People of the Whale

Just a gorgeous, gorgeous read. Hogan's writing is so flowing--it washes over you in waves and sort of just settles there. It might take a second to get used to, but it's so worth it. The story is brutal and there's a moment at the end where you're like "UM EXCUSE ME?" (or at least I was) in a narrative way, but it was just all so good and I did not leave the book feeling betrayed at all. It was just... healing, in a lot of ways? Like even though it's a book that's about grappling with traumas of all kinds, it's also a book about healing and that sense just permeates the entire text even when terrible things are happening to the characters. A beautiful book, seriously.

I am still processing how I feel about this novel.

What I know for sure is that it is (in typical Hogan fashion) so beautifully written that I can't help but love it. What I struggled with was such persistent commitment to the abstract. While I love how deep Hogan takes readers into an imagined sense of identity - I think what is lost is a lot of the actual story. This novel takes dedication to read - and if you make it to the end you will be rewarded with a plethora of introspective thoughts, a great longing to connect with culture and a whole lot of wondering exactly how you've been called to action.

Would absolutely recommend to my friends who appreciate more literary reads - would caution the rest to stay away and accept the things show more you cannot change ;) show less

After reading this book, I have the feeling that I listened to it. It sings, chants, sighs and moans in perfect time with the surf, regardless of how far inland you may be. I may never have read a more rhythmic piece of prose before, neither strained nor self-conscious, and the story suits the writing style perfectly.

Ruth and Thomas, both members of a Pacific Northwest Native American tribe, are childhood sweethearts. They grow up together surrounded by the song of the ocean, the presence of ocean life – most especially the whale and the octopus who are believed to have given them life – and the legends and beliefs of their ancestors. Eventually they marry, but before Ruth’s pregnancy is discovered, Thomas is led by a group of show more local ne’er-do-wells to join the Army. After he is shipped off to Viet Nam, their lives change forever – hers on home soil, his in a far distant country that will become his second home and the death of all his dreams. The story is sad and also joyful, steeped in magic, legend and bitter truths about the interplay of war, tradition and the natural world. This bringing together of the old with the new gives Hogan’s story emotional power and social relevance, even though she draws her lessons from the distant past of the ocean-paddling tribes. A fine and very engaging read. show less

This is one of the most beautifully written books I've read in a long time. Hogan, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, tells the story of Thomas and Ruth, members of a fictional Native American community on the Washington coast. Not long after their wedding, Thomas enlists to fight in Vietnam, and both of their lives are changed forever. Thomas, missing in action for a long time, ultimately starts a family in Vietnam. Ruth bears his son and raises him alone. When found and forced to return to the states, Thomas does not come home. It is only when some of the men of the tribe decide to initiate a supposedly tradtional whale hunt does Thomas return. The results of the hunt are tragic and disastrous, but they move Thomas in the direction of show more healing.

This book is mystical, exquisitely beautiful and terribly painful. It is well worth reading. show less

Set on the coast of the Pacific Northwest, Ruth and Thomas, members of an indigenous tribe, grow up learning the legends of the ancestral ways. They eventually marry. Thomas joins the Army and leaves for Vietnam, which alters the paths of their lives.

One of the main conflicts involves a whale hunt. In the past, the tribe hunted whales to feed the people, considering it a sacred sacrifice. The reasons for the old ways have been forgotten and the whale hunt has been corrupted by financial deals made by the Council.

The writing is atmospheric, especially when describing the creatures of the sea and the mystical linkages with nature that the indigenous people originally possessed. The Vietnam plotline is not quite as strong. The story is show more tragic, but also contains elements of healing.

“Like the water, the earth, the universe, a story is forever unfolding. It floods and erupts. It births new worlds. It is circular as our planet and fluid as the words of the first people who came out from the ocean or out of the cave or down from the sky. Or those who came from a garden where rivers meet and whose god was a tempter to their fall, planning it into their creation along with all the rest.” show less

This is one of those books I'm going to re-read. It's just so RICH. The writing is astounding, and the story is compelling. Such wisdom and healing - wide and deep as the sea, and the whales and the people who live in profound harmony with their environment.

A couple of quotes: "

“He wakes up and he is not a halfhearted man and he can’t remember why he wakes this way, except that he hears the sound of birds and it is as if behind the human world something else is taking place. "

and:

“Like the water, the earth, the universe, a story is forever unfolding. It floods and erupts. It births new worlds. It is circular as our planet and fluid as the words of the first people who came out from the ocean or out of the cave or down from the show more sky. Or those who came from a garden where rivers meet and whose god was a tempter to their fall, planning it into their creation along with all the rest.”

Marvelous. Hogan is a literary priestess. show less

Not the book I was expecting from Hogan, but like some of her other writing, the overall theme was not romanticized. Strong contrast between the Ruth's close awareness of the rhythms of the sea, of life and the men's disconnect, power-grabbing or drowning in alcohol. At least for Thomas we are given his story to help us understand, somewhat, his loss of spirit, his wish to hide from the world.
The narrator of the audiobook read in a rhythm strongly suggestive of waves washing in and subsiding. Each sentence. This was somewhat distracting, but I see other reviews mentioning that the writing itself was wave-like.
My review would have been more extensive & cohesive if I had written this sooner after reading.