Reviews

De dag dat de walvis kwam by John Ironmonger

ljm57's review against another edition

4.0

The story opens with a man’s naked body, barely alive, washed up on the beach of a tiny & isolated Cornish village. What led to the mysterious man being found there & how his arrival in St Piran is linked to cataclysmic world-wide events is woven seamlessly into this clever novel. The book melds a whole range of genres into a heartwarming tale that shows that human nature can triumph over the most insurmountable odds, despite the advent of more & more sophisticated technology. A real gem.

may_befoundinatheatre's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

mingskywalker's review against another edition

hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

leah_flies_high's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

lisamarie_'s review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nattejones's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

blanca87's review against another edition

inspiring medium-paced

4.5

windhirsch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

annetted28's review against another edition

inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

savaging's review against another edition

1.0

Remember the movie Armageddon, where the only things that can save the planet are oil drillers, nukes, and the US military (in other words, the forces most likely to actually destroy the planet)? In this book, salvation for a CHARMING VILLAGE comes from a short seller, an investment banker, an AI program, and grocery panic-hoarding.

All of this is wrapped in strange "cozy" vibes, to make it seem less horrifying. This coziness is endlessly patronizing toward its small-town characters, with their wacky little ways. Now I'm wondering: is coziness always cruel to characters? Is that sort of built in?

Either way, it makes the big conclusion fall flat. The moral of this story is that humans often act in solidarity with each other in times of crisis. Which I believe! But this is already a village where everyone's tripping over each other to help our hero -- a short seller! -- with anything he might need, and they just carry on with their charming little ways when the apocalypse comes.

Also doesn't help that the author is bad at writing women, making them into one-dimensional prizes for our main character and duly punishing flirts and sluts. Truth is,

Spoiler

the whale was the only person I liked, and he died.