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Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings
Whale researcher Nathan Quinn has a problem. It’s not a new problem; in fact, it’s been around for nearly 20 million years. And Nate’s spent most of his adult life working to solve it. You see, although everybody (well, almost everybody) knows that humpback whales sing (outside of human composition, the most complex songs on the planet) no one knows why. Nate, a Ph.D. in behavior biology, intends to discover the answer to this burning question—and soon.
Every winter he and Clay Demolocus, his partner in the Maui Whale Research Foundation, ply the warm waters between the islands of Maui and Lanai, recording the eerily beautiful songs of the humpbacks and returning to their lab for electronic analysis. The trouble is, Nate’s beginning to wonder if he hasn’t spent just a little too much time in the sun. Either that, or he’s losing his mind. Because today, as he was shooting an I.D. photo of a humpback tail fluke, Nate could’ve sworn he saw the words “Bite Me� scrawled across the whale’s tail. . .
Every winter he and Clay Demolocus, his partner in the Maui Whale Research Foundation, ply the warm waters between the islands of Maui and Lanai, recording the eerily beautiful songs of the humpbacks and returning to their lab for electronic analysis. The trouble is, Nate’s beginning to wonder if he hasn’t spent just a little too much time in the sun. Either that, or he’s losing his mind. Because today, as he was shooting an I.D. photo of a humpback tail fluke, Nate could’ve sworn he saw the words “Bite Me� scrawled across the whale’s tail. . .
324 pages, Paperback
First published June 3, 2003
603 people are currently reading
14k people want to read
About the author
Christopher Moore
103Ìýbooks91kÌýfollowersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ database with this name.
Christopher Moore is an American writer of absurdist fiction. He grew up in Mansfield, OH, and attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA.
Moore's novels typically involve conflicted everyman characters suddenly struggling through supernatural or extraordinary circumstances. Inheriting a humanism from his love of John Steinbeck and a sense of the absurd from Kurt Vonnegut, Moore is a best-selling author with major cult status.
Christopher Moore is an American writer of absurdist fiction. He grew up in Mansfield, OH, and attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA.
Moore's novels typically involve conflicted everyman characters suddenly struggling through supernatural or extraordinary circumstances. Inheriting a humanism from his love of John Steinbeck and a sense of the absurd from Kurt Vonnegut, Moore is a best-selling author with major cult status.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,382 reviews
April 18, 2021
If there weren´t the humor and clever writing style, I would have given this a 3 because of the loveless ending and the whole thing feeling kind of constructed and unmotivated, as if Moore just wanted to write another novel with innuendos and social criticism without much caring about the quality. It had its moment, it´s more easy fun than real fantasy comedy, but Moore can do so much better than that.
There is the criticism too, environmental topics are of course important, but because it´s mixed in a somewhat lukewarm mix of style elements and genre games, it didn´t really convince me. Moore writes in different styles, his novels have extreme differences in quality and depth, but this hybrid just doesn´t spark the reading pleasure one could wish for.
With a normal satirical, or pure comedic fantasy, setting, this could have really been something, but so it´s just showing that experiments don´t always work well. It´s a pity, because environmentalism is a very important topic, and Moore could have made it a hit as big as Lamb or a Dirty job, but so it stays far behind its true potential.
I am sure that some might still fight it highly entertaining, if one doesn´t know the other works for comparison or in general doesn´t read that much comedy and satire, it´s hilarious, but I have sadly become a bit snobbish after having devoured so many genre pearls.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
There is the criticism too, environmental topics are of course important, but because it´s mixed in a somewhat lukewarm mix of style elements and genre games, it didn´t really convince me. Moore writes in different styles, his novels have extreme differences in quality and depth, but this hybrid just doesn´t spark the reading pleasure one could wish for.
With a normal satirical, or pure comedic fantasy, setting, this could have really been something, but so it´s just showing that experiments don´t always work well. It´s a pity, because environmentalism is a very important topic, and Moore could have made it a hit as big as Lamb or a Dirty job, but so it stays far behind its true potential.
I am sure that some might still fight it highly entertaining, if one doesn´t know the other works for comparison or in general doesn´t read that much comedy and satire, it´s hilarious, but I have sadly become a bit snobbish after having devoured so many genre pearls.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
April 8, 2025
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.
*** 2025 reread -
Fluke is a lesser known novel by Moore, Lamb being his bestselling and Dirty Job perhaps representative of the kind of writing most fans associate with his style, but this 2003 book is one of my favorites.
First off, and I’ve added the spoiler alert so as not to offend the easily offended, but this time I realized that Moore was making a reference to Solaris and paid homage to Lem with having a gigantic, planet sized GOO to act as mysterious deity. Subtle telepathic clues help us to understand how all this works and fans of both works, like me, LOVED this aspect of the novel.
With the addition the Whaley Boys, a kind of hybrid between humans and whales, Moore also nods to Lovecraft and HG Wells. This is after all Christopher Moore so there are plenty of dick jokes to make this fun.
Finally, the rival teams of scientists made me think of the antagonism in Twister and also Fifty First Dates for the setting of oceanographic research and Hawaii.
Great book, lots of fun, highly recommended.
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.
*** 2025 reread -
Fluke is a lesser known novel by Moore, Lamb being his bestselling and Dirty Job perhaps representative of the kind of writing most fans associate with his style, but this 2003 book is one of my favorites.
First off, and I’ve added the spoiler alert so as not to offend the easily offended, but this time I realized that Moore was making a reference to Solaris and paid homage to Lem with having a gigantic, planet sized GOO to act as mysterious deity. Subtle telepathic clues help us to understand how all this works and fans of both works, like me, LOVED this aspect of the novel.
With the addition the Whaley Boys, a kind of hybrid between humans and whales, Moore also nods to Lovecraft and HG Wells. This is after all Christopher Moore so there are plenty of dick jokes to make this fun.
Finally, the rival teams of scientists made me think of the antagonism in Twister and also Fifty First Dates for the setting of oceanographic research and Hawaii.
Great book, lots of fun, highly recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2014
Bite me?! I’m disappointed. Crazy for whales, a Moore fan and the main character’s from where I live, seemed like a no brainer. Well, not this time - I like funny crude, this is more the kind you catch 12 year olds snickering over. A third in I gave up, not due to any maiden aunt sensibilities - it was just�lame. Click spoiler for a taste if you’re undecided, this was my 'enough' point... Alrighty then...
