Listened on audio. This was one of the weirdest, tense books I've ever read. The premise is a bit of a stretch, but if you suspend your disbelief a bit its a pretty good read (especially on audio). The basic story is that Jay has had a troubled relationship with his father, who taught him about the sea and how to scuba dive. The father has recently died in the ocean off Monterey Bay and his body was never recovered. Jay takes it upon himself to dive to find the body. During the dive, thru circumstances I won't reveal here. Jay gets swallowed by a sperm whale. He survives being ingested, but only has the amount of air remaining in his tanks to figure out how to get out. Then the claustrophobic fun kicks off with the all too real descriptions of what its like being inside a whale and the lengths he goes thru to get out. I never realized listening to the book, until I just now typed out his name : Jay. or is it "J" for Jonah? A little too on the nose, hmmm? Kraus goes back and forth between whale time and the past to flesh out Jay's life and struggles with his overbearing dad. An interesting tension builder is that each chapter in the whale is how much PSI/Oxygen is left in the tank. It pretty much is a horror novel, so if you're into that, or just weird novels in general. I recommend it. ( )

Whalefall is a fun/intense book about a man who has to escape a whale and his father. The audiobook was very good. I give it 5 "save the whales" mugs out of 5 "save the whales" mugs. ( )

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Whalefall by Daniel Kraus tells of Jay Gardiner who has been swallowed by a sperm whale and has one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. Mr. Kraus is a bestselling, award-winning author.

Jay Gardiner is in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Monastery Beach, CA diving in hopes of finding the remains of his father, Mitt. Jay never got along with his father, and he hopes that finding the remains will make him feel less guilty.

All of a sudden, Jay finds himself trying to avoid a giant squid fighting a sperm whale. During the fight, Jay gets sucked into the whale and has one hour to get out.

The book started off very slowly and only got faster around two-thirds in. The plot made little sense, but the scientifically accurate, I believe, was very interesting.

The book moves between an intimately told father-son relationship, and a man being swallowed by a whale trying to get out. The scientific research and descriptions of the under-the-sea world are fascinating by themselves. As Jay fights to get out of the whale, he also deals with grief and lifelong daddy issues.

I felt that the parts that took place within the whale were fantastic. The science, descriptions and the science it takes to get out of a sea creature’s stomach were gripping. The parts where Jay whines about his abusive dad… not so much.

The narrative tries to pack in a lot, not just scientifically but emotionally as well. There are family dynamics explored, guilt, illness, depression, abuse, and of course survival in more ways than one – but that’s where Whalefall by Daniel Kraus lost me.

The vivid descriptions of the ocean, inside the whale, Jay’s injuries, and time running out get lost in the family drama. Within the whale, fighting for survival Jay remembers some triviality Mitt, his father, told him years ago which helped him figure out one more step towards getting out, or surviving a few minutes more to get another chance.

While intense in parts, the book becomes somewhat formulaic. Jay whines, Mitt advises from the grave, Jay finds stuff in the whale’s stomach to help him. Nevertheless, the book shines in parts, giving a claustrophobic, cinematic feel in various sections. ( )

This short novel, described as a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver swallowed by a sperm whale, was not for me. It seemed to be chapter after chapter of either repetitive daddy issues, long-winded descriptions of diving and diving equipment, or tedious descriptions of escape attempts. The writing was marred by flourishes clearly meant to ramp up tension but which just became extremely annoying. I almost put it down multiple times, but forced my way to the end. I wish I hadn't bothered. ( )

Whalefall is an unexpected observation on the complexities of the parent and child relationship told through the main character's traumatic swallowing by whale.

Mitt Gardiner is an expert diver and ocean conservationist of the extreme order. Someone who almost loathes living on land. Diving is his everything. It’s a passion he intends to share with his only son, Jay, whether he enjoys it or not. Jay’s perspective straddles a blurred line between apt pupil, dutiful son, and resentful child/teen.

Mitt teaches Jay everything he knows. He means to make his son capable and safe in the ocean and maybe also in life. He is harder on his son than on his daughters in all the ways that parents can be; setting higher goals and expectations for the only male child. In a way, Jay feels like Mitt’s legacy, but not all children want to be that. There’s a key line in the book about fathers having obligations, to which Mitt retorts, don’t sons have obligations, too?

Jay leaves home at fifteen, following news that his father has terminal cancer (mesothelioma). He intends to prove to Mitt that he’s his own man who can make it in the world unaided (though he always has arm’s-length support from his parents). Independent and spirited to a fault, Jay moves from place to place until he ultimately settles in with another family that is no blood relation.

Meanwhile, his own family suffers through Mitt’s disease without Jay. It isn’t until after Mitt commits suicide, returning himself to the ocean that is all he’s ever wanted to surround himself with, that Jay gains perspective on the importance of his father’s lessons and of belonging to a family. He decides that he can overcome the resultant chasm between his self and his mother and sisters if only he can dive one last time and recover something of Mitt for them to bury; a sort of closure that the family did not get from having no mortal remains to inter. Jay’s return to the ocean after two years puts to the test every bit of knowledge Mitt has ever imparted, and through his journey into the mouth of a sperm whale, Jay finds acceptance, understanding, and a deep longing for life.

Beautifully written and technically graceful, Whalefall is art of the highest order. The author seams the past and present together beautifully and tells a resonating story through a scientific lens. Highly recommended, this one is a contender for novel of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an Advance Reader Copy. This novel releases August 8, 2023 so pre-order your copy today. I have. ( )