Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings
by Christopher Moore
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 3307)
Read in May, 2007
Whale huggers. Action nerds. Biologists. Call them whatever you like, but the ultimate goal of Nate Quinn and his motley crew of researchers is the same: to find out why humpback whales sing. It's a question he has been asking for more than twenty years, and despite the best efforts of colleagues, research assistants, military projects, entrepreneurs and one very stoned surfer, he's actually getting close to the key that will unlock the mystery. Then one day he happens to catch a glimpse of the ...more
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Read in March, 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 looming in the background. The insertion of scientific fact (most...more
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recommends it for:
research scientists and the people who have to put up with them
The primary thing I like about this book is its deft comic portrayal of field biologists. It captures something about field scientists ("action nerds," as he calls them) that most people miss-- the mix of joy and resignation built into the kind of obsession it takes to do the work.
My favorite passage-- one that got me stared at for laughing uncontrollably while waiting at a gate in the airport-- was explaining why the whale-researcher hero only felt comfortable dating other whale r...more
My favorite passage-- one that got me stared at for laughing uncontrollably while waiting at a gate in the airport-- was explaining why the whale-researcher hero only felt comfortable dating other whale r...more
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For diehard whale researchers like Nate Quinn and Clay Demodocus, their lives revolve around their large-fluked subjects that they spend hours upon hours with each day in Hawaii. And they just love seeing their enthusiasm rub off on younger assistants like Amy Earhart and Kona. However, things go downhill when, one morning, Nate swears he sees the words "Bite Me" painted on the fluke of one his research subjects. He even manages to take a picture of it before it disappears underwater. ...more
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Read in August, 2007
I'm really not sure what I thought about this book. It was my first Christopher Moore and admittedly, I read it based on all of the hype that I had heard about the author. The book is strange, very strange. I really didn't know where is was going from one chapter to the next. I am still debating whether the plot was highly creative or just plain odd. I did like Moore's style and would give him another chance. Several parts of the book made me laugh, always at a most unexpected moment.
I could...more
I could...more
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Read in June, 2004
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...more
Moore...more
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Read in June, 2006
Fiction. Set on Maui, this book follows around a group of whale researchers who, in turn, follow around Humpback whales, hoping to discover why they sing. Seems pretty normal, doesn't it? Unlike Moore's other books, this one doesn't start out weird. The first third almost reads like a normal novel, but then the Old Broad gets a phone call from a whale requesting a pastrami sandwich and Nate gets swallowed by a Humpback and things start to feel more like we've come to expect from Moore. Including...more
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Who mentions books while in the middle of playing hockey? Seriously, I love reading (and hockey) (and BBQ ribs), but I'd never yell "yo asshole, why don't you pass the puck!...and while you're at it, check out this book by Christopher Moore called 'The Gospel According to Biff' because it's fucking hilarious." Well, I have a friend who basically told me that, and even though I still haven't read Biff, I bet it's funny because I know a girl who's into most things marine biologic who l...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Christopher Moore fans
I'm definitely of the mindset that even when it comes to my favorite authors, there's bound to be something they write that just doesn't do it for me. "Fluke" would be that Christopher Moore book for me.
After seeing the words "Bite Me" on the fluke (tail) of one of the whales he's studying, Nate Quinn realizes that things just really aren't as scientific as they seem. After he gets swallowed by the whale in his quest to find out what's really going on, his doubts about r...more
After seeing the words "Bite Me" on the fluke (tail) of one of the whales he's studying, Nate Quinn realizes that things just really aren't as scientific as they seem. After he gets swallowed by the whale in his quest to find out what's really going on, his doubts about r...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
people interested in this author
Not my favorite of this author's work, but only the third example I've yet read. Others I read and enjoyed very much were Practical Demonkeeping and Coyote Blue. While this one did make me laugh out loud once or twice and smirk at least five times more, it's just too many books in one, and not enough of any of them. You have the Message Book AND the Madcap Tale AND ALSO the Middle-Aged Man Having an Existential Crisis and Fantasizing About Younger Women and His Relevance on the ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in March, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in March, 2008
Alright, I love Christopher Moore, but I'd say, unless you're a fan of his already, don't go out of your way to read this.
