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A review by mnboyer
People of the Whale by Linda Hogan
4.0
A wonderful story about loss of identity in war, and how one can struggle to reclaim that identity. Absolutely striking read, a 4.5/5 stars in my opinion.
People of the Whale is a story about the effects of identity loss upon individuals and communities. The story begins with an oral story about an octopus that came onto land when Thomas Just, the protagonist, is born. It is thought that Thomas is connected to the creature and that its appearance on land is either a sign of good fortune or of terrible luck. Throughout the story, it seems the octopus brings about both positive and negative power to Thomas and his life. He and several of his friends end up signing up to go to Vietnam—and they are lied to when they are told they will remain together in the war. Thomas has taken Ruth as a lover and wife, and she is pregnant around the time of his departure, but despite the fact that elders tell him he should remain with his people he goes to fight the war. As expected, many of his friends are killed and he is constantly involved with extreme acts of violence. Meanwhile, Ruth remains at home and gives birth to their son, Marco.
Ruth believes that Thomas is killed when the military (she calls them Death) comes and announces that his dog tags were found and he is presumed dead. She does not feel that he is dead and eventually gets word that Thomas is coming home. She goes to the airport with her mother and son but Thomas never appears. Instead, Thomas, unsure of what to do and definitely suffering from PTSD, ends up leaving and goes elsewhere to leave. During this time Marco becomes and important figure in the Native community. He is a traditionalist, and he has the same power his grandfather (Witka) did to speak to whales and other sea animals. It is soon announced that there is going to be a whale hunt. There are protests back and forth, and most of the women of the tribe (Ruth included) do not want to have anything to do with the hunt. But Marco, being given the sacred duty of being a whale hunter, must go on the boat no matter what. It is then that Thomas Just reappears, in the hopes of going on the whale hunt.
A separate storyline reveals what Thomas was doing in Vietnam. During this time he takes a Vietnamese lover and has a daughter, Lin. Eventually a US helicopter comes and takes him away and he reflects that he has no idea what has happened to Lin. But he does know he could have asked to bring her back to the US and they would have accommodated her.
In the end, And Thomas decides that he is going to become a traditionalist and make his people proud.
People of the Whale is a story about the effects of identity loss upon individuals and communities. The story begins with an oral story about an octopus that came onto land when Thomas Just, the protagonist, is born. It is thought that Thomas is connected to the creature and that its appearance on land is either a sign of good fortune or of terrible luck. Throughout the story, it seems the octopus brings about both positive and negative power to Thomas and his life. He and several of his friends end up signing up to go to Vietnam—and they are lied to when they are told they will remain together in the war. Thomas has taken Ruth as a lover and wife, and she is pregnant around the time of his departure, but despite the fact that elders tell him he should remain with his people he goes to fight the war. As expected, many of his friends are killed and he is constantly involved with extreme acts of violence. Meanwhile, Ruth remains at home and gives birth to their son, Marco.
Ruth believes that Thomas is killed when the military (she calls them Death) comes and announces that his dog tags were found and he is presumed dead. She does not feel that he is dead and eventually gets word that Thomas is coming home. She goes to the airport with her mother and son but Thomas never appears. Instead, Thomas, unsure of what to do and definitely suffering from PTSD, ends up leaving and goes elsewhere to leave. During this time Marco becomes and important figure in the Native community. He is a traditionalist, and he has the same power his grandfather (Witka) did to speak to whales and other sea animals. It is soon announced that there is going to be a whale hunt. There are protests back and forth, and most of the women of the tribe (Ruth included) do not want to have anything to do with the hunt. But Marco, being given the sacred duty of being a whale hunter, must go on the boat no matter what. It is then that Thomas Just reappears, in the hopes of going on the whale hunt.
Spoiler
But during the hunt, Marco tells the hunters that the whale they have found is not to be killed, but he is ignored when Thomas shoots the whale—which leads to the whale’s death—and during the confusion Marco is drowned and killed.A separate storyline reveals what Thomas was doing in Vietnam.
Spoiler
As it turns out, he realizes that the men in his group want to enter a small village where they plan to rape small children and kill everyone. Thomas decides to kill these men. He throws his dog tags down to appear dead and then goes to the village—its savior—and ends up fishing, farming, and living there.Spoiler
In a twist, the reader learns of how Lin has survived, and she eventually travels to the US to meet her father. Meanwhile, Thomas has denied Marco as his son, even after his death.In the end,