Paul rolls into Hope—Population 1001—late at nigh on his thirtieth birthday, on the lam from his wife and a surprise party he has known about for weeks He is trying to escape the Big city and get some serious work done on his second novel, but finds the diversions of Hope no less seductive than those he has fled.

One of those diversions is the two-hundred-year-old legendary fish, Ol' Mossback.  Paul could hardly pass up the chance to land such a fish.  He puts aside his work-in-progress in an attempt to discover the mysteries of Hope, with all its quirky characters, and to finally be able to answer the question, "talked with Ol' Mossback lately?"

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Paul Quarrington won numerous awards for his work, including the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour and Canada Reads 2008 for his novel King Leary. His Governor General's Award-winning Whale Music was made into a critically acclaimed feature film. He also won awards for his writing for the television series Due South and for his screen play for Perfectly Normal. On January 21, 2010, he succumbed to lung cancer and died at his home surrounded by friends and family. He is missed.

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Paul Quarrington's profile page

"Mr. Quarrington has a ribald, animated prose style all his own...an exceptionally inventive writer." — New York Times Book Review

"Consistently pleasing. [Quarrington's] sureness with wry metaphors, his suppleness and originality of phrase, his deadpan tone...give pleasure." — Toronto Star

"Quarrington is an extraordinary writer with a rare gift for pulling unique characters out of funny hats." —Timothy Findley