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People of the Whale
"With her unparalleled gifts for truth and magic, Linda Hogan reinforces my faith in reading, writing, living." —Barbara Kingsolver
Raised in a remote seaside village, Thomas Witka Just marries Ruth, his beloved since infancy. But an ill-fated decision to fight in Vietnam changes his life cut off from his Native American community, he fathers a child with another woman. When he returns home a hero, he finds his tribe in conflict over the decision to hunt a whale, both a symbol of spirituality and rebirth and a means of survival. In the end, he reconciles his two existences, only to see tragedy befall the son he left behind.
Raised in a remote seaside village, Thomas Witka Just marries Ruth, his beloved since infancy. But an ill-fated decision to fight in Vietnam changes his life cut off from his Native American community, he fathers a child with another woman. When he returns home a hero, he finds his tribe in conflict over the decision to hunt a whale, both a symbol of spirituality and rebirth and a means of survival. In the end, he reconciles his two existences, only to see tragedy befall the son he left behind.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
220 people are currently reading
2195 people want to read
About the author
Linda Hogan
79 books550 followersLinda K. Hogan (born 1947 Denver) is a Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories. She is currently the Chickasaw Nation's Writer in Residence.
Linda Hogan is Chickasaw. Her father is a Chickasaw from a recognized historical family and Linda's uncle, Wesley Henderson, helped form the White Buffalo Council in Denver during the 1950s. It was to help other Indian people coming to the city because of The Relocation Act, which encouraged migration for work and other opportunities. He had a strong influence on her and she grew up relating strongly to both her Chickasaw family in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and to a mixed Indian community in the Denver area. At other times, her family traveled because of the military.
Her first university teaching position was in American Indian Studies and American Studies at the University of Minnesota. After writing her first book, Calling Myself Home, she continued to write poetry. Her work has both a historical and political focus, but is lyrical. Her most recent books are The Book of Medicines (1993) and Rounding the Human Corners. (2008) She is also a novelist and essayist. Her work centers on the world of Native peoples, from both her own indigenous perspective and that of others. She was a full professor of Creative Writing at the University of Colorado and then taught the last two years in the University's Ethnic Studies Department. She currently is the Writer in Residence for her own Chickasaw Nation.
Essayist, novelist, and poet, Hogan has published works in many different backgrounds and forms. Her concentration is on environmental themes. She has acted as a consultant in bringing together Native tribal representatives and feminist themes, particularly allying them to her Native ancestry. Her work, whether fiction or non-fiction, expresses an indigenous understanding of the world.
She has written essays and poems on a variety of subjects, both fictional and nonfictional, biographical and from research. Hogan has also written historical novels. Her work studies the historical wrongs done to Native Americans and the American environment since the European colonization of North America.
Hogan was a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Oklahoma. She is the (inaugural) Writer-in-Residence for the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. In October 2011, she instructed a writing workshop through the Abiquiu Workshops in Abiquiu, New Mexico.
(from Wikipedia)
Linda Hogan is Chickasaw. Her father is a Chickasaw from a recognized historical family and Linda's uncle, Wesley Henderson, helped form the White Buffalo Council in Denver during the 1950s. It was to help other Indian people coming to the city because of The Relocation Act, which encouraged migration for work and other opportunities. He had a strong influence on her and she grew up relating strongly to both her Chickasaw family in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and to a mixed Indian community in the Denver area. At other times, her family traveled because of the military.
Her first university teaching position was in American Indian Studies and American Studies at the University of Minnesota. After writing her first book, Calling Myself Home, she continued to write poetry. Her work has both a historical and political focus, but is lyrical. Her most recent books are The Book of Medicines (1993) and Rounding the Human Corners. (2008) She is also a novelist and essayist. Her work centers on the world of Native peoples, from both her own indigenous perspective and that of others. She was a full professor of Creative Writing at the University of Colorado and then taught the last two years in the University's Ethnic Studies Department. She currently is the Writer in Residence for her own Chickasaw Nation.
Essayist, novelist, and poet, Hogan has published works in many different backgrounds and forms. Her concentration is on environmental themes. She has acted as a consultant in bringing together Native tribal representatives and feminist themes, particularly allying them to her Native ancestry. Her work, whether fiction or non-fiction, expresses an indigenous understanding of the world.
