Born in Ashland, Alabama, some time in the 1930s, Edward Bloom is one of the novel's protagonists. He aims to live a remarkable life, and to achieve immortality by passing down the stories of his life to his son, William. Edward is a jocular, well-liked man, who had his own business as a successful traveling salesman. Though he cares for his wife and son, marriage and fatherhood often make him feel claustrophobic. Because of this, he spent much of his time on the road, meeting many people and having wild adventures. Most of his interaction with his son, William, come in the forms of joke- or storytelling. Even on his deathbed, he refuses to stop telling jokes, as he says he'd rather leave his son knowing plenty of jokes than leaving him with half-baked opinions about religion and politics. Everything about him, including his physical size, is larger-than-life. As a youth, he grew so quickly that his bones couldn't keep up and he was bedridden. Though he marries William's mother, Sandra, in his early 20s, he remains popular with women, and later falls in love with a young woman named Jenny Hill, with whom he has an affair.