It does have good points, Kona the surfer dude is a hoot, I’d just
rather move onto one of his tastier books - appeals. Done slamming now, leave off on a lighter note.
“Nate had been born and raised in British Columbia, and Canadians hate, above all things, to offend. It was part of the national consciousness. “Be polite� was an unwritten, unspoken rule, but ingrained into the psyche of an entire country. Of course, as with any rule, there were exceptions: parts of Quebec, where people maintained the “dismissive to the point of confrontation, with subsequent surrender� mind-set of the French; and hockey, in which any Canadian may, with impunity, slam, pummel, elbow, smack, punch, body-check, and beat the shit out of, with sticks, any other human being, punctuated by profanities, name-calling, questioning parentage, and accusations of bestiality, usually—coincidentally—in French.�
You nailed us Mr. Moore:)
It does have good points, Kona the surfer dude is a hoot, I’d just
rather move onto one of his tastier books - appeals. Done slamming now, leave off on a lighter note.
“Nate had been born and raised in British Columbia, and Canadians hate, above all things, to offend. It was part of the national consciousness. “Be polite� was an unwritten, unspoken rule, but ingrained into the psyche of an entire country. Of course, as with any rule, there were exceptions: parts of Quebec, where people maintained the “dismissive to the point of confrontation, with subsequent surrender� mind-set of the French; and hockey, in which any Canadian may, with impunity, slam, pummel, elbow, smack, punch, body-check, and beat the shit out of, with sticks, any other human being, punctuated by profanities, name-calling, questioning parentage, and accusations of bestiality, usually—coincidentally—in French.�
You nailed us Mr. Moore:)
June 4, 2014
After completing Fluke, I started to envision this fantasy scenario on how the novel came to be...
Book Publisher: Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Moore. I wanted to discuss the manuscript you sent us.
Christopher Moore: Yes, of course. The Song Cycles and Migratory Habits of Whales. Did you like it?
BP: Well, liking it isn't really the point. It's about whales.
CM: And?
BP. No. I mean...It's really about whales. It's non fiction. Unfunny non-fiction.
CM: But that's my point! Everybody expects me to be funny all the time. I'm so funny people do not realize how much research I do on my topics. I have a serious side. I want to inform, to research, to make a serious contribution to society!
BP. But...your contract specifies a novel... a funny novel. I'm not sure people are ready for Christopher Moore the oceanographer. Isn't there some way you can change it. Put in a plot? Make it funny? Perhaps add a Rastafarian wanna-be and a crazy lady millionaire?
CM: I'll see what I can do.
Three weeks later:
BP: I just read your new draft. I'm glad you changed the title. I must say it is really funny.
CM: So what did you like about it?
BP: I loved the Rastafarian wanna-be. And I loved the sci-fi elements. That's a little different than your previous works. I have to hand it to you. I not only laughed a lot but I learned a lot about whales. Your research really is impressive.
CM: Thank you.
BP: And I loved that gotcha moment at the beginning where the marine biologist sees "Bite Me" written on the tail of the whale.
CM: I'm glad, because you were my inspiration for that part.
BP. Why, Than...Oh.
CM: Now, lets talk about my new manuscript that I sent you recently. A Concise History of European Impressionist Artists and Their Models
BP: Uh...Yeah...I wanted to talk to you about that...
Book Publisher: Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Moore. I wanted to discuss the manuscript you sent us.
Christopher Moore: Yes, of course. The Song Cycles and Migratory Habits of Whales. Did you like it?
BP: Well, liking it isn't really the point. It's about whales.
CM: And?
BP. No. I mean...It's really about whales. It's non fiction. Unfunny non-fiction.
CM: But that's my point! Everybody expects me to be funny all the time. I'm so funny people do not realize how much research I do on my topics. I have a serious side. I want to inform, to research, to make a serious contribution to society!
BP. But...your contract specifies a novel... a funny novel. I'm not sure people are ready for Christopher Moore the oceanographer. Isn't there some way you can change it. Put in a plot? Make it funny? Perhaps add a Rastafarian wanna-be and a crazy lady millionaire?
CM: I'll see what I can do.
Three weeks later:
BP: I just read your new draft. I'm glad you changed the title. I must say it is really funny.
CM: So what did you like about it?
BP: I loved the Rastafarian wanna-be. And I loved the sci-fi elements. That's a little different than your previous works. I have to hand it to you. I not only laughed a lot but I learned a lot about whales. Your research really is impressive.
CM: Thank you.
BP: And I loved that gotcha moment at the beginning where the marine biologist sees "Bite Me" written on the tail of the whale.
CM: I'm glad, because you were my inspiration for that part.
BP. Why, Than...Oh.
CM: Now, lets talk about my new manuscript that I sent you recently. A Concise History of European Impressionist Artists and Their Models
BP: Uh...Yeah...I wanted to talk to you about that...
July 3, 2024
It's a solid Christopher Moore. If you're already familiar with the author, you will probably like it and it's worth your time.
Its funny and nonsensical it's got heart and colorful characters and the pacing is good.
It's not my favourite Moore, but I still had a great time.
3.5 overall
Its funny and nonsensical it's got heart and colorful characters and the pacing is good.
It's not my favourite Moore, but I still had a great time.
3.5 overall
June 9, 2020
In late May, a young, curious humpback whale swam down the St-Lawrence River all the way to the Montreal Old Port. She was by herself, exploring and frolicking, jumping around in that majestic and graceful way those amazing animals do. Humpback aren't fresh water whales, she shouldn't have been so far down the river in the first place, but she showed no sign of distress. But at some point between Sunday, when she was last seen swimming, and Tuesday morning, she died. I am completely devastated that this adventurous and playful creature didn't manage to get back to her natural habitat safely.
---
Humpback whales are my favorite animal. I’ve always been fascinated by all whales, but humpbacks have a majestic and monumental grace that inexplicably moves me to tears. Just watching a National Geographic documentary about them gives me a lump in my throat, and their haunting songs makes me shiver.
When I heard that Christopher Moore had a book featuring a lot of humpbacks and people trying to figure out why they sing, I immediately wanted to read it. Of all the Moore books I have read (and I have read almost all of them), this is the one that strikes me as the most Vonnegut-esque. It’s funny, philosophical, entertaining, instructive and to be frank, kind of a brain-fuck. But the good type of brain-fuck, where you finish the book and think: “WTF was that?! Let’s do it again!�.
