Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Whalefall.
I will never forget the experience of reading this. I don’t think I’ve been this emotionally moved by a tale of this nature since Frankenstein and that’s saying something.
Then, at the conclusion, it happened. The book hangover.
Whalefall is Jay Gardiner’s story. Since his father’s death by suicide, Jay has been wracked with guilt. Their relationship was complicated and they were estranged at the time that his Dad took his life.
Jay has given himself the task of finding his father’s remains, which he believes lay somewhere in the waters off the coast of Monastery Beach. Taught serious diving skills by his Dad, Jay feels he is prepared for whatever he encounters.
Entering the water is like separating from the rest of the world. In complete silence, Jay enters the dark, cold waters of the ocean’s depths.
In that environment, Jay’s mind roams freely. The Reader is treated to many of his most personal memories, watching his complicated relationship with his family unfold.
In the midst of his quiet reflections, the unimaginable happens. First the giant squid, then the whale.
Jay has been swallowed by an 80-foot sperm whale. He passes all the way into the whale’s first of four stomachs. There he realizes that he is still alive, but may not be for long. With just an hour left on his oxygen tank, Jay needs to find a way to escape and fast.
This story felt so real and original. I love the choices Kraus made in telling Jay’s story. The back and forth between Jay’s present circumstance and his reflections on his past kept the story moving at a nice, steady clip.
I developed such compassion for Jay over the course of the story, but also compassion for this whale, who becomes such a beautiful character unto itself. When I mentioned Frankenstein earlier, it’s particularly this connection I meant.
The whale, who could be considered the monster, beast or baddie, of this story, was just a creature with a soul who incidentally had all of these circumstances thrust upon it.
As Jay fought for his life, while simultaneously grappling with his past, you could feel his will, his humanity, his feelings of hope and love, begin to grow, but would he be able to survive long enough to act on any of it?
This was an incredibly powerful read for me. I became so emotionally connected with the story. Not necessarily because I could relate to anything Jay was going through, but again, just because of the way that Kraus spun the tale.
I think if you let yourself just sink into this one, let the story wash over you and really feel it, this could be an equally powerful read for you.
In addition to all of the emotion though, this is also fairly gruesome and I thought the descriptions of what was going on with Jay’s body, and the whale’s, was so well done. Kraus definitely gets top marks for his Horror imagery.
If you decide to pick this one up, which you should, be sure you read the Author’s Note at the end, where Kraus discusses the level of detail he went into when researching for this book. It’s quite impressive. We love a well-researched story.
Thank you so much to the publisher, MTV Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is the first that I have read from this author, but it will not be the last!
