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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
How I saw it described: "Man would rather be literally swallowed by a whale than go to therapy”.
It was enjoyable for the most part, but I don’t think it was my cup of tea. I can see this really working for others; the writing was great, the descriptions vivid and visceral, the science was fascinating, and it had family drama to boot.
Whalefall is a “scientifically accurate thriller” about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by a sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. it’s claustrophobic and horrific. But in large part it’s about the relationship between a father/son, intolerable grief, forgiveness and survival.
For me: it sucked to listen to all of the abuse that was directed specifically at Jay from his father Mitt. It was textbook narcissistic behavior of singling someone out, and the rest of his community though Mitt was the greatest. While important for both the narrative/themes and people to read about… it’s usually something I avoid because it can be triggering.
I really dislike when stories take somewhat abusive/toxic people and try to redeem them in death.
It was enjoyable for the most part, but I don’t think it was my cup of tea. I can see this really working for others; the writing was great, the descriptions vivid and visceral, the science was fascinating, and it had family drama to boot.
Whalefall is a “scientifically accurate thriller” about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by a sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. it’s claustrophobic and horrific. But in large part it’s about the relationship between a father/son, intolerable grief, forgiveness and survival.
For me: it sucked to listen to all of the abuse that was directed specifically at Jay from his father Mitt. It was textbook narcissistic behavior of singling someone out, and the rest of his community though Mitt was the greatest. While important for both the narrative/themes and people to read about… it’s usually something I avoid because it can be triggering.
I really dislike when stories take somewhat abusive/toxic people and try to redeem them in death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
parkergarlough's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Transphobia
Minor: Bullying
arborapollonis's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Picked this up at the bookstore a few weeks back, not thinking too much of it but still being intrigued by its premise, blurb, and format. Truly one of the best decisions I've made. Kraus tells the harrowing tale of a boy trying to survive inside of a whale, while also trying to come to terms with the role his father played in his life. It's dark, it's gross, the tension is maintained expertly, but there's also this pervasive tenderness throughout the story. For family, for the ocean, for the planet. Despite feeling iffy about it at first, I ended up also really liking the religious references throughout. A little bit of a coincidence plot, which I'm personally not a big fan of, but it was handled much better than in other books I've read. Definitely worth the time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Body horror
Moderate: Suicide and Vomit
aposthuma's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What an INSANE book. As promised, it's 127 Hours meets the Martian meets Jonah from the Bible. This is possibly the goriest, grossest book I've ever read, but I could not put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
fatfatrat's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Pandemic/Epidemic
iam's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
2.25
To be completely fair to the book, I was fully aware that this wouldn't be entirely up to my speed. But I am committed to finding more SciFi/deep sea horror books, so I gave it a chance.
The SciFi part felt misleading to me. I guess it is a much broader term than I like to think, but for me it implied a futuristic setting, or speculating about sciences, but this was... none of that. Maybe some people count the "getting swallowed by a whale" scenario as speculative and scientific, but.... nah, not to me in this case. If it had been more focussed on the horror or science of it, maybe, but that's not what this way.
I cannot entirely speak to the realism and scientific accurary of the book, about sperm whale and other oceanic animal behaviour and anatomy.
That said, the main focus of the book was not the science or horror of getting swallowed by a whale. Instead it's about family relationships, maybe the dysfunctional dynamic between the protagonist, teenager Jay, and his father. I expected that, so I was ready for the constant and numerous flashbacks. I found them a bit disjointed, but they frequently fed perfectly into the happenings of the current "present tense" timeline, which I appreciated.
What I didn't entirely appreciate or expect was the almost spiritual elements. While inside the whale, Jay hears and talks to a voice, which is seemingly his father and the whale in one being. It was bizarre, though I sort of compmarentalized it as that phenomenon when someone in a life or death situation hears an outside voice telling them how to act. In a way that makes sense to me, too, as that is exactly what happens, with Jay remembering past conversations and experiences with his family that help him deal with the situations he's in.
However, some of the things just seemed a bit too convenient, or bizarre. Like the whale just HAPPENING to have swallowed exactly the things that Jay needs to survive. Or Jay being able to tell the whale to call for help when it gets attacked by Orcas, and there being a whole massive showdown between a pod of orcas and a bunch of sperm whales??? I may be completely wrong, but idk, that just broke my suspension of disbelief.
To keep it short: overall I this was a rounded story with a quite satisfying ending. However, I wasn't a fan of the execution or themes, but I knew that going in. It could have been a solid three star read for me, but the part towards the end that tries to absolve the abusive father of any guilt and says it's actually also the son's fault that he was abused, knocked that down for me.
The SciFi part felt misleading to me. I guess it is a much broader term than I like to think, but for me it implied a futuristic setting, or speculating about sciences, but this was... none of that. Maybe some people count the "getting swallowed by a whale" scenario as speculative and scientific, but.... nah, not to me in this case. If it had been more focussed on the horror or science of it, maybe, but that's not what this way.
I cannot entirely speak to the realism and scientific accurary of the book, about sperm whale and other oceanic animal behaviour and anatomy.
That said, the main focus of the book was not the science or horror of getting swallowed by a whale. Instead it's about family relationships, maybe the dysfunctional dynamic between the protagonist, teenager Jay, and his father. I expected that, so I was ready for the constant and numerous flashbacks. I found them a bit disjointed, but they frequently fed perfectly into the happenings of the current "present tense" timeline, which I appreciated.
What I didn't entirely appreciate or expect was the almost spiritual elements. While inside the whale, Jay hears and talks to a voice, which is seemingly his father and the whale in one being. It was bizarre, though I sort of compmarentalized it as that phenomenon when someone in a life or death situation hears an outside voice telling them how to act. In a way that makes sense to me, too, as that is exactly what happens, with Jay remembering past conversations and experiences with his family that help him deal with the situations he's in.
However, some of the things just seemed a bit too convenient, or bizarre. Like the whale just HAPPENING to have swallowed exactly the things that Jay needs to survive. Or Jay being able to tell the whale to call for help when it gets attacked by Orcas, and there being a whole massive showdown between a pod of orcas and a bunch of sperm whales??? I may be completely wrong, but idk, that just broke my suspension of disbelief.
To keep it short: overall I this was a rounded story with a quite satisfying ending. However, I wasn't a fan of the execution or themes, but I knew that going in. It could have been a solid three star read for me, but the part towards the end that tries to absolve the abusive father of any guilt and says it's actually also the son's fault that he was abused, knocked that down for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, and Alcohol
rejectscanon's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
Ruined me in the best way. Got a copy from the library and regretted it exactly 43 pages in because I wanted to highlight a line, but couldn’t. Cried a lot, and would read this book again in a heartbeat. Highly recommend, but be mindful of possible triggers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic
msteinman's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Cancer and Suicide
Minor: Vomit
fuzzy_fairy's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Suicide
pvp_niki's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol and Pandemic/Epidemic