Nate has been studying whales (i.e. poking them with sticks) for a long time. He’s seen it all and got a bit cynical because so far, the only thing he knows with absolute certainty is that whales are big and wet. Then one day, he sees a humpback whale with the words “Bite me� written on its fluke. His research team thinks he’s hallucinating, but Nate is determined to find that whale. He just might end up finding a lot more than he bargained for in the process� Nate is a great character, driven and passionate about what he does � and Canadian! His side-kicks are wonderful Moore creations: Clay the loyal boat guy, Amy the tiny Goth girl and Kona, the white Rastafarian. All unique, quirky, endearing and hilarious.
Moore obviously did a lot of research for this book. You will actually learn some science if you read this, which is not exactly what you’d expect from a comedic novel, but there you have it. He is obviously very passionate about his topic, he wants his readers to be just as passionate as he is, and he manages to pull that off without being preachy or pompous. Even when the story takes a zany turn into sci-fi, his world-building remains tight, concise and very creative. Moore spins one hell of a crazy yarn, but he picks up all the lose strands and ties them neatly together at the end.
I recommend this book to fans of Vonnegut, Pratchett and Adams, and to anyone who loves whales and a good laugh. If you have never picked up a Christopher Moore book before, this is a great place to start!
---
Humpback whales are my favorite animal. I’ve always been fascinated by all whales, but humpbacks have a majestic and monumental grace that inexplicably moves me to tears. Just watching a National Geographic documentary about them gives me a lump in my throat, and their haunting songs makes me shiver.
When I heard that Christopher Moore had a book featuring a lot of humpbacks and people trying to figure out why they sing, I immediately wanted to read it. Of all the Moore books I have read (and I have read almost all of them), this is the one that strikes me as the most Vonnegut-esque. It’s funny, philosophical, entertaining, instructive and to be frank, kind of a brain-fuck. But the good type of brain-fuck, where you finish the book and think: “WTF was that?! Let’s do it again!�.
Nate has been studying whales (i.e. poking them with sticks) for a long time. He’s seen it all and got a bit cynical because so far, the only thing he knows with absolute certainty is that whales are big and wet. Then one day, he sees a humpback whale with the words “Bite me� written on its fluke. His research team thinks he’s hallucinating, but Nate is determined to find that whale. He just might end up finding a lot more than he bargained for in the process� Nate is a great character, driven and passionate about what he does � and Canadian! His side-kicks are wonderful Moore creations: Clay the loyal boat guy, Amy the tiny Goth girl and Kona, the white Rastafarian. All unique, quirky, endearing and hilarious.
Moore obviously did a lot of research for this book. You will actually learn some science if you read this, which is not exactly what you’d expect from a comedic novel, but there you have it. He is obviously very passionate about his topic, he wants his readers to be just as passionate as he is, and he manages to pull that off without being preachy or pompous. Even when the story takes a zany turn into sci-fi, his world-building remains tight, concise and very creative. Moore spins one hell of a crazy yarn, but he picks up all the lose strands and ties them neatly together at the end.
I recommend this book to fans of Vonnegut, Pratchett and Adams, and to anyone who loves whales and a good laugh. If you have never picked up a Christopher Moore book before, this is a great place to start!
December 13, 2008
Soooo, it took me about 43 years to read this book. And upon thinking for a while and discissing it with Christina for a while I've come to the conclusion that my opinion is based on a two-fold rubric. (Can rubrics have folds?)
Anyway...
Point 1. Character Development.
The character development in this book sucked balls. And not in the good way, either.
Point 2. Plot.
The plot was fuckin' awesome. Except for the fact that it didn't start until a third of the way into the book. But whatev. It's still a clever story filled with science! (I love science!!!)
Let's discuss the above two points in more depth, shall we? As far as character development goes, I'm really disappointed. I mean, really. Amy is supposed to be some quirky gal whose personal slang consists of "mook," "jeepers," and other silly stuff. But she didn't develop that characteristic until we'd met her a half a dozen times. Another example, and I'll try to spare you details, occurrs @ the end of the book. There's a reunion. And it should be romantic and touching, but it's not. It's just quick and flat. Why even bother? Pissed me off.
Alrighty, plot... Underwater city and additional theories of evolution--genius! Carbon based passenger vessels navigated neurogically--double genius! Loved it. Kick ass. Cool. And then they saved the world. No surprises there.
That's all I have to say, really. The book was ok, not great. I'll probably read another Christopher Moore, but only because Christina (et al) really love him, so I figure it's worth giving him a second chance.
Anyway...
Point 1. Character Development.
The character development in this book sucked balls. And not in the good way, either.
Point 2. Plot.
The plot was fuckin' awesome. Except for the fact that it didn't start until a third of the way into the book. But whatev. It's still a clever story filled with science! (I love science!!!)
Let's discuss the above two points in more depth, shall we? As far as character development goes, I'm really disappointed. I mean, really. Amy is supposed to be some quirky gal whose personal slang consists of "mook," "jeepers," and other silly stuff. But she didn't develop that characteristic until we'd met her a half a dozen times. Another example, and I'll try to spare you details, occurrs @ the end of the book. There's a reunion. And it should be romantic and touching, but it's not. It's just quick and flat. Why even bother? Pissed me off.
Alrighty, plot... Underwater city and additional theories of evolution--genius! Carbon based passenger vessels navigated neurogically--double genius! Loved it. Kick ass. Cool. And then they saved the world. No surprises there.
That's all I have to say, really. The book was ok, not great. I'll probably read another Christopher Moore, but only because Christina (et al) really love him, so I figure it's worth giving him a second chance.
September 13, 2021
This was just the quirky an fun audiobook that I needed such an intriguing story to listen to and very easy digestible for when I was in a bad mood
August 7, 2008
People swear by this guy, in a devotional sort of way. I was excited to try one of his novels, and frankly, I’m usually a sucker for otherwise human stories with some elements of the unexplained (see Tom Robbins, “Magnolia�, or Lost). Moore’s “Fluke� started out as no exception. I was engaged by the characters, laughed out loud a few times, and was hooked into these mysterious events and the promise of something larger. The insertion of scientific fact (mostly marine biology and humpback whales) and mysterious Defense Department goings-on only increased my interest. That same blend of factoids/anecdotes into somewhat bizarre fiction has caused me to tear through a few Chuck Palahniuk novels, and that’s the sort of pace with which “Fluke� flies by. So, it can’t be all bad. The story just lost me when it started explaining too much. I think I like my mysteries unresolved, or at least not so neat. Not to geek out too much, but I had this same feeling during the second season of Lost. I felt disappointed when too much was attributed to some psychology experiment and everyone stopped being afraid of going in the jungle. Here, there’s a different explanation. And even though the second half of the book was entirely original, with its own absorbing twists and turns, it felt like a different book; like something I hadn't signed up for. All of the new developments started feeling less like originality and more like a cop out. The character development dropped off, replaced with fantasy/sci-fi explanations that I just didn’t care for. It’s still a funny, mostly engaging read, but I finished “Fluke� with that feeling that is never a sign of a book gone well: I didn’t want more. In fact, I wish there had been less.
