Oh, the weirdness of Christopher Moore. Since my wife is a big fan, I
decided to try my first Christopher Moore novel. I picked one that my
wife hasn’t read so I didn’t have her standing over my shoulder
constantly wanting to know, “What part are you on now?” (kinda like the
Verizon Wireless guy). The conclusion I reached, Christopher Moore be
able to come up with a plot that no one else can even imagine which
makes the story completely different than anything you have read before.
The story centers around marine biologists studying the behaviors of whales in Hawaii. Our hero, Nathan Quinn, is looking for Holy Grail of marine biologists, to figure out why whales sing. When one day while recording a whale song and photographing the whale’s fluke (tail fin) Nate notices some writing on the fluke, it says “Bite Me”. When Nate returns to shore, his office has been destroyed, pictures have disappeared and his landlady is talking to the whales on the phone. This eventually leads to Nate getting swallowed up by a whale. And let the weirdness begin.
Actually, the first half of the story is a pretty standard mystery story but then second takes off into areas where you cannot even hazard to guess. Nate does discover why whales sing and the answer is very gooey (very bad pun). I hesitate to explain the plot further and spoil the surprises as it is best when you have no clue.
You can tell that Christopher Moore lived in Hawaii for some time and understands the culture as his love for it comes across in the story. I suspect he also fell in love with whales as you can feel the compassion he has for these mammals. By the end of the novel you will also have a strange need to find whale song recordings and listen to them.
What I liked: Christopher Moore hits the trifecta. First his plotting is absolutely perfect, there is nothing that drones on too long nor are there plot points that are skimmed over or not fully explained. He is a master craftsman as an author.
Secondly, his characters are unique and add to the story in their own way. From the main character, Nate Quinn, to his spunky assistant, Amy Earhart, to the prep-school student turned surfer Kona AKA Preston Applebaum.
Lastly, his dialogue is some of the best I have ever read. Humor, especially sarcasm, is very hard to translate in writing. If you get it wrong then it falls very flat. More than once I was chuckling out loud. This would also be entertaining to listen to as an Audiobook.
What I didn’t like: There is nothing to dislike about this book, unless you hate whales and what kind of person would that be? But, this is the type of story that people will either love or hate. The weirdness of the last half of the novel will be too absurd for some readers. The good thing is that I love weirdness so I really enjoyed the book.
Last word: OK, I will have to admit that my wife was right, Christopher Moore is a genius. If you enjoy reading then try Christopher Moore and he will remind you what a great book is. “Ha!
The story centers around marine biologists studying the behaviors of whales in Hawaii. Our hero, Nathan Quinn, is looking for Holy Grail of marine biologists, to figure out why whales sing. When one day while recording a whale song and photographing the whale’s fluke (tail fin) Nate notices some writing on the fluke, it says “Bite Me”. When Nate returns to shore, his office has been destroyed, pictures have disappeared and his landlady is talking to the whales on the phone. This eventually leads to Nate getting swallowed up by a whale. And let the weirdness begin.
Actually, the first half of the story is a pretty standard mystery story but then second takes off into areas where you cannot even hazard to guess. Nate does discover why whales sing and the answer is very gooey (very bad pun). I hesitate to explain the plot further and spoil the surprises as it is best when you have no clue.
You can tell that Christopher Moore lived in Hawaii for some time and understands the culture as his love for it comes across in the story. I suspect he also fell in love with whales as you can feel the compassion he has for these mammals. By the end of the novel you will also have a strange need to find whale song recordings and listen to them.
What I liked: Christopher Moore hits the trifecta. First his plotting is absolutely perfect, there is nothing that drones on too long nor are there plot points that are skimmed over or not fully explained. He is a master craftsman as an author.
Secondly, his characters are unique and add to the story in their own way. From the main character, Nate Quinn, to his spunky assistant, Amy Earhart, to the prep-school student turned surfer Kona AKA Preston Applebaum.
Lastly, his dialogue is some of the best I have ever read. Humor, especially sarcasm, is very hard to translate in writing. If you get it wrong then it falls very flat. More than once I was chuckling out loud. This would also be entertaining to listen to as an Audiobook.
What I didn’t like: There is nothing to dislike about this book, unless you hate whales and what kind of person would that be? But, this is the type of story that people will either love or hate. The weirdness of the last half of the novel will be too absurd for some readers. The good thing is that I love weirdness so I really enjoyed the book.
Last word: OK, I will have to admit that my wife was right, Christopher Moore is a genius. If you enjoy reading then try Christopher Moore and he will remind you what a great book is. “Ha!
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