Fluke: Or, I Know Why The Winged Whale Sings (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
Why do humpback whales sing?This is the basic theme behind the story contained in this book. I picked it up because whales are one of my favorite animals, and I have always loved listening to their singing. Also, I hadn't read a funny book in a while, and needed a break from the 'serious' stuff.I have to say it: It's a whale of a tale!The book starts out fairly normal, but then, takes a turn into the land of the zany. Really. You will have no idea what hit you. And that, truly, is the best part.It's a pretty fast-paced read, and the humor is great! I especially loved the subtle humor and the innuendo. Always fun. Author's Note (from the official site): What do most people know about whales beyond that fact that theyre big and wet? Not much, right? Well, having been a scuba diver for a long time, and lived next to the ocean for some twenty-five years, I thought, I really should learn more about these big wet things that keep swimming by. So I started learning about whales, and more important, the people whose business it is to learn about whales. Something happens when you spend any amount of time on the ocean with people who have a less than conservative view of how one should make his living: you begin to feel that adventure is its own reward. You begin to measure experience, rather than sustenance, as the goal; and you begin to get a feeling for those adventurers you left behind in your childhood: those salty rapscallions sprung from the imaginations of Jack London and Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson -- even the twisted eccentrics of Joseph Conrad and the ancient undersea beings of H.P. Lovecraft. (And you begin, too, to wish youd brought along some Dramamine.) As a writer, you get it, the same way that you got it when you were a kid, and theres not much you can do but share the adventures. So I got it, and Im passing it on to you, that "fear recalled in comfort" that is called the adventure story. Have fun. Sincerely, Christopher MooreMy Note: Save the whales! Don't allow whaling!
I know we all grow and change as people and that makes our tastes and preferences evolve. Five years ago I would have counted Christopher Moore one of my favorite authors. Bloodsucking Fiends was remarkable. I read A Dirty Job in one five-hour marathon in the Orlando airport. I laughed so hard at You Suck that I thought I was going to give myself a hernia. Along the way, though, working my way through his catalogue, I have had real moments of doubt. Island of the Sequined Love Nun was all title, little story. Fool was well-written, but lacking an essential something that I thought I had found before. And earlier this year (and really, I shouldn't read an author more than once per year, I know), Bite Me just totally fell flat. It was a mishmash of two short stories, neither of which was interesting enough in and of itself to have gone anywhere, so he sorta stitched them together and put it out there. Kona was, by far, the best part of that story-- and that's a story with a giant vampire tabby named Chet, which sounds impossible to make dull and yet it was so dull.So here's Kona, too. Kona in Hawaii before Kona became the white Rasta helper of the vamps. And in the whole book, minor giggles at the idea of "action nerds" and all, Kona is about the only interesting part of the book. Like some of his others, this seems to be a novelization of a single idea and the story serves the idea, rather than the other way around. In this case, it's genes versus memes, with a side of OMG Save the Whales! I get that he has some great ideas and that they're inspiring. But this whole book feels like a ramshackle attempt to storify his conclusions about genes vs. memes without all the messy hard work of developing a real plot or characters or anything.I don't know how long Kona was lurking in the back of his head or for what reasons. But Kona is one tertiary character who exists mainly for cheap laughs and he's the best part of the book. I think I'll pass on Moore from here on out, unless the book features him. Or C. Thomas Flood.
What do You think about Fluke: Or, I Know Why The Winged Whale Sings (2004)?
this was my first Christopher Moore book. And it took me on a roller coaster of opinions. My father-in-law is the one who handed it off to me, saying, "I couldnt' get past the first chapter..." So I gave it a go. And for the first 1/5 of the book, I was smitten with the witty, cynical tone and the sassy characters. OVerall the narration never lost its appeal. But the turn the plot took, when the book went from suspenseful and refreshing to suspiciously out there, flirting with sci-fi... I dunno... I just couldn't fully embrace it. Although I can definitely give him credit for having such an imaginative storyline. And for telling just enough facts to make it all seem plausible. I did keep reading...and I'm glad I did. I really liked the characters... and I love the undercurrent (no pun intended) of "save the whales & other sea life" themes. I will have to tread lightly if I pick another Moore book though...I'd rather not pick one that is so biologically hard to ingest.
—Darbi Hebrank
I have yet to read a book by Christopher Moore that I did not like, that failed to entertain and enlighten and to simply be a very enjoyable good read. Fluke is no exception. This is the story of a couple of marine biologists who have spent decades studying humpback whales and who really just want to know why they sing. From here we get taken on another Christopher Moore ride that is as hilarious and mind bending as the last. Is he the American Neil Gaiman? I like them both and can see the similarities both in style and theme. Fluke is a fun book with some scientific weight to it, but it never gets bogged down in too much explanation and remains to the end just another great book by Moore.
—Lyn
I like reading books by Christopher Moore because they make me laugh out loud! And I like to laugh out loud. I also like them because they are generally pretty irreverent and I like irreverent. For a short time I thought I was going to be a scientist and majored in Biology so the whole science angle was appealing to me and who doesn't like whales? Not to mention I have an irrepressible fascination with anything to do with the sea, making this book an automatic winner unless I was just bored out of my mind. I didn't even mind that it didn't have vampires in it. Actually with all of the vampire literature out there it was nice to find something that was interesting that DIDN'T have to do with vampires. It was a nice mystery, science-fiction adventure for me. I got to go to Hawaii and hang out with some behavioral scientists, studying whales and then go to an underwater city filled with human-cetaceous mutants, not to mention the dictator with a messiah complex. It was a pretty nice little jaunt under the sea and I enjoyed it. What I didn't like was the continual use of "I think something and then I say it" such as "Nate was suddenly cold, and when he opened eyes, he was pretty sure that his head was going to explode. 'I'm pretty sure my head is going to explode,' he said.". Once was okay and cute, but over and over just got on my nerves. It's a good thing I like stories about whales, even if they are written to propagandize. The political message wasn't all that bad and I do think saving whales is a good thing, I just don't like to be preached at as I was in the author's notes. It's okay, I still like Moore and this was a pretty good book and it made me laugh.
—Jenniet Galvan
