Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings
Encyclopedia
Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings is the seventh novel by Christopher Moore. Published in 2003, it combines elements of absurdist
and fantasy fiction, as well as the author's own brand of social commentary and humor. A serious theme in the novel involves environmentalism
, particularly that associated with whale
s; and the author's personal research-experience with marine biologists
helped to inform much of the story.
An unabridged commercial audio cassette recording of Fluke has been issued with narration by Bill Irwin
and whale songs.
On July 29, 2004, NBC's Today Show author Nicholas Sparks
chose Fluke as the next title to be read by the Today Book Club.http://news.bookweb.org/news/2743.html
as well as deep underneath the Pacific Ocean
off the shore of Chile
.
Nathan Quinn, a marine biologist, goes out on a routine day-trip expedition to survey whales in the area. When he photographs one of the whale's flukes, he notices that the words "BITE ME" are spelled out in huge letters on the mammal's tail-fin. His curiosity and investigations uncover one mystery after another as he seeks the answers considering the source of this peculiarity.
Absurdist fiction
Absurdist fiction is a genre of literature, most often employed in novels, plays or poems, that focuses on the experiences of characters in a situation where they cannot find any inherent purpose in life, most often represented by ultimately meaningless actions and events...
and fantasy fiction, as well as the author's own brand of social commentary and humor. A serious theme in the novel involves environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, particularly that associated with whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s; and the author's personal research-experience with marine biologists
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
helped to inform much of the story.
An unabridged commercial audio cassette recording of Fluke has been issued with narration by Bill Irwin
Bill Irwin
William Mills "Bill" Irwin is an American actor and clown noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He is known for his vaudeville-style stage acts, but has made a number of appearances on film and television and won a Tony Award for a dramatic role on...
and whale songs.
On July 29, 2004, NBC's Today Show author Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks (author)
Nicholas Charles Sparks is an internationally-bestselling American novelist and screenwriter. He has 16 published novels, with thematic ideas that include cancer, death and love. Six have been adapted to film, including Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe,...
chose Fluke as the next title to be read by the Today Book Club.http://news.bookweb.org/news/2743.html
Plot introduction
The plot of Fluke is set on and off the Hawai'ian island of MauiMaui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
as well as deep underneath the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
off the shore of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
Nathan Quinn, a marine biologist, goes out on a routine day-trip expedition to survey whales in the area. When he photographs one of the whale's flukes, he notices that the words "BITE ME" are spelled out in huge letters on the mammal's tail-fin. His curiosity and investigations uncover one mystery after another as he seeks the answers considering the source of this peculiarity.