''The Big Question'' is a 2007 novel by

Chuck Barris Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting ''The Gong Show'' and creating ''The Dating Game'' and ''The Newlywed Game''. He was also a songwrite ...

about a

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

which airs in 2011.

Plot summary

Contestants compete for the chance to answer a final question that, if answered correctly, will take all their problems away by making them one of the richest people in the world. The downside, though, is that if they get the question wrong, they are executed in prime time.

Reception

A review by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

praises the novel as "darkly satirical, witty, and uncomfortably plausible." However a Booklist review says Barris is "more interested in the multiple sad-sack characters who provide myriad digressions than in plot."

References

2007 American novels Simon & Schuster books {{2000s-novel-stub