The Big Question

by Chuck Barris

From the author of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind comes this satirical look at reality television. An aging game show host hopes to make a comeback with a new concept: answer the quiz show's final question correctly, and win $100 million; get it wrong, and get executed on live TV.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 141653525X
• ISBN13: 9781416535256
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 277 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Not about the game, about the contestants

The Big Question is a plot vehicle to tell the intertwined stories of about a dozen characters who are desperate, unhappy, or just screwed up enough to try out for a game show where they may be killed. Those that meet do so in the green room at the broadcast. None is particularly likeable but many of them have some decent depth written into them. It's not about the game, it's about the characters from varying walks of life whose lives have little meaning to them. And the ending delivers.

Barris hits a Bull's Eye with this Sharp Satire

There is a lot outrageous humor and genuinely funny moments in Chuck Barris' THE BIG QUESTION, but don't mistake this satirical novel for lightweight entertainment. It is a dark view of American society and human nature using the game show as metaphor. And who better to explore that metaphor than Chuck Barris, one of the great innovators of the game show form. Barris not only knows television, but he also has a gift for creating vivid characters both sympathetic and reprehensible, and THE BIG QUESTION has a big cast. Barris is an author who both entertains and surprises the reader with his deftness in weaving comedy and tragedy together. I found the book to be a compelling page-turner which I could not put down during the final 40 pages as the story came to its shocking conclusion. I read THE BIG QUESTION while on a cruise, so I can highly recommend it as both well-done popular literature and a good vacation read.

Chuckie Babie

Chuck Barris is one of the best novelists in America today. I will buy every one of his books.

Fantastic read!

I love The Big Question! Mr. Barris has a true talent for story telling and making his characters come to life. There were times, while reading this book, that I laughed out loud.

Put this one in your beach bag!

The Big Question holds a big mirror up for all to see the complete lack of taste that permeates reality television, the serendipity of those chance encounters that can forever change your life and the harsh reality of ones declining years. There are moments of hilarity that particularly resonate with those of us raised in an urban environment, there are moments of reflection that cause one to exhume deeply buried prejudices and the palpable tension as the story develops keeps the reader fully engaged. I particularly enjoyed the subtle veiled references to Chuck Barris's personal life story and to his previous books. I purchased seven copies to share with my fellow Chuck Barris fans. Definitely a great book to take to the beach this summer. Be sure to look under the book jacket on the front cover.