February 1, 2009
I love Christopher Moore.. this is my fifth book of his, but this one fell short for me. The story is of a scientist who studies whales and their songs. He has worked many many years in the field and when he sees the words "BITE ME" on the tail of one of his whales he is determined to find out how it is even possible. Things are further complicated when the town crazy informs him that the whale he saw called her and asked her to tell him to come visit the whale and bring a pastrami on rye sandwich. There are a few memorable characters such as the Jersey boy who claims he is Hawaiian and a Rastafarian or the assistant who is smoking hot, but slightly not human. In the end it was an interesting read, slightly humorous, but not one of my favorites.
February 8, 2009
So far, I haven't met a book by Christopher Moore that I've disliked. Or even merely had a lukewarm feeling for. Fluke is no exception. I mean, how can you not like a writer who produces such lines as "A centipede the size of a Pontiac had once lived in the bottom-right corner of the trunk but had long since moved on once he realized that no one was ever going to bother him, so he could stand up on his hind hundred feet, hiss like a pissed cat, and deliver a deadly bite to a naked foot"?
Moore writes about things he cares about -- and there are hundreds of them, from people to whales to fruit bats to island paradises to conservation issues to the inevitable jerks who make life so interesting, and on and on and on. In Fluke he gives us whales and their lives, and those who study them. But rather than the predictably over-emotional, politically charged, and buzzword rhetoric that makes up 98% of Green hyperbola on the subject, Moore gives us real people studying real whales -- and the real catastrophes and downsides frequently accompanying such studies.
Why do humpback whales sing? Marine biologist Nate Quinn and his crew poke, chart, record, and photograph huge, wet, marine mammals trying to find answers to that question. And then, one day, a whale lifts his tail into the air to display a cryptic message on his flukes: Bite me.
The problem is that only Nate saw that message. He's beginning to wonder if Hawaii's hot sun has baked his brains a little too thoroughly. Neither his longtime partner, Clay Demodocus, nor their young research assistant, Amy, not even their other assistant, addlepated, pot-smoking, white-boy Rastafarian Kona (a.k.a. Preston Applebaum) saw it. But later, when a roll of film comes back from the film lab with the crucial frame missing, the one that shows those flukes and the message on them, and his research facility is trashed, Nate begins to think there's more to this than a mere hallucination.
What can you say about this novel? Witty, irreverent, puzzling, fascinating, and surprising, Fluke is Moore at the top of his form -- and a great incentive to track down and read everything he's ever written.
Moore writes about things he cares about -- and there are hundreds of them, from people to whales to fruit bats to island paradises to conservation issues to the inevitable jerks who make life so interesting, and on and on and on. In Fluke he gives us whales and their lives, and those who study them. But rather than the predictably over-emotional, politically charged, and buzzword rhetoric that makes up 98% of Green hyperbola on the subject, Moore gives us real people studying real whales -- and the real catastrophes and downsides frequently accompanying such studies.
Why do humpback whales sing? Marine biologist Nate Quinn and his crew poke, chart, record, and photograph huge, wet, marine mammals trying to find answers to that question. And then, one day, a whale lifts his tail into the air to display a cryptic message on his flukes: Bite me.
The problem is that only Nate saw that message. He's beginning to wonder if Hawaii's hot sun has baked his brains a little too thoroughly. Neither his longtime partner, Clay Demodocus, nor their young research assistant, Amy, not even their other assistant, addlepated, pot-smoking, white-boy Rastafarian Kona (a.k.a. Preston Applebaum) saw it. But later, when a roll of film comes back from the film lab with the crucial frame missing, the one that shows those flukes and the message on them, and his research facility is trashed, Nate begins to think there's more to this than a mere hallucination.
What can you say about this novel? Witty, irreverent, puzzling, fascinating, and surprising, Fluke is Moore at the top of his form -- and a great incentive to track down and read everything he's ever written.
November 14, 2014
Good book.
Some laugh or loud moments.
Not one of his best though.
Some laugh or loud moments.
Not one of his best though.
May 31, 2017
One star for being intermittently amusing and for (eventually) getting to a fairly interesting premise. But argh. Abundant casual misogyny. Please don't introduce your female characters by the quality of their asses. Please don't think it's hilarious to write women "turning into" lesbians because of being improbably traumatized by whale sperm. Please don't leer at the queer women. Please don't have your ladies be groped uninvited and laugh it off. Please don't call them bitches.
In addition, please don't use "retard" or "retarded" as an insult. And please, please don't set your cast on fucking Hawai'i and have literally all of the main characters be white people.
If the sexist and racist stuff hadn't been there it might have made 3 stars. It's not among Moore's better works and needed a stronger hand in the editing.
In addition, please don't use "retard" or "retarded" as an insult. And please, please don't set your cast on fucking Hawai'i and have literally all of the main characters be white people.
If the sexist and racist stuff hadn't been there it might have made 3 stars. It's not among Moore's better works and needed a stronger hand in the editing.
September 13, 2016
I’ve been putting off reading Fluke. It was recommended to me by one of my uncles, who meant well but whose method of recommendation was to spoil almost every major plot point - and who then sent me a copy as a high school graduation gift. Knowing a little something about Christopher Moore’s brand of humor, I didn’t make it a priority, the end result of which is that more than five years went by between when he sent it to me and when I finally opened it. And� while I regret putting it off for that long, because that was rude to my uncle, I wasn’t wrong in my expectations of how I’d like the book.
Well� mostly.
As I was in the thick of it, I was almost unbearably frustrated with this book. Moore’s humor tends towards the absurd, with a light dusting of satire, and while I can recognize all the parts that are supposed to be wryly funny, it doesn’t work on me. At the same time, though, Fluke had a surprisingly mysterious plot, and I found myself wanting to read it, even though reading it wasn’t all that enjoyable, just to figure out what the hell was going on.
