Reviews

People of the Whale by Linda Hogan

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gudrunij's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

leavingsealevel's review against another edition

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3.0

Politics, sea creatures, history, and the northwest, all in one book. So of course I'm going to like this.

mrspenningalovesbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

I chose this book because of the 2022 Q2 prompt “Octopus” and I am so glad I read it! The euphonic diction reads almost like poetry, and the tone is incredibly peaceful and purposeful despite it circling topics like grief, war, betrayal, and decay. It not only shows the contrasts of the real war and peace amongst American Indians, but also the betrayal of ancestral traditions to American profit. Thomas & Ruth’s relationship before and after the Vietnam was is so powerful, seeing the drastic change in Thomas. I love the themes of loyalty and betrayal to allies, the natural world, and our creator. The element of truth and living our truth is strongly tied to serious consequences that occur in nature and to our quality of life. A drought occurs when a character is murdered and betrayed, and the parallel consequences to the earth and the people was really well done. I also loved the historical allusions to the soldiers who went with good intentions but faced impossible decisions of whether to listen to their commands or go against America and save women and children. The wall in Washington was an interesting symbol, shown in contrast to the wall Thomas built so he couldn’t see the light. Overall, it was really a tragic, beautiful story that reminds us that evil exists everywhere, and we must open our eyes to our own truth and live that life in gratitude to our creator and those we love.

dagdraumar's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad

4.0

silodear's review against another edition

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5.0

This book took me an exceptionally long time to read. I loved it, but felt like I had to savor it; like I couldn't just devour it all at once, like I usually do.

There is so much sadness in this book. So much strength and power and love. I'd like to re-read People of the Whale in a few years. I think Linda Hogan's novels are often even better the second time around.

ericgaryanderson's review against another edition

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5.0

Wonderful. As with her other novels, Hogan (Chickasaw Nation) writes about non-Chickasaw Indigenous communities in various parts of North America. Here, she turns to the Pacific Northwest and an oceanic community grappling with issues both specific to its place and community and generally relevant to Native people in the present-day U.S. Childhood sweethearts marry and all goes well until Thomas decides to enlist and go to Vietnam. There he gets sidetracked and traumatized, but he also falls in love with a Vietnamese woman and has a daughter there. Then he's made to go back home, where he feels ghostly and lost. Meanwhile, Ruth, his Native wife, tries to help him in his lostness, when he finally makes his way back to where he was born, and at the same time she leads a powerful life of her own. This novel keeps things complicated by focusing not so much on stark institutional/systemic contrasts (between, for example, US and Native justice/court systems, as in Power) but instead on the complexities of human relationships. This is her best novel, I think, and I want to thank Gina Caison for suggesting it to me.