Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Bálnahullás

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Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Bálnahullás by Daniel Kraus

27 reviews

pennyforyourthoughts's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I picked up this book for some of the stupidest reasons (the cover colors match an ocean video game I have played) and ended up thoroughly enjoyed my time. This book deals with some larger themes will also introducing mostly scientifically, accurate concepts and understanding of the world around us. This book is as much about the main character’s father as the main character and maybe even more so. It’s about grief and guilt and what happens when you can’t move on.
I will say that I felt the description and cover gave a lot away though the emotional impacts were not spoiled for me. Some things were a little too perfect for the situation, but it wasn’t to an extreme. There are some great one liners that I definitely want to go back to along with a very unique chapter set up that worked for this book. An overall great and interesting read.

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loquaciousleon's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

If you liked

'Life of Pi' and/or 'Dark Life'.
Are intrigued by the premise/summary.
Okay with storytelling that closely follows a graphic 3rd person narrative; walking through actions quite a bit.

niknak89's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Haunting, thrilling, painful, hopeful, heartbreaking, absolving. A son's examination of his relationship with and journey through all the stages of grief at the loss of his hard ass of a father- from the literal inside of a whale.

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septi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

rknitss's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This is the story of a teenager coming to terms with his estranged father's death and their complicated history. This teenager has also been swallowed by a sperm whale and has 1hr of air left in his tank.

This was a difficult read for someone who has a complicated relationship with their parents. I came to the point of tears at times. You could really feel Jay's anguish thinking on all the hurts he suffered at the hands of his father, all the regrets he had regarding their relationship, all the things that could have been different.

The whale is a character and a metaphor.

The descriptions of the inside of the whale are brilliant and horrific. This is not Jonah's nice comfy journey; Jay fights for his life (and the fight is messy) as he fights to understand the man he called father. I can only imagine the hours of marine biology research that went into this book. The science seemed sound to a lay-person like me and was woven into the story beautifully. You really believe that Jay can know the things about the ocean that he does, why he knows it, and his struggle to recall the parts that will keep him going.

Even the ending, which I was sure would disappoint, was well done and satisfying.

Would recommend to people who like science thrillers, people who are into whales, marine biology and the ocean in general, scuba enthusiasts and people who like an exploration of character relationships particularly the relationship between father and son.

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