Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings

Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings

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3.68 of 5 stars 3.68  ·  rating details  ·  20,432 ratings  ·  1,363 reviews
Just why do humpback whales sing? That's the question that has marine behavioral biologist Nate Quinn and his crew poking, charting, recording, and photographing very big, wet, gray marine mammals. Until the extraordinary day when a whale lifts its tail into the air to display a cryptic message spelled out in foot-high letters: Bite me.

Trouble is, Nate's beginning to wonde...more
Paperback, 321 pages
Published June 15th 2004 by William Morrow Paperbacks (first published June 3rd 2003)
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsGood Omens by Terry PratchettLamb by Christopher MooreThe Princess Bride by William GoldmanA Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
Books that Make you Laugh
51st out of 1,663 books — 2,419 voters
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsGood Omens by Terry PratchettLamb by Christopher MooreMe Talk Pretty One Day by David SedarisThe Princess Bride by William Goldman
Best Humorous Books
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
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Amanda
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 stil...more
Marvin
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 t...more
Omar
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 sandwi...more
Steve
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...more
Mikah
Jan 02, 2009 Mikah rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: 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 wor...more
Armand
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)...more
Tracey
We meet Nathan Quinn, a marine behavioral biologist, who's currently in Hawaii, studying the humpback whale's song. Along with Clay Demodocus, a fellow researcher and long-time friend, they recruit Amy, a fresh young intern from the East Coast, and Kona, a wanna-be native & Rastaman. Several episodes of bad luck/vandalism make them suspicious of other researchers who have allied themselves with the US Navy. Their suspicions are justified, but it's not who they think.... not at all.

Moore has...more
Niknik
Jun 23, 2012 Niknik rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone
Recommended to Niknik by: Co-worker
Of the Christopher Moore books I have recently read (& am reading), I thought "Fluke" was the most ingenious!
I was expecting more of the same kind of supernatural stuff like "Bite Me" and "A Dirty Job", but was pleasantly surprised!
It was fun enough to read about whales and Hawaii and studying whale songs - but the journey on this story was something I have never heard of before.
And very funny too!
Preeti
Mar 10, 2009 Preeti rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who wants a laugh and who likes whales
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....more
Yael
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 wr...more
Myongsun
Really a 3.5. Heard this book instead of reading it. (Hearing a book adds another dimension to the experience, and it isn't always good. Reader was good, but not exceptional.) I liked this book very much in some ways; Moore gets the feeling of scientists working in the field, and the atmosphere of the Hawaiian Islands, and his characters are always interesting, and he often finds different ways of working a tired plot to make it new.

Reasons why I didn't give it a better rating: there is some rea...more
 J. Shepard
Christopher Moore's talent for whimsy makes his books read like plot mad libs. His books are hilarious, and inherently random. Sometimes this is not great. This story starts with a realistic picture of a scientist community on Hawaii, studying whales' behavior, particularly their song. It then gallivants off into the realm of science fiction. It intrigues. It bewilders. It amuses.

I will not say it satisfies. In his surprisingly earnest afterward Moore says this is a book about whale preservation...more
Priya Chand
'Fluke' starts off as a caricature of whale biologist life (Moore mentions he threw in some extra drama for good measure at the end, I love people who cite all their sources). The blurb on the back as well as the first few chapters made me think it was going to be about whale biology all the way through, albeit with the magical realism bent that shows up in Coyote Blue (helped along by mentions of Maui), but it takes a completely different direction.

I think genre-wise, this book is a lot closer...more
Chelsea
I feel like there's something I must be missing about this book or author. It had such good reviews and it was on sale for my Nook so I bought it.

This was just such a. .. .. weird. Weird book. If I wasn't so compulsive about finishing books once I start them, I would have quit this one on several occasions.

The first half of the book was very slow, but I could see the beginnings of a plot getting pieced together, so I stuck with it. Seemed like a couple of scientists would unravel some big myster...more
Andy
Fluke is divided into three sections, the first of which, in my opinion, is designed to lure the reader into interesting, well-researched, and otherwise familiar (literarily speaking) territory. Like following a path through the woods. The story revolves around Nate Quinn, a world-renowned but self-conscious marine biologist who has devoted his life to studying whale songs. He is joined by his research assistant Amy Earhart, who is sexy, snarky, knowledgeable, and entirely too young for Nate. (I...more
Stacy
Nate Quinn is a marine biologist who studies whale songs and his partner Clay is the underwater photographer. They have been set up in Hawaii for years and Clay hires a wanna be native, Kona, although his real name is Prestin Applebaum and he’s from New Jersey. They also have a research assistant, Amy, who they all agree looks fantastic from behind. The ‘Old Broad’ funding their research can hear the whales and lets them know when one lets her know he wants a pastrami on rye.

