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mono_dreams's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
The book is separated into two different timelines: the one taking place in Utqiagvik and the one in which she and her son travel thousands of kilometers in search of the grey whales that Doreen is very fond of. I have to admit that I didn't like the storyline around her travels with Max as much because I didn't really like reading about Doreen's thoughts on motherhood and her childhood. Overall, I prefered the paragraphs in which she talked about whales or climate change over the paragraphs containg personal stories. It sometimes felt like I was reading her autobiography rather than a book about whales. I mean, of course, whales were mentioned plenty but oftentimes, Doreen Cunningham connected the mention of whales to her own life which I found to be rather boring. I also didn't like the way she would sometimes humanize the whales and try to compare them to human beings. That felt very unnatural and kind of frustrating to me. Although she told the reader she's aware that you can't humanize whales, she kept doing so in certain parts of the book which really confused me.
Idk, I enjoyed learning about whales and reading about her time in Utqiagvik but there were some themes and stories within the book that either I didn't care for or was actually annoyed by.
Idk, I enjoyed learning about whales and reading about her time in Utqiagvik but there were some themes and stories within the book that either I didn't care for or was actually annoyed by.
thesukeban's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
georgiesutton's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book but not for the reasons I thought I would. This was a slightly bizarre memoir about trauma that isn't fully explored in the book but is to the author related to whales.
I found the storyline about her time in Utquigvik fascinating and would have liked more on that and more exploration and perspective.
I was not expecting a single mother narrative and whilst originally grating it was a different story to the usual male dominated nature writing.
I would have liked more whales and less ponies and motherhood, but I think that's more in the marketing of this book than the content because it is about Cunningham's experiences.
I did get frustrated with quite how badly planned her trip was to see the grey whale migration given you can easily see grey whales from shore all along the west coast if you just go in the right month.
I found the storyline about her time in Utquigvik fascinating and would have liked more on that and more exploration and perspective.
I was not expecting a single mother narrative and whilst originally grating it was a different story to the usual male dominated nature writing.
I would have liked more whales and less ponies and motherhood, but I think that's more in the marketing of this book than the content because it is about Cunningham's experiences.
I did get frustrated with quite how badly planned her trip was to see the grey whale migration given you can easily see grey whales from shore all along the west coast if you just go in the right month.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Suicide and Car accident
pollyjenefer's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
sophronisba's review
2.25
This was described to me as a book about whales but it turned out to be more a book about the author and her toddler, and the varying ways they were accommodated by others. I found myself sympathizing with the retirees grumpily nonplussed by the presence of an unexpected small child -- I too expected and would have preferred an experience dominated by whales and unalloyed by the many needs and demands of two-year-olds.