Although Moore is a great writer, and a great story-teller, it just seemed that this book was rushed and glued together clumsily. Aliens are not really his forte. It was creative, but altogether, I think it could have been better. And once I got past a certain point in the book, everything else became predictable. What I've valued about Moore's other books was the unpredi...more
Although Moore is a great writer, and a great story-teller, it just seemed that this book was rushed and glued together clumsily. Aliens are not really his forte. It was creative, but altogether, I think it could have been better. And once I got past a certain point in the book, everything else became predictable. What I've valued about Moore's other books was the unpredi...more
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Read in January, 2008
Another comical read from Moore - though this left me far less likely to run for another title by him than did "Lamb".
The style was similar, but the humor seemed a little less ironic and more slapstick to me than Lamb. Mainly, I found the New Jersey suburbanite turned Rasta-Hawaiian, "Kona" a bit annoying... and the whaley boys, and the Goo were a bit much. But, an entertaining piece of fiction all the same.
Highs for me included:
Memes vs Genes! (introduced pg 254)
...more
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Read in March, 2005
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 ...more
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 ...more
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Read in December, 2007
I wasn't too impressed with this book at all. Almost every character was more adolescent than adult in mentality and I found it impossible to connect with any of them. Don't read it if you are sensitive to sexual situations or strong language (I am); it starts to get a bit mired in all the sludge about a third of the way in, and then it just goes plain crazy.
I DO however recommend the "conservation" section the writer added into the end of the book. It contains a lot of great informa...more
I DO however recommend the "conservation" section the writer added into the end of the book. It contains a lot of great informa...more
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Read in October, 2005
Second Moore title I've read, the first was Practical Demonkeeping. This book is amazingly imagined. Sure, it's over the top, as far as seeming nearly impossible, but that's part of what makes it fun. And Moore doesn't take himself or his characters too seriously. I neither despised nor loved most of the characters, but none of them annoyed me. I could accept them with all their fun quirks. The best is the young well-to-do caucasian Rastafarian.
What I love about this book it is that even th...more
What I love about this book it is that even th...more
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Christopher Moore is one of the most consistently funny authors working today. He’s written about hungry demons, turkey-bowling supermarket night crews, magic fruit bats, and a lonely sea beast named Steve. This book is about whales, but in typical Chris Moore fashion, it’s also about environmental issues, a scientist in love with his research assistant, Amelia Earhart, a rastafarian surfer dude from New Jersey, and some sentient pink goo that may be the earliest form of life on the planet. ...more
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Read in December, 2007
Coming off of a trip to Maui, I was excited to read this book that was set there. This was a good book if you are interested in whales but can allow for fantastical interpretation of their world. The book questions what we fear and shows how perspective changes everything. It also clearly supports, "The more we know, the less we know." I liked that science was portrayed as offering more questions than answers! Ultimately, the author philosophizes that compassion is necessary--towa...more
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recommends it for:
People who need to have humor explained to them.
I didn't get more than a 100 pages in, if that, because this guy is a terrible humorist. Or at least is in the first 100 pages or so of this book. The writing clearly indicated it had no confidence in the reader's ability to understand humor. The moments intended to be funny overwritten in such a way that the author might as well be beating you over the head with a stick that says, "This Is Funny, And You Should Laugh," which has the opposite effect. I mentally rewrote paragraphs as I ...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone who is really looking for a breath of fresh air.
Besides the fact that Moore is a bit of a pervert (think along the lines of Stephen King), his books are very original, witty, and a rollercoaster ride of excitement.
I mean, really.
Who else could come up with a story about living whale submarines with whaley people conducting them on the inside?
No, it's not weird. It's genius.
While I wouldn't be quick to say it was the best book I've ever read, I definitely have to say that it was one of the better ones. Plot is well-ti...more
I mean, really.
Who else could come up with a story about living whale submarines with whaley people conducting them on the inside?
No, it's not weird. It's genius.
While I wouldn't be quick to say it was the best book I've ever read, I definitely have to say that it was one of the better ones. Plot is well-ti...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.65 (2708 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.64 (39 ratings) number of reviews: 336popular shelves
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"Actually, orcas aren't quite as complex as scientists imagine. Most killer whales are just four tons of doofus dressed up like a police car."
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