She has written essays and poems on a variety of subjects, both fictional and nonfictional, biographical and from research. Hogan has also written historical novels. Her work studies the historical wrongs done to Native Americans and the American environment since the European colonization of North America.
Hogan was a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Oklahoma. She is the (inaugural) Writer-in-Residence for the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. In October 2011, she instructed a writing workshop through the Abiquiu Workshops in Abiquiu, New Mexico.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
August 8, 2011
I have spent many years studying and working with First Nations in Canada. Their way of understanding the world is one that could teach us a great deal about wholeness, lack of attachment and interconnectedness. In this novel, Linda Hogan, a Native herself, not only tells a truly poignant tale but does so in the manner that reveals an authentic portrayal of Natives and their interactions. It's lyrical nature often has the rhythm that their songs do, and it carries the story along with the same sort of flow in which they live. Withhold your judgement if you know little of these cultures, for they are indeed different from us. But in that difference lies a vast wisdom. Would that we had such healing spiritual roots to return to. Though the story is necessarily bleak, the novel is a rich portrayal of a people struggling to find themselves once again.
June 23, 2016
Wow. Just wow. I have no words for this book yet, I need some time for it to sink in first.
October 25, 2017
People of the Whale by Linda Hogan portrays the lives of the A’atsika Nation in a Native American village on the Pacific coast. Hogan integrates Native American mythology and folklore with the daily lives of the A’atsika people to form an intricate web illustrating the importance of wholeness and interconnectedness with all creatures whether on land, sea, or sky.
The central characters are Ruth and Thomas, a married couple who have been sweethearts since childhood. Ruth and Thomas have in common auspicious beginnings. Born with gills that have to be removed surgically, Ruth’s affinity with the sea is marked from birth. Thomas’ birth coincides with a large octopus emerging from the sea to take up temporary habitation in a dark cave. The villagers shower the octopus with gifts, perceiving it as a sacred being. Thomas’ mother acknowledges her son’s intimate connection with the octopus. She carries her infant to the mouth of the cave every evening as a form of dedication to the octopus, seeking its protection for her son.
Ruth and Thomas lead simple, idyllic lives until Thomas enlists to join the military and is shipped off to Vietnam. Their paths diverge for many years. Ruth remains in the village, giving birth to their son, Marco, and raising him as a single mother. She instills in him the values and culture of his people. Thomas, meanwhile, exposed to the horrors and atrocities perpetrated by all sides in Vietnam, has become a fractured human being. He takes up residence in one of the Vietnamese villages, is embraced by the locals, marries, and has a child. After his wife dies by walking into a mine field, Thomas is picked up by American troops and returned to America.
Hogan skillfully weaves the separate lives of Ruth and Thomas until Thomas returns to his native village many years later. But Thomas is now a changed man, tortured by images of carnage and haunted with nightmares. His flashbacks are scattered and disjointed, and it is not until the end of the novel that a complete picture emerges of his experience in Vietnam.
Hogan’s language is lyrical, her sentences rhythmic, her pace unhurried. She moves backwards and forwards in time and place, picking up a thread here, dropping it there, replicating the ebb and flow of the ocean that permeates every aspect of the villagers’ lives. She draws parallels between the Vietnamese villagers struggling to eke a living with those of the Native American villagers struggling to do the same under a different set of circumstances. She blurs the lines between the spiritual and physical realms. Her characters are richly drawn and believable, with Ruth emerging as the indomitable moral center fighting to retain traditional values with their concomitant respect for the natural environment against the onslaught of greed and exploitation of that same environment.
With sensitivity, compassion, and insight into Native American culture, Linda Hogan explores the issues of loyalty to family and tribe; adherence to traditional values; the quest for wholeness; the wisdom of the elders; respect for the natural environment; the survival of the human spirit against seemingly insurmountable odds; the restoration of balance; and the spiritual and physical interconnectivity of all forms of life.
This is a beautiful story, beautifully told, illustrating the fragility and delicacy of all life.
Highly recommended.
The central characters are Ruth and Thomas, a married couple who have been sweethearts since childhood. Ruth and Thomas have in common auspicious beginnings. Born with gills that have to be removed surgically, Ruth’s affinity with the sea is marked from birth. Thomas’ birth coincides with a large octopus emerging from the sea to take up temporary habitation in a dark cave. The villagers shower the octopus with gifts, perceiving it as a sacred being. Thomas’ mother acknowledges her son’s intimate connection with the octopus. She carries her infant to the mouth of the cave every evening as a form of dedication to the octopus, seeking its protection for her son.
