Whalefall: A Novel

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Each chapter has a heading at the top letting us know the PSI Jay has for this singular dive–the time left before he must surface. This becomes very important to the story and it’s an effective tool. I loved the metaphor for grief. I loved the commentary on toxic masculinity and climate change, the reflection on what it means to be family. Some time later, Jay finds himself at Monastery Beach, a place in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Most people don’t dive there, as there is a canyon as deep as The Grand Canyon under the surface, and it’s easy to lose your way. Jay wants to find his dad’s bones, but can’t dive down into the canyon because he only has oxygen. You need specialized equipment to keep you from getting nitrogen narcosis, a deadly disease that causes confusion and hallucinations in divers.

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus | Waterstones

The story seems simple enough. Seventeen-year-old Jay Gardiner sets off on a dangerous quest: to find his father’s bones off the coast of Monastery Beach (aka Mortuary Beach). His relationship with his dad was more tumultuous than any ocean storm, and likely just as complicated. Jay refused to meet with the man prior to his suicide, a final spike in the calloused heart fostered by the man. Thank you to Atria, MTV Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. Unexpectedly emotional and wildly entertaining, Whalefall is the tense revamp of Jonah's tale you didn't know you needed." - Gabino IglesiasThe narrative centers on Jay, a 17-year-old who is mourning his father. Jay is constantly reminded of the unfulfilled hopes, heartbreaking disappointments, and terrifying situations that defined his life by Mitt Gardiner’s ghost, who accompanies him everywhere. To compel readers to share Jay’s traumatic past, Kraus writes in a reflective and vivid manner. The profound and multi-layered book “Whalefall” by Daniel Kraus transports readers on an emotional trip through the life of Jay Gardiner, a young man who must contend with the weight of his father’s history and the complexities of his own emotions. This is not inaccurately shelved as science fiction, but I almost feel as though it’s audience is more horror readers? Don’t get me wrong, it’s well researched, and I learned a good deal, but it does kind of feel like the horror is what propels it. Already generating critical acclaim from early readers and immense buzz within the world of publishing, the book is described as The Martian meets 127 Hours. The story follows a scuba diver in search of his deceased father’s remains who gets swallowed by an 80-foot, 60-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. It’s a tale about a young man who has given up on life — only to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus - Cemetery Dance Online Review: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus - Cemetery Dance Online

Astoundingly great. Whalefall is, quite simply, a beautiful novel—a must-read story of the sea, the nature of awe, and the briny relationships between fathers and sons.” It's the story of Jay and his locally, well-known, seafaring father, Mitt. It's the story of Jay growing up being constantly drilled on ocean facts by his dad, nearly to the exclusion of everything else. It's the story of a diver breaking the rules and going out on his own. It's the story of a boy becoming a man. And finally, it's the story of Jay being swallowed by a whale. The primordial nightmare at the core of Whalefall is fantastically gripping. A character study developed in the most intense crucible imaginable, Kraus's latest novel is smart, surreal, and powerfully humane." - Owen KingI 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.

Book Marks reviews of Whalefall by Daniel Kraus Book Marks Book Marks reviews of Whalefall by Daniel Kraus Book Marks

Since I was first introduced to Kraus' writing in his collaboration with George Romero, (at the request of Romero's estate), The Living Dead, I have read several other works of his and have never failed to come away impressed. At this point, I am convinced that anything he writes will be good or even great, and Mr. Kraus' work will be on auto-buy from here on out. This book was a very interesting surprise. Not only is this book about a man swallowed by a whale, but it is also family dynamics, guilt, depression, illness, emotional/verbal abuse, a father-son relationship, and survival. The descriptions in the book are vivid and put me right in the water and stomach of the whale. As Jay's oxygen levels begin to decrease, the tension mounts. Will he find a way out? Will he survive? I'm going to say what many reviewers have said before me: This is not a book about a man who is swallowed by a whale and has to use science to get out alive. This is a book about a man (a teenager, actually, but more on that below) who has daddy issues real bad, and he happens to be swallowed by a whale also. The parts with the whale are few and far between—it doesn't even show up until nearly halfway through the book—and even when the dude is inside the whale, the focus is the dude ruminating on his fraught relationship with his now deceased father. The whale stuff is not about whale stuff or thrills or science, it is a big old giant (not great) metaphor for this dude's dad not loving him and how he can't get over it and just BLAH. I don't care.

And here we are, in August, and I believe I've just finished the most disappointing novel of the year. Jay Gardner is a teenager who has been raised by a difficult father. Fiction frequently describes such a man as a ne’er do well, an alcoholic, or abusive. Mitt Gardner is separated from these other men by a devotion to the sea, and most specifically, by an allegiance to the craft of diving. Imagine Pat Conroy’s Bull Meecham from The Great Santini, but he is a diver, through and through. But as problematic as Mitt’s eccentricities are to the family, he is never overtly abusive and his love for his son and family is apparent. io9: I love that this is, essentially, a ‘lost in space’ book–did any science fiction tropes or motifs make their way into the story itself? I know this is a highly anticipated release, so I hope I’m in the minority…I was so excited for this book, and I’m sad to report that I didn’t like it. I read the gorgeous hard cover while riding the train to work and the e-book while walking (living dangerously!).