The
Fourth Fisherman
By Joe Kissack
The Fourth Fisherman is really three
stories in one. There is the story of the three Mexican fishermen who were adrift
in the Pacific Ocean for nearly nine months
struggling day to day to survive. There is the story of the author’s rise to
fame and power, and subsequent fall, as a Hollywood
television executive. And finally there is the author’s attempt to write the
story of the three fishermen, and make it into a movie. Spoiler alert: I knew
the book eventually got written because I was holding it in my hands.
This
book was a page turner for me. As I read it I didn’t want to put it down, and
that has been a first for me in a long time. I personally found two out of the
three stories very endearing and heart wrenching. The third…not so much. It was
good, but not as interesting as the other parts. I will attempt to break down
the three for you.
A
fishing voyage was begun by five Mexican men with varying backgrounds, and
experience. A day or two into a three day fishing trip, the men found
themselves fighting a storm, and an unfortunate thing happened—they lost the
fishing net…a really expensive fishing net…about a year’s worth of income for
that net. Poor decision making turned that unfortunate loss into a tragedy
sending the men adrift into the Pacific Ocean.
Kissack describes in spectacular detail the horrors the men went through as
they struggled day to day to survive.
As
Kissack writes the book he alternates a chapter of the fishermen’s story with a
chapter of his story, and what happened to me was I was drawn into two
completely different stories at the same time—like I was trying to decide which
of two books to read. Kissack told of his childhood, being raised by a
disapproving, never satisfied father; the courtship of his wife, Carmen; and
his budding career in television. As Kissack’s career skyrocketed, so did the
things he needed to do to sustain his lifestyle, and for the most part his very
life. Carmen emerged as the hero of this chapter of his life.
About
midway through the book I began asking myself a question over and over again.
Here’s another Spoiler Alert: Of the five fishermen, two die leaving three
fishermen. My question was, Who’s the “fourth” fisherman? Jesus? Kissack? It is
at this point that Kissack beautifully connects the story of his life with the
story of the three fishermen’s lives. While he appeared to be doing well, he
was lost. While the fishermen appeared to be in dire straits, they actually were
not lost. God knew exactly where they were. Kissack then finishes the book
describing, again in spectacular detail, what he had to do to get the book
written.
This
is a guy’s book. I got excited about aspects of it and my wife would say, “I
don’t want to hear anymore.” If you’re a guy’s guy, you need to read this book.
If there’s a guy’s guy in your life, you need to buy him this book. It’s well
worth it.
I received this book for free
from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
