n the illustrious history of the theatrical Fishers, there are
two Georges. One is a peculiar but endearing 11-year-old,
raised in the seedy world of '70s boarding houses and
backstages, now packed off to school for the first time; the
other, a garrulous ventriloquist's dummy who belonged to
George's grandfather, a favorite traveling act of the British
troops in World War II. The two Georges know nothing of
each other--until events conspire to unite them in a search
to uncover the family's deepest secrets.
While the dummy lays dusty, silent, and abandoned, his
young namesake sets out to learn about his dead
grandfather's past as a world-famous ventriloquist, his
magical powers, and their family's curious history.
Weaving the boy's tale and the puppet's "memoirs," BY
GEORGE unveils the fascinating Fisher family--its weak
men, its dominant women, its disgruntled boys, and its
shocking and dramatic secrets. At once bitingly funny and
exquisitely tender, Stace's novel is the unforgettable journey
of two young boys separated by years but driven by the same
desires: to find a voice, and to be loved.