Moore: Fluke: or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings review

Christopher Moore brings us the tale of Nathan Quinn, biologist. He goes by Nate, mostly, so that's what I'm gonna call him in this review. Nate is studying the songs of humpback whales off the coast of Hawai'i and trying to figure out their meaning. One day, while tagging/identifying a singing whale, Nate takes a photo of the whale's flukes (which are all visibly different and used to identify individual whales) and sees that this particular whale's tail has the words "Bite" and "Me" clearly written on it.

This leads Nate along with his research assistant Amy, marine photographer friend Clay, and lackey Kona (a white kid from New Jersey who has decided he's a native Hawai'ian and a Rastafarian) into the strangest research a biologist has ever gotten into. I don't really want to tell any of the plot, because I don't want to ruin if for anyone, so you'll just have to trust me that it's quite entertaining.

Like all of Moore's novels, this one is populated by some pretty interesting/unique characters. They've all got oddities in their life that help to define them, yet they are far more than those oddities alone. The plot moves along quickly and the characters develop naturally within the plotline. The novel is humourous and absurd, but doesn't have quite as much pure comedic genius as many of Moore's works. Overall, it's a fun book, with plenty of interesting characters, some bizarre action, and a clear conservationist message.

/ [Viking]

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