Ruth and Thomas lead simple, idyllic lives until Thomas enlists to join the military and is shipped off to Vietnam. Their paths diverge for many years. Ruth remains in the village, giving birth to their son, Marco, and raising him as a single mother. She instills in him the values and culture of his people. Thomas, meanwhile, exposed to the horrors and atrocities perpetrated by all sides in Vietnam, has become a fractured human being. He takes up residence in one of the Vietnamese villages, is embraced by the locals, marries, and has a child. After his wife dies by walking into a mine field, Thomas is picked up by American troops and returned to America.
Hogan skillfully weaves the separate lives of Ruth and Thomas until Thomas returns to his native village many years later. But Thomas is now a changed man, tortured by images of carnage and haunted with nightmares. His flashbacks are scattered and disjointed, and it is not until the end of the novel that a complete picture emerges of his experience in Vietnam.
Hogan’s language is lyrical, her sentences rhythmic, her pace unhurried. She moves backwards and forwards in time and place, picking up a thread here, dropping it there, replicating the ebb and flow of the ocean that permeates every aspect of the villagers’ lives. She draws parallels between the Vietnamese villagers struggling to eke a living with those of the Native American villagers struggling to do the same under a different set of circumstances. She blurs the lines between the spiritual and physical realms. Her characters are richly drawn and believable, with Ruth emerging as the indomitable moral center fighting to retain traditional values with their concomitant respect for the natural environment against the onslaught of greed and exploitation of that same environment.
With sensitivity, compassion, and insight into Native American culture, Linda Hogan explores the issues of loyalty to family and tribe; adherence to traditional values; the quest for wholeness; the wisdom of the elders; respect for the natural environment; the survival of the human spirit against seemingly insurmountable odds; the restoration of balance; and the spiritual and physical interconnectivity of all forms of life.
This is a beautiful story, beautifully told, illustrating the fragility and delicacy of all life.
Highly recommended.
May 20, 2023
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 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.”
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 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.”
March 13, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
People of the Whale is a beautiful and ephemeral book; it is hard to believe it’s not more well known. The author is of indigenous descent and is currently the Chickasaw Nation’s writer in residence. She is best known as a poet, playwright, novelist and environmentalist.
The storyline in People of the Whale involves a fictional tribe, the A’atsika’s, who live on the coast somewhere along the Pacific Northwest. It is primarily the story of Thomas Witka Just, from his birth until he is almost an old man. Thomas grew up near the sea and has learned all the old ways, then he is drafted to Vietnam. His war experiences profoundly affect him and he doesn’t return to his native community for about 10 years, maybe longer. Not just a story about one man, but larger themes of cultural alienation and ecological transgression. It is about the beauty of nature and painful moral choices human beings must make. I’ll be looking for more of this author’s works.
ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2024
Prompt #47 - a book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads
People of the Whale is a beautiful and ephemeral book; it is hard to believe it’s not more well known. The author is of indigenous descent and is currently the Chickasaw Nation’s writer in residence. She is best known as a poet, playwright, novelist and environmentalist.
The storyline in People of the Whale involves a fictional tribe, the A’atsika’s, who live on the coast somewhere along the Pacific Northwest. It is primarily the story of Thomas Witka Just, from his birth until he is almost an old man. Thomas grew up near the sea and has learned all the old ways, then he is drafted to Vietnam. His war experiences profoundly affect him and he doesn’t return to his native community for about 10 years, maybe longer. Not just a story about one man, but larger themes of cultural alienation and ecological transgression. It is about the beauty of nature and painful moral choices human beings must make. I’ll be looking for more of this author’s works.
ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2024
Prompt #47 - a book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads
April 16, 2010
Hogan's writing is so rich and intricate that I found myself actually stumbling through the first third of this book, having to put it down for longer stretches than I wanted to while I mustered up more patience and focus to continue on. Hogan's voice just felt so otherwordly and I felt like I couldn't experience the characters directly enough because she seemed to write around them rather than about them. But soon enough I fell into sync with it all and found myself doing exactly the opposite: fully experiencing the characters and appreciating the beauty of the misty, bones-and-breath prose. It