Eye of the Whale: A Novel [Hardcover]

Douglas Carlton Abrams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2009

Filled with “breathtaking scenes” and “vivid” (Publishers Weekly) imagery, national bestselling author Douglas Carlton Abrams’s riveting ecological thriller blends shockingly true facts with a powerful narrative that pulls readers into a dangerous race through a majestic and mysterious world.Dedicated scientist Elizabeth McKay has spent almost a decade cracking the code of humpback whale communication. Their song, the most complex in nature, may in fact reveal unimaginable secrets about the animal world. When a humpback whale swims up the Sacramento River with a strange and unprecedented song, Elizabeth must decipher its meaning in order to save the whale and ultimately much more. But as her work captures the media’s interest, powerful forces emerge to stop her from revealing the animal’s secrets. Soon, Elizabeth is forced to decide if her discoveries are worth losing her marriage, her career, and possibly her life.Working closely with leading scientists for his extensive research into humpback whales and the harrowing ecological challenges they face today, national bestselling author Douglas Carlton Abrams has created a unique and timeless story that will transform readers and their relationship with the fragile world in which we live.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Many breathtaking scenes of the beauty and majesty of humpback whales, including a vivid look at a whale giving birth, are lost amid Abrams's heavy-handed focus on issues in his overblown second novel (after The Lost Diary of Don Juan), a preachy ecothriller. For Elizabeth McKay, a scientist who believes the humpbacks' complex songs are key to understanding the animal world, her efforts to crack the creatures' communication code take priority over her personal life, including her marriage and her friends. Opposing her work are businessmen wanting to increase whale hunting and make whale meat an international delicacy. As McKay tries to help a humpback that has swum up the Sacramento River, she begins to realize that the change in whales' songs warn that pollution is causing an alarming rate of babies born with birth defects. Ecoterrorists, ecoactivists and the ubiquitous government link weigh down the action. Only the whales have real personalities. (Aug.)
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About the Author

Douglas Carlton Abrams is the nationally bestselling author of The Lost Diary of Don Juan, which has been published in thirty languages.  He writes fact-based fiction and did extensive research for his new novel, including swimming with and recording humpback whales, meeting present-day whalers, and cage diving with great white sharks. Previously an editor at the University at California Press and HarperCollins, he is the cofounder of Idea Architects, a book and media development agency.

 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416532544
• ISBN-13: 978-1416532545
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,369,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Douglas Carlton Abrams is a former editor at the University of California Press and HarperSanFrancisco. He is the co-author of a number of books on love, sexuality, and spirituality, including books written with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar, and Taoist Master Mantak Chia. He is the co-founder of Idea Architects, a book and media development agency, which works with visionary authors to create a wiser, healthier, and more just world. In his life and work, he is interested in cultivating all aspects of our humanity 'body, emotions, mind, and spirit. His goal in writing fiction is to create stories that not only entertain, but also attempt to question, enchant, and transform.

The Lost Diary of Don Juan, which Atria will release in May 2007, is his first novel and will be published in twenty-seven countries around the world. He lives in Santa Cruz, California, with his wife and three children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eye of the Whale, August 19, 2009

By 

Nelaine Sanchez "All About {n}" (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eye of the Whale: A Novel (Hardcover)

Elizabeth McKay is a Marine Biologist who is working on completing her PHD with a thesis of deciphering humpback whale communication. These whales' song, the most complex in nature, may in fact reveal secrets about the animal world that no one could have imagined. When a humpback whale makes its way up the Sacramento River with an unprecedented song, it is up to Elizabeth to save the whale - but little did she know the price of her endeavor. For as the story of the whale starts capturing the media's attention - it also lands her in danger from forces that do not want the whale's secrets revealed - that not only threaten her career and marriage - but her life.

Mr. Abrams has really done his homework on this one. I was captivated by this eco-thriller right from the start. Not only are the environmental issues mentioned in the story real - but there is just so much useful information within its pages - that I actually found it to be an educational tool. It really makes you think about our environment and makes you ponder what more can be done to protect our planet and everything in it.

I liked Elizabeth a lot - she was such a great heroine. And I just couldn't help falling in love with the whale as well. There was action that had me on the edge of my seat. This is great for anyone who likes reading about the environment and the issues that our ecosystem faces. This is one that will definitely stay with you long after you are done with it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The interview was better, April 11, 2010

By 

Chris Clarington - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eye of the Whale: A Novel (Hardcover)

Like another reviewer, I had heard a fascinating radio interview with the author and was excited to read this book. What a disappointment! An outlandish storyline and cartoonish characters do a disservice to the big environmental topics (and fascinating whale research) the book attempts to take on. It could have been great, but it was awful. The big letdown reminded me of how I felt after watching the first X-Files movie, "Fight the Future," back in the 90s. (I just looked the movie up on Amazon and saw that one reviewer described it as "convoluted, cheesy, and overwrought" ... which also happens to be a good description of this book.) I gave the book two stars instead of one only because of the interesting interview.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars hackneyed and not thrilling, August 30, 2009

By 

A. Meyer "highbrow" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eye of the Whale (Kindle Edition)

I picked up this book because I heard an interview on NPR with the author and I thought...well if it got a lengthy spot on public radio, it must be good. The writing is terrible, terrible, terrible. Aside from some of the descriptions from the whale's perspective, all others, particularly of the human interdynamics and the sub-plots were so painfully cliche and uninteresting that I often winced and then skimmed over the worst parts. I actually am surprised I finished it, but I kept hoping at least the story, aside from the writing, might have a unique finish. The idea of whales warning us of our planet's impending extinction had such promise....which was completely lost in banal language and a hollywood-big-budget uninventive climax.