And� then I got to the end, and I read Moore’s notes and acknowledgements, and I realized that I couldn’t be angry at this book, or even all that frustrated.
The thing is that Fluke is meticulously and accurately researched. To my knowledge, almost all of the basic biology and behavior information presented here is legitimate, and the name drops of scientists who aren’t characters on the page are too. (It was a bit of a shock to see Bruce Mate, who I’ve met, mentioned offhandedly here.) Moore’s description of Japanese whaling is on point, though 13 years out of date now for obvious reasons. He writes in his notes about spending two field seasons with a humpback research team in Hawaii, which tells me that researching this book took at least two years, probably more - that’s impressive for something which, I admit, I kind of expected to be dashed off and dismissive.
He also chose to end this book with a heartfelt plea for readers to care about cetacean conservation, and suggestions about organizations to support. That, and all his notes and acknowledgements, are stunningly classy and well-written, and here - in the last seven pages of the book - I found myself actually enjoying Moore’s humor.
I did get hung up from time to time, though, on a few rather predictable things. The middle-aged male main character’s love interest is his 20-something research assistant and his ex wife divorced him to suddenly become a lesbian� and now does research with her partner, who is a caricature of feminist stereotypes and painful to read, though her pagetime is mercifully brief. A lot of the humor is sex-based, which I didn’t mind until the instances where it was rape-based, and no, that’s just not ever gonna be funny to me. And I mean� I expected to have these issues, and a whole lot more than that; but knowing it’s coming doesn’t make it any more pleasant.
I don’t think Moore’s fiction is for me, but� at the end of the day, I’m left with a hearty respect for him as an author and an artist. And if he ever writes nonfiction in the tone of his author’s notes here, I’m in.
(Postscript: at the time that Moore wrote this, I suspect the term ‘meme� didn’t have the same meaning in internet parlance that it does today, and it did originate in science, but� the fact remains that this book has the sentence “Humpback whale songs are memes� in it and, in 2016, that is unintentionally one of the best jokes of the book.)
Well� mostly.
As I was in the thick of it, I was almost unbearably frustrated with this book. Moore’s humor tends towards the absurd, with a light dusting of satire, and while I can recognize all the parts that are supposed to be wryly funny, it doesn’t work on me. At the same time, though, Fluke had a surprisingly mysterious plot, and I found myself wanting to read it, even though reading it wasn’t all that enjoyable, just to figure out what the hell was going on.
And� then I got to the end, and I read Moore’s notes and acknowledgements, and I realized that I couldn’t be angry at this book, or even all that frustrated.
The thing is that Fluke is meticulously and accurately researched. To my knowledge, almost all of the basic biology and behavior information presented here is legitimate, and the name drops of scientists who aren’t characters on the page are too. (It was a bit of a shock to see Bruce Mate, who I’ve met, mentioned offhandedly here.) Moore’s description of Japanese whaling is on point, though 13 years out of date now for obvious reasons. He writes in his notes about spending two field seasons with a humpback research team in Hawaii, which tells me that researching this book took at least two years, probably more - that’s impressive for something which, I admit, I kind of expected to be dashed off and dismissive.
He also chose to end this book with a heartfelt plea for readers to care about cetacean conservation, and suggestions about organizations to support. That, and all his notes and acknowledgements, are stunningly classy and well-written, and here - in the last seven pages of the book - I found myself actually enjoying Moore’s humor.
I did get hung up from time to time, though, on a few rather predictable things. The middle-aged male main character’s love interest is his 20-something research assistant and his ex wife divorced him to suddenly become a lesbian� and now does research with her partner, who is a caricature of feminist stereotypes and painful to read, though her pagetime is mercifully brief. A lot of the humor is sex-based, which I didn’t mind until the instances where it was rape-based, and no, that’s just not ever gonna be funny to me. And I mean� I expected to have these issues, and a whole lot more than that; but knowing it’s coming doesn’t make it any more pleasant.
I don’t think Moore’s fiction is for me, but� at the end of the day, I’m left with a hearty respect for him as an author and an artist. And if he ever writes nonfiction in the tone of his author’s notes here, I’m in.
(Postscript: at the time that Moore wrote this, I suspect the term ‘meme� didn’t have the same meaning in internet parlance that it does today, and it did originate in science, but� the fact remains that this book has the sentence “Humpback whale songs are memes� in it and, in 2016, that is unintentionally one of the best jokes of the book.)
March 27, 2013
Christopher Moore does it again! is a very enjoyable read! I have enjoyed every Christopher Moore book that I've read. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book.
January 3, 2009
This is the first book I have read by Christopher Moore, and I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It is about Nate Quinn, a biologist who is studying humpback whales trying to figure out the meaning of their song. Odd things start to happen, though, like finding a whale with ‘Bite Me� painted on its tale and somebody breaking in and trashing his lab. While trying to figure out who would want to sabotage his research he starts to question how much anybody could even care about the work he has done for the last 25 years, and realizes that even if he finds the meaning in the song, nobody would ever believe him. Throw in a few near death experiences, a cast of the most eccentric and eclectic characters I’ve ever experienced, and Killer whales named Kevin, and you’ve got a spectacular book that was far more enjoyable that I had expected.
December 7, 2019
3.5 stars
Nate is a biologist, studying whales in Hawai'i and trying to find out why they sing. He is working with Clay, a photographer; Amy, a new research assistant; and Kona, a local. One day, on the water, Nate notices something a little strange about the underside of a whale's flukes (the "wings" on the tail): it says "Bite Me". Not only that, things start happening, like the lab being trashed and one of their boats being sunk.
It was good and there were funny parts, but the second half of the book got very... um... odd. I enjoyed the first half of the book, and the focus on and information about the whales and the mystery surrounding what was going on, but the second half was just very odd. I also liked the characters and I appreciated that Moore gave us some info at the end of the book about how much about the whales was true, as well as some info about conservation. Despite the focus on whales, I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the other books I've read by Moore.
Nate is a biologist, studying whales in Hawai'i and trying to find out why they sing. He is working with Clay, a photographer; Amy, a new research assistant; and Kona, a local. One day, on the water, Nate notices something a little strange about the underside of a whale's flukes (the "wings" on the tail): it says "Bite Me". Not only that, things start happening, like the lab being trashed and one of their boats being sunk.
