WHALEFALL is a remarkable book. I immersed myself in it and never felt the need to come up for air. As such, it gets my highest recommendation!

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus | Waterstones

In that context I also considered a comparison with Jeff Lemire’s 2012 graphic novel Underwater Welder. Both works involve a father and son difficulty while also being framed around a diving occupation. Whalefall is a mind-blowing, take-your-breath-away adventure, but it’s also a tender and moving story of the relationship between a father and son. Daniel Kraus is a writer I greatly admire. He can do anything, and does.”

I saw someone give this book 1 star and call it "Daddy issues inside a whale" which is accurate, and exactly as advertised. Apparently they were not into it, but I sure was! Thank you to Atria, MTV Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. One of our oldest stories, one of our greatest fears, and one of our most capable writers. Stranger things than being swallowed by a whale have probably happened, but they've rarely been told so well." - Stephen Graham Jones I'm going to say what many reviewers have said before me: This is not a book about a man who is swallowed by a whale and has to use science to get out alive. This is a book about a man (a teenager, actually, but more on that below) who has daddy issues real bad, and he happens to be swallowed by a whale also. The parts with the whale are few and far between—it doesn't even show up until nearly halfway through the book—and even when the dude is inside the whale, the focus is the dude ruminating on his fraught relationship with his now deceased father. The whale stuff is not about whale stuff or thrills or science, it is a big old giant (not great) metaphor for this dude's dad not loving him and how he can't get over it and just BLAH. I don't care. This book WOWED me in so many ways! It's a book about a relationship between a father and son that is totally mismatched. He thought his father hated him at times. His father also was "a drunk" and couldn't hold a job down. He had once been a great diver. The only thing that they have in common is the love of the ocean.

Book Review: ‘Whalefall,’ by Daniel Kraus - The New York Times

The emotional film “Whalefall” explores the depths of grief, the tenacity of the human spirit, and the impact of facing one’s history. Readers are completely drawn into Jay’s inner world and the nuances of his relationships thanks to Kraus’s writing, which is full of sensory description and reflection. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their own lives by the novel’s investigation of memory, identity, and family.There will be many an article about this book, but there’s only one way to truly understand the hype. A moving character study disguised as a riveting, cinematic survival thriller...The pacing is relentless, the awe astounding, and the tension palpably constricting, even as Kraus takes time to provide necessary details both scientific and visceral."— Booklist, starred review The narrative centers on Jay, a 17-year-old who is mourning his father. Jay is constantly reminded of the unfulfilled hopes, heartbreaking disappointments, and terrifying situations that defined his life by Mitt Gardiner’s ghost, who accompanies him everywhere. To compel readers to share Jay’s traumatic past, Kraus writes in a reflective and vivid manner.