Jay and the Whale
Chapter Two of the Book of Jonah opens with “The Lord
provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the fish’s belly
three days and three nights.” Here we have 17-year-old diver Jay Gardiner being
swallowed by a 60-foot sperm whale and he has far less than three days to get
out. Author Daniel Kraus weaves a terrifying story of Jay’s attempts to free
himself from the belly of the whale. Along the way we learn much about the
anatomy of a sperm whale and learn about all of the flotsam that is nestled
there, including a Brillo box that will become important later in the story.
The book is far more than a Jonah story because
through the use of flashbacks we learn much about Jay’s troubled relationship
with his father Mitt, also a diver, and his family. The reason for Jay’s dive
that morning into Monterey Bay, an area I know well, is to find the bones of
his dead father who committed suicide after a bout with cancer. And while in
the whale, Jay reconciles with his late father.
I started reading this book on a long flight in a dark cabin over the Atlantic. It reached a point where the story was so terrifying that, in the darkness, I had to put it down. I didn’t finish until I returned home. All told, Knaus tells an adventure story with a strong human touch. Because there are 550 reviews already posted on Amazon, I have kept my review to a minimum.
*- Amazon has yet again failed to post my review in a timely manner. Posted by amazon a week late on 9/16. See: Jay and the Whale (amazon.com)
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