It was good and there were funny parts, but the second half of the book got very... um... odd. I enjoyed the first half of the book, and the focus on and information about the whales and the mystery surrounding what was going on, but the second half was just very odd. I also liked the characters and I appreciated that Moore gave us some info at the end of the book about how much about the whales was true, as well as some info about conservation. Despite the focus on whales, I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the other books I've read by Moore.
June 25, 2011
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Wale Sings was pretty good. Eventually. Once I got into it.
Christopher Moore is hard to review. He strikes me as more of a comedian than an author. As such, if he keeps me entertained and makes me laugh out loud, I consider his book to be a success. Fluke is a typical Christopher Moore story in that it involves a group of wacky people working together in a preposterous situation. The whale and conservation info presented here was cool. And chapter eighteen wins best chapter title ever award: Chapter Eighteen, Heinous Fuckery Most Foul! =) I’m glad I went with the audio version of this book. Narrator Bill Irwin did a great job with the different voices and accents and gave the characters a lot of life. (Which sounds totally lame, but Christopher Moore’s characters all tend to be sarcastic and kind of snarky people. He writes the sort of characters which I think work fantastically in the right movie, but can fall flat in print.)
Christopher Moore fans will enjoy this one. While I don’t feel that it was as well written as , or it made me laugh quite a bit. That’s gotta count for something =)
Christopher Moore is hard to review. He strikes me as more of a comedian than an author. As such, if he keeps me entertained and makes me laugh out loud, I consider his book to be a success. Fluke is a typical Christopher Moore story in that it involves a group of wacky people working together in a preposterous situation. The whale and conservation info presented here was cool. And chapter eighteen wins best chapter title ever award: Chapter Eighteen, Heinous Fuckery Most Foul! =) I’m glad I went with the audio version of this book. Narrator Bill Irwin did a great job with the different voices and accents and gave the characters a lot of life. (Which sounds totally lame, but Christopher Moore’s characters all tend to be sarcastic and kind of snarky people. He writes the sort of characters which I think work fantastically in the right movie, but can fall flat in print.)
Christopher Moore fans will enjoy this one. While I don’t feel that it was as well written as , or it made me laugh quite a bit. That’s gotta count for something =)
October 31, 2007
5 Ooks
Do you like mysteries?
Do you like to laugh?
Have you ever wondered why whales sing?
Did you ever wish you lived in Hawaii?
Did you ever wish you could see one of those white-boy poser Rastafarians get a bit of a stomping?...Hey now, don't be a hater...
Moore evokes beach people and the islands in this fun and fast moving tale. It's filled with his usual wit and wacky, but lovable characters, and leavened with a bit of a message (but, not preachy).
This is a book that will draw you in and leave you wanting more (no pun intended). Even though it's a mystery, it's just as good on the second reading.
Do you like mysteries?
Do you like to laugh?
Have you ever wondered why whales sing?
Did you ever wish you lived in Hawaii?
Did you ever wish you could see one of those white-boy poser Rastafarians get a bit of a stomping?...Hey now, don't be a hater...
Moore evokes beach people and the islands in this fun and fast moving tale. It's filled with his usual wit and wacky, but lovable characters, and leavened with a bit of a message (but, not preachy).
This is a book that will draw you in and leave you wanting more (no pun intended). Even though it's a mystery, it's just as good on the second reading.
January 28, 2019
Diverting.
I've read a few Moore, and this seems to follow the formula of the others: centered on a nebbish man, his struggles to comprehend, survive an increasingly outrageous situation aided and abetted by a cast of kooky guy friends and a more competent, slightly dangerous woman who, nevertheless, unabashedly flirts with him. The story this time derives its humor more from the situation and narrative voice than the characters, and there's a few too many info dumps to move the plot along, but it was all in good fun.
I've read a few Moore, and this seems to follow the formula of the others: centered on a nebbish man, his struggles to comprehend, survive an increasingly outrageous situation aided and abetted by a cast of kooky guy friends and a more competent, slightly dangerous woman who, nevertheless, unabashedly flirts with him. The story this time derives its humor more from the situation and narrative voice than the characters, and there's a few too many info dumps to move the plot along, but it was all in good fun.
January 1, 2009
I'm not sure if I should give this book two or three stars. The characters were a little flat, the tone could get a little preachy, and I'm left thinking the book isn't quite as clever as the author thinks it is. I did finish it however, and I didn't want to stop reading it in the sense of a did not finish book. I also enjoyed the whole conversation about memes and genes. At the very least, the book has made me want to try another Moore book at some point.
March 10, 2009
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 Moore
My Note: Save the whales! Don't allow whaling!
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 Moore
My Note: Save the whales! Don't allow whaling!
June 28, 2012
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.
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.
December 18, 2024
Christopher Moore writes humorous fiction on a variety of topics, but this one feels close to his heart. Set in Hawaii, and the surrounding Pacific Ocean, Fluke is the story of Nathan Quinn, a marine biologist studying humpback whale songs. His team includes Amy, a talented young research assistant for whom Nate tries to repress his attraction to, his genial older partner Clay, and a white surfer who has appropriated Rastafarian culture named Kona.
Nate’s troubles begins when he witnesses a whale with the words “bite me� on it’s fluke. This is soon followed by his offices being trashed and one of his boats scuttled, among other things. As Nate tries to unravel the mystery, he ends up being swallowed by a whale. And then things get weird.
I won’t go into details, but what follows is a fantastical and absurd story somewhere between Jules Verne and Leonard Wibberley. I feel like the book does run on a bit long and Moore gets overly invested in his world-building. But the book never loses its humor nor its underlying message of whale conservation.
Nate’s troubles begins when he witnesses a whale with the words “bite me� on it’s fluke. This is soon followed by his offices being trashed and one of his boats scuttled, among other things. As Nate tries to unravel the mystery, he ends up being swallowed by a whale. And then things get weird.
I won’t go into details, but what follows is a fantastical and absurd story somewhere between Jules Verne and Leonard Wibberley. I feel like the book does run on a bit long and Moore gets overly invested in his world-building. But the book never loses its humor nor its underlying message of whale conservation.
November 6, 2021
Amy called the whale punkin.
Nate Quinn is studying humpback whales when he sees an odd message on the tail of one.
Christopher Moore is a greatly disturbed man whose books I usually love. This one is the exception. The first third was good and kept my attention. After that things got very strange and I completely lost interest.
The quirky characters got to be too much and I found myself skimming just to find something that kept my attention.
I'm sure I will pick up something else to read by Christopher at some point. Just not in the near future.
