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Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore
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Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings (Today Show Book Club #25)

by Christopher Moore

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2,080591,547 (3.73)129
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HarperCollins (2004), Paperback, 321 pages

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Member recommendations

  1. Dr.Science recommends Who's Afraid of Beowulf? by Tom Holt, "The English author Tom Holt is relatively unknown in America, but very popular in England. If you enjoy Jasper Fforde or Christopher Moore you will most (see more) certainly enjoy Tom Holt's wry sense of English humor and the absurd. He has written a number of excellent books including Expecting Someone Taller, and Flying Dutch, but they may be difficult to find at your library or bookstore."
  2. meggyweg recommends The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
  3. Ti99er recommends Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
  4. infiniteletters recommends Escape from Heaven by J. Neil Schulman
  5. infiniteletters recommends Waiting for the Galactic Bus by Parke Godwin
  6. Iralell recommends The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
  7. LunarEclipse recommends Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman
  8. greendragongirl recommends Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman
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Showing 1-5 of 59 (next | show all)
Moore has such an off-beat sense of humor. He isn't afraid to take risks in his humor, or with his stories. This one asks the questions "Why do humpback whales sing? What are they saying, really?" Hilarity ensues.

But through the humor, you also see conservationism shining through. It isn't the rabid environmentalist stuff, but common sense that can appeal both to the conservative and the liberal. There is also a love story...or two.

What I like about this book is that even though it is meant to be funny and entertaining, the author spent a couple of years researching the actual science. Granted, he took some liberties and completely fabricated some science, but he took the time to get facts straight first. I think that made the characters and plot that much more believable. ( )
  SLHobbs | Dec 30, 2009 |
It's wonderful when an author does a lot of research – including speaking to experts - on the subject he's writing about. The people and the story ring very true in this book. Well, until it gets a bit absurd, but that's when the fun begins! As it says in notes at the back of the book, Christopher Moore spent a lot of time with whale researchers while planning this book, and out at sea with the whales which he writes about. The story does go into the realm of fantasy, but it does seem to be entirely possible that it's not just fantasy... a mark of a great story. ( )
  Calypso42 | Dec 25, 2009 |
A good book. Not my favorite Christopher Moore book, but I thought it was pretty funny. I thought the story was resolved to easily, but it was a satisfying ending. I thought the environmental aspect of this book was interesting. A unique way to get across the issues marine life is facing, without beating you over the head with it.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of Mr. Moore's books. ( )
  irunsjh | Nov 16, 2009 |
I really wasn't sure of this book until at least half way through. I am a huge Christopher Moore fan, but it took me awhile to come around. I did end up enjoying it thoroughly. ( )
  sarahjanesandra | Oct 21, 2009 |
Not as good as Lamb, but better than The Stupidest Angel. Overall, a quick, quirky, fun read. ( )
  ascgrrl | Oct 19, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 59 (next | show all)
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Series (with order)
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Epigraph
An ocean without its unnamed monsters would be like a completely dreamless sleep. -- John Steinbeck

The scientific method is nothing more than a system of rules to keep us from lying to each other. -- Ken Norris
Dedication
For Jim Darling, Flip Nicklin, and Meagan Jones: extraordinary people who do extraordinary work.
First words
Amy called the whale punkin.
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
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Wikipedia in English (3)

Christopher Moore (author)

File:Fluke lg.jpg

Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings

Book description
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.

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 006056668X, Paperback)

In his entertaining adventure-in-whale-researching, Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, Nathan Quinn, a prominent marine biologist, has been conducting studies in Hawaii for years trying to unravel the secret of why humpback whales sing. During a typical day of data gathering, Nate believes his mind is failing: the subject whale has "Bite Me" scrawled across its tail. Events become even stranger as the self-proclaimed "action nerds," Nate, photographer Clay, their research assistant Amy, and Kona, a white Rasta (a Jewish kid from New Jersey), encounter sabotage to their data and equipment. They also observe increasingly bizarre whale behavior, including a phone call from the whale to their wealthy sponsor to ask that Nate bring it a hot pastrami and Swiss on rye, and discover both a thriving underwater city and the secret to what happened to Amelia Earhart.

Thoughtful, irreverent, and often hilarious, Moore has crafted a tale that contains a bit of the saga of declining whale populations due to hunting and habitat destruction, as well as his over-the-top, decadent wit as applied to scientific methodology and professional jealousies. Moore notes a pasty, rival scientist "looked like Death out for his after-dinner stroll before a busy night of e-mailing heart attacks and tumors to a few million lucky winners," and that killer whales (which are all named Kevin), are "just four tons of doofus dressed up like a police car." Smart, sincere, and a whale of a story, Fluke is terrific. --Michael Ferch

(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:35:05 -0500)

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