Not Forgetting the Whale by John Ironmonger - 4.5 stars (BWF)

[Joy D]

Not Forgetting the Whale by John Ironmonger - 4.5* - My Review

Published in 2015, well before COVID-19, this book is the story of a flu pandemic, and the small Cornish village that goes through it together. The main character is Joe Haak, a computer programmer for a large investment bank. He has written a software program that predicts economic impacts, which has made large sums of money for the bank. They short stocks that are expected to decline and make money off the misfortune of others. The problem is that it is most effective in short-term predictions, but the CEO asks Joe to figure out how to use it for long-term forecasting. Due to a sequence of events that include his forecast, an oil crisis, and major losses for the bank, he leaves his job abruptly and drives far from the London financial district.

As the story opens, Joe is found naked on a beach in St. Piran, Cornwall. The next day, a whale is stranded on the same beach, and the town helps it back into the sea. Over the next weeks, as the flu hits, Joe stays in St. Piran and comes up with a plan to help them deal with the crisis. The storyline follows Joe and the townsfolk as they try to remain safe, while experiencing a declining food supply, the possibility of illness, a broken supply chain, lack of income, and the cutoff of power and water.

The first half of this book is amazing. The setup mixes human factors with technology. The conversations between the CEO and Joe are brilliantly written. The author has captured the corporate environment and how difficult it can be for an empathetic and creative person to handle it. It is not a story of doom and gloom, although it starts off that way. Ironmonger’s storytelling ability is outstanding.

The narrative explores how people will behave in the face of a world collapse. Many authors have covered this territory, but this book is different in its evaluation of human nature. I loved the first half but have mixed feelings about the ending. I will not say too much to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say this book is well worth reading.

4.5

PBT November BWF Extra N - fits letter not tag

[NancyJ]

Excellent review Joy. I was hoping you would like this book, and I hope others will read it now too. I read Humankind: A Hopeful History the same year I read this book, and it fits the theme. I thought of it a lot since then. I could really go for another book like this right now. I can’t remember the end, so I might revisit it.

[Joy D]

Thanks, Nancy. I really liked the (view spoiler)[optimism about human nature (hide spoiler)]. At the end, (view spoiler)[ he sails off with a complete stranger, the woman from Senegal. Someone had tried to set him up with her, but he was more interested in the preacher's wife. It was an okay ending, but I guess I had high expectations that the ending would be more impactful. Also, it wrapped up the pandemic rather more quickly than it could have actually happened. But these are really minor quibbles. (hide spoiler)] It's a great book!