Nate Quinn is studying humpback whales when he sees an odd message on the tail of one.
Christopher Moore is a greatly disturbed man whose books I usually love. This one is the exception. The first third was good and kept my attention. After that things got very strange and I completely lost interest.
The quirky characters got to be too much and I found myself skimming just to find something that kept my attention.
I'm sure I will pick up something else to read by Christopher at some point. Just not in the near future.
October 12, 2016
Avendo letto quasi tutti i suoi libri, di Christopher Moore ormai ho due scaffali distinti:
Lo scaffale wow e lo scaffale poteva-essere-wow.
Questo libro lo colloco nello scaffale...
*rullo di tamburi*
Wow!
Un'idea balzana, come sempre, ma cotta a puntino.
Non so perché, ma stavo lasciando questo libro per ultimo (penultimo, alla fine, mi manca ancora The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove), m'ispirava non troppissimo, e per giunta avevo visto per sbaglio la copertina della versione inglese, dove rappresentavano il giovane Kona pedalando in una specie di balena-risciò, dandomi l'idea che ci sarebbe stato un rasta malvagio che attacca la gente da dentro a una balena con scritto BITE ME sul sedere (vabbé, pinna, non sedere).
Odio le copertine fuorvianti (e pare che anche Chris le odi, ma che gli editori l'abbiano sempre vinta).
Leggendolo invece, mi sono dovuto ricredere, è uno dei suoi lavori più ispirati, tra quelli meno famosi e spesso considerati (almeno da me) minori.
Non è ai livelli di Lamb e Dirty Job (che forse si meritano uno scaffale a parte), ma mi ha fatto morire dal ridere e ha dei personaggi davvero azzeccati. Anzi, pensandoci bene direi che tutti i personaggi sono ben riusciti e credibili.
Il difetto che gli trovo, e che purtroppo riscontro in molti dei suoi libri, è che il finale quasi sempre non è all'altezza del libro. Non c'è mai una grande minaccia, né uno scontro, né niente di particolarmente avvincente, bensì una risoluzione piuttosto lineare degli eventi e un happy ending a effetto. Purtroppo in Fluke si nota in particolar modo, l'ultimo 10% del libro perde un po'. Ma almeno è solo un 10%, e tutto quanto lo precede è invece di ottima fattura.
Peccato soprattutto perché me l'ero immaginato un bel finale coi fiocchi e infatti, mentre adocchiavo con timore la percentuale di completamento, pensavo: "Ahi ahi ahi, mica c'è spazio per tutto quello che vorrei che accadesse".
Lo scaffale wow e lo scaffale poteva-essere-wow.
Questo libro lo colloco nello scaffale...
*rullo di tamburi*
Wow!
Un'idea balzana, come sempre, ma cotta a puntino.
Non so perché, ma stavo lasciando questo libro per ultimo (penultimo, alla fine, mi manca ancora The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove), m'ispirava non troppissimo, e per giunta avevo visto per sbaglio la copertina della versione inglese, dove rappresentavano il giovane Kona pedalando in una specie di balena-risciò, dandomi l'idea che ci sarebbe stato un rasta malvagio che attacca la gente da dentro a una balena con scritto BITE ME sul sedere (vabbé, pinna, non sedere).
Odio le copertine fuorvianti (e pare che anche Chris le odi, ma che gli editori l'abbiano sempre vinta).
Leggendolo invece, mi sono dovuto ricredere, è uno dei suoi lavori più ispirati, tra quelli meno famosi e spesso considerati (almeno da me) minori.
Non è ai livelli di Lamb e Dirty Job (che forse si meritano uno scaffale a parte), ma mi ha fatto morire dal ridere e ha dei personaggi davvero azzeccati. Anzi, pensandoci bene direi che tutti i personaggi sono ben riusciti e credibili.
Il difetto che gli trovo, e che purtroppo riscontro in molti dei suoi libri, è che il finale quasi sempre non è all'altezza del libro. Non c'è mai una grande minaccia, né uno scontro, né niente di particolarmente avvincente, bensì una risoluzione piuttosto lineare degli eventi e un happy ending a effetto. Purtroppo in Fluke si nota in particolar modo, l'ultimo 10% del libro perde un po'. Ma almeno è solo un 10%, e tutto quanto lo precede è invece di ottima fattura.
Peccato soprattutto perché me l'ero immaginato un bel finale coi fiocchi e infatti, mentre adocchiavo con timore la percentuale di completamento, pensavo: "Ahi ahi ahi, mica c'è spazio per tutto quello che vorrei che accadesse".
April 29, 2017
This is my third reading of "Fluke" since 2004. I never seem to remember what happens in this book, but each time I return to it I enjoy it.
This novel explores the mystery of the song of the humpback whale and Mr. Moore's explanation of it is oddly touching and satisfying for the reader.
Having read all of Christopher Moore's novels, one of the things I like most about "Fluke" in contrast to some of his later works is that the humor is more subtle and not as vulgar and slapsticky, which in turn means it is more clever, and in my mind, enjoyable.
"Fluke" is a novel divided into three parts, and Part One of the novel is an interesting aquatic story, dealing with scientists and humpback whale research. Then we get to Part Two and the book takes a fantastical and unexpected turn that many readers did not appreciate. Although I did not see the abrupt tone change in the text coming, it did not disturb me as much as it did other readers. Despite the ridiculous elements that Moore weaves into the book, beginning with Part Two, the novel works as a unit and hangs nicely in the balance between realism and crazy fantasy.
On this rereading I also greatly enjoyed the character of Clay Demodocus, whose loyalty and personality are a highlight of the text.
Another thing I noticed on this reading more than I did in past ones are the rather important questions it poses (although briefly) from time to time on the nature of creation/creator/design/evolution. These are not minor themes, and Mr. Moore touches on them with a delicate and I think respectful of all sides decency.
The resolution of the novel is a little too tidy, but I wanted it to be, and I freely admit I would have been irritated had it not been so. This was my third reading of "Fluke" as this was the first Christopher Moore book I ever read, and it lead me to all of his others. It will for you too.
This novel explores the mystery of the song of the humpback whale and Mr. Moore's explanation of it is oddly touching and satisfying for the reader.
Having read all of Christopher Moore's novels, one of the things I like most about "Fluke" in contrast to some of his later works is that the humor is more subtle and not as vulgar and slapsticky, which in turn means it is more clever, and in my mind, enjoyable.