One day Nate sees a...more
Nicole
Nate Quinn is a humpback whale researcher. He lives on Oahu and heads a team that is trying to translate the male songs, songs they only sing when in the clear breeding grounds of Hawaii and no one knows WHY. Nate is happy in his academic world as an "action nerd", checking out his hot female research assistant, but when he sees "Bite Me" written on a fluke and keeps getting a message that he should take a hot pastrami sandwich to the large male singer, Nate starts to question his sanity. Little...more
Beth
Nate Quinn is a marine biologist studying the song of the humpback whale in Maui, trying to figure out what exactly the songs mean. He is assisted in this effort by a videographer, Clay Demodocus, and two research assistants, Amy Earhart, and ""Kona" a Rastafarian wanna-be whose real name is Preston Applebaum. Their benefactor, affectionately known as "the Old Broad" is a bit off her rocker, but provides the cash so Nate and Clay grin and bear her.

That's pretty much where the story stops being,...more
Amelia
I’ve never heard of Christopher Moore before but when I saw the eye-catching book cover PLUS the quirky title, I thought, what the hey!

10 hours later, I’m glad I trusted my instincts for attractive book covers and silly titles surely harbouring a great story cos this book was hilarious (not necessarily the burst-out laughing funny but more towards the dry, dark humour ha ha) – what a find!

So, the book starts off a little weird at first as the main character, marine biologist Nate Quinn while on...more
Peebs
I got this as an advanced reader's copy when I worked at Borders. I hadn't read anything about this particular author, so I was curious. I didn't read this all in one go. I had started much earlier and used the book as a paperweight once in a while. One day I decided I had to finish reading it.

It didn't disappoint. So the premise is that this older guy is researching the whale song in Hawaii. His team has the expected hot assistant (who happens to be too young for him) and a wanna-be Rastafarian...more
Booksthailand
Christopher Moore writes funny books. His recent titles have been likened to the novels of Terry Pratchett but perhaps better comparisons can be drawn with Carl Hiassen and Douglas Adams. His novels have dealt with demons, Jesus’ best pal, bloodsucking fiends, death and sequined love nuns amongst other improbable subject matter. Clearly this is an author in no danger of taking himself too seriously.

Fluke is all about Whales, kind of. It is also about half-whale half-human beasts, strange underse...more
Jackie
What's funny about Christopher Moore is that he basically writes light reading--humorous novels that are easy to read and that all kinds of people can enjoy--except that the amount of research that obviously went into this "light reading" (which was clear even before I read his afterwords detailing the research he did) is staggering, and the number of pages he produced here is twice the amount I'd expect for a book of this type. On top of that, he somehow makes the admittedly monotonous science...more
Marcie
Still not as great as The Stupidest Angel, but it has some awesome moments, great characters, great dialogue. Just too much science...and too much "magic" (as in magic vs. science).

I understand how difficult it is to decide how much research-reality to use to get your reader to suspend their sense of reality and follow along on the writer's journey of imagination. At first I thought Moore used too much, now I think what he did use didn't really address my issues, so it was the wrong stuff used.....more
Megan
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...more
Lisa Gines
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Noe Crockett
I wasn't as crazy about this book as I was the other Christopher Moore books I have read, but it is important to note that I still love him with all of my heart. ;)

There were a few weird Hawaiian history references in this that got under my skin, and it was a bit too Sci-Fi for my taste, but it was still a great read. And I loved that it was set on Maui in Hawaii. The character Kona, while a bit over the top at first, was much fun. I grew up around a few guys like him, and his character provided...more
Christina
(This book was 3.5 stars for me. I keep vacillating between rounding it up to 4 or down to 3. Goodreads needs to offer half stars in reviews.) This was a quick, fun novel with a style of humor characteristics of other books I've read by Christopher Moore. The first part of the book was a realistic portrayal of scientists studying whale songs, and then it shifted to a crazy "some whales are actually ships and there is this superbeing called Goo that controls everything!" plot. I liked the first p...more
Laura
My first Christopher Moore book. I had him on my list to read, but not this particular book. It was loaned to me by a friend. I suspect that he is one of those authors that you're either going to love or hate. Obviously, I love him. Along with it that thrill of finding a "new" author who has a whole reprotoire of books to be discovered, and this guy is prolific.

I can't say too much without giving the plot way, but it's a mystery, a love story, a statement on conservation and how we treat our wo...more
Adam
This is the second book I've read by Christopher Moore, and I think I'll be reading more. This has Moore's sense of humor throughout, but where Lamb was ridiculous and hysterically funny in parts, the humor in this book is much more tame. The hero of the story, Nate Quinn, is studying the songs of humpback whales in Hawaii when strange events start to pass. He sees something strange on the flukes of a whale and snaps a photo of it, but that photo goes missing. His office and all of his recorded...more
P. Christopher Colter
I am a big fan of Christopher Moore, and have been for some time. He has the gift of being able to mix the sophomoric humor of a teenage boy (which I never really outgrew) with sophisticated subject matter and then weave it into a coherent plot with interesting characters. In other words, Moore can keep a lot of plates spinning at the same time.

Fluke is, essentially, about a bunch of whale researchers in Hawaii who get caught up in some things about whales they never imagined. I will leave it at...more
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Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings (Hardcover)
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Christopher Moore (born 1957 in Toledo, Ohio) 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...more
More about Christopher Moore...
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal A Dirty Job Bloodsucking Fiends (A Love Story, #1) You Suck (A Love Story, #2) Fool

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