greed, group-think, idealism, and apathy. Think The Lorax meets Animal Farm—with a bit of Candide and Aesop thrown in—and you might begin to understand what the author’s up to with this book. Although by no means high literature, Fish Tank is at the very least a thought-provoking parody; and in a society obsessed with facts, figures, and statistics—all of which can be skewed to serve one’s purpose—satire might be just what we need to see the world clearly. Available at Country Bookshelf.