"Fluke" is a novel divided into three parts, and Part One of the novel is an interesting aquatic story, dealing with scientists and humpback whale research. Then we get to Part Two and the book takes a fantastical and unexpected turn that many readers did not appreciate. Although I did not see the abrupt tone change in the text coming, it did not disturb me as much as it did other readers. Despite the ridiculous elements that Moore weaves into the book, beginning with Part Two, the novel works as a unit and hangs nicely in the balance between realism and crazy fantasy.
On this rereading I also greatly enjoyed the character of Clay Demodocus, whose loyalty and personality are a highlight of the text.
Another thing I noticed on this reading more than I did in past ones are the rather important questions it poses (although briefly) from time to time on the nature of creation/creator/design/evolution. These are not minor themes, and Mr. Moore touches on them with a delicate and I think respectful of all sides decency.
The resolution of the novel is a little too tidy, but I wanted it to be, and I freely admit I would have been irritated had it not been so. This was my third reading of "Fluke" as this was the first Christopher Moore book I ever read, and it lead me to all of his others. It will for you too.
August 1, 2024
7/2024
The book is still awesome and you should read it. But I'm taking a page out of Moore's book for this review and yell at everyone.
JAPAN IS STILL WHALING. In fact, they have just launched a brand new super-killing machine, sorry, "boat," that will enable them to go farther and kill even more whales. At the same time, they and the Danes orchestrated the arrest of active conservationist and Sea Shepard founder, Paul Watson, on old charges that they had let go. He's now facing the rest of his life in prison for his heroic work as they reach for new levels of slaughter.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. We need to put pressure on Greenland (where he was captured and is being held), the Danish, and Japan. Call them out. Demand the release of Paul Watson and the end to whale hunting!
1/2022
Nate Quinn is searching for an elusive answer: what is the meaning of the song of the humpbacked whale. Every winter, he and his research partner Cliff go to Hawaii and record whale songs. This season they have two assistants a wanna-be rastafarian named Kona, and a young researcher named Amy Earhart. Everything in the season seems normal, until Nate sees some strange markings on a whale tale: Bite Me. From there things start to unravel quickly, and in true Christopher Moore form, humorously.
I am always in the mood for Christopher Moore. He's smart, he's funny, and has no problem swearing. He always lifts my mood. Enjoy Moore's tale of Action Nerds, and randomly yell at people to save the whales.
The book is still awesome and you should read it. But I'm taking a page out of Moore's book for this review and yell at everyone.
JAPAN IS STILL WHALING. In fact, they have just launched a brand new super-killing machine, sorry, "boat," that will enable them to go farther and kill even more whales. At the same time, they and the Danes orchestrated the arrest of active conservationist and Sea Shepard founder, Paul Watson, on old charges that they had let go. He's now facing the rest of his life in prison for his heroic work as they reach for new levels of slaughter.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. We need to put pressure on Greenland (where he was captured and is being held), the Danish, and Japan. Call them out. Demand the release of Paul Watson and the end to whale hunting!
1/2022
Nate Quinn is searching for an elusive answer: what is the meaning of the song of the humpbacked whale. Every winter, he and his research partner Cliff go to Hawaii and record whale songs. This season they have two assistants a wanna-be rastafarian named Kona, and a young researcher named Amy Earhart. Everything in the season seems normal, until Nate sees some strange markings on a whale tale: Bite Me. From there things start to unravel quickly, and in true Christopher Moore form, humorously.
I am always in the mood for Christopher Moore. He's smart, he's funny, and has no problem swearing. He always lifts my mood. Enjoy Moore's tale of Action Nerds, and randomly yell at people to save the whales.
February 1, 2014
The story starts with marine biologist Nate Quinn studying humpback whales when, all of a sudden, he sees one with "Bite me" written across its tail, which jump starts a whole series of increasingly odd events until things take a turn for the science fictional.
It's this turn that seems to bother people in other reviews I've read, but I thought it was intriguing, and Moore deserves credit for describing these otherworldly elements as quickly and effectively as he does. Worldbuilding can easily weigh a novel down, especially when it begins over one hundred pages in. Instead I felt that, after wandering around giggling at itself for fifteen chapters, Fluke was finally going somewhere.
However, the vast majority of the story goes by with little to no real conflict and, once the danger finally presents itself, it disappears shortly afterwards doing almost no damage whatsoever. It feels like something really cool could have happened here, but we wound up with an otherwise decent yarn truncated by a clunky, poorly-tied knot. Everything is fine. Everything always was, for the most part, fine.
Full review .
It's this turn that seems to bother people in other reviews I've read, but I thought it was intriguing, and Moore deserves credit for describing these otherworldly elements as quickly and effectively as he does. Worldbuilding can easily weigh a novel down, especially when it begins over one hundred pages in. Instead I felt that, after wandering around giggling at itself for fifteen chapters, Fluke was finally going somewhere.
However, the vast majority of the story goes by with little to no real conflict and, once the danger finally presents itself, it disappears shortly afterwards doing almost no damage whatsoever. It feels like something really cool could have happened here, but we wound up with an otherwise decent yarn truncated by a clunky, poorly-tied knot. Everything is fine. Everything always was, for the most part, fine.
Full review .
August 24, 2016
This is the second Christopher Moore book I've read, but it was certainly enough to get a handle on his typical plot line: Random guy gets involved in a strange situation he can't understand that relates to some type of odd deity, he falls for a very attractive girl who is involved in the weirdness, after very silly plot twists the couple find a way to "ride off into the sunset" together. While this type of explanation would usually put me off reading more of his books, his writing is done so well and the stories so inventive and hilarious that I can't help but enjoy them.
This book is about hump back whale researchers living in Hawaii, and while I'm no marine biologist the facts all seemed very well researched. A group of researchers are involved in figuring out why the hump backs sing and what they may be saying to each other, which throws the head researcher into a crazy adventure he could never have imagined. The hot girl is a research student working with the team, but she turns out to be much more. The plot is just so ridiculous you can't help but feel entertained.
If you're looking for something smart and funny, I would definitely recommend you give this a read.
This book is about hump back whale researchers living in Hawaii, and while I'm no marine biologist the facts all seemed very well researched. A group of researchers are involved in figuring out why the hump backs sing and what they may be saying to each other, which throws the head researcher into a crazy adventure he could never have imagined. The hot girl is a research student working with the team, but she turns out to be much more. The plot is just so ridiculous you can't help but feel entertained.
If you're looking for something smart and funny, I would definitely recommend you give this a read.
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