Book Review: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

4/5 stars. This is a novel about a father and son who had a contentious relationship. We only get the son’s perspective, but the relationship was not good, and the father was cruel to him. The thing that bothered me the most about this story, and many stories like it, is that this story could have been just as good and just as effective if the father and son had a good relationship with a tight-knit bond. In fact, a strong bond between them might have made the story better. Whalefall is not a bad story by any means, and reminds me of other stories like The Martian, Project Hail Mary, or even Cast Away, but with an edge of horror added to it.


Whalefall is a wonderful ‘what if’ story that speculates about what might happen if a whale swallowed a young diver. I chose this novel for spooky season since a movie version is releasing this month. This story is perfect for the big screen, and I look forward to seeing the director’s visual interpretation of some of the events. The book is a quick, but literary read, that delves into cetacean science and the father-son relationship. We get a current timeline, living it in first-person along with the son who is the narrator, with flashbacks to the past - in that way similar to Project Hail Mary, as the complete story unfolds in nonlinear segments of time.


This is the first story I have read by Kraus, but I already have Angel Down and The Sixth Nik on my TBR. Obviously, as a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Kraus is well-known and highly respected, so everyone should read at least one of his novels. Whalefall is an excellent choice with an intense story and a strong internal monologue from the main character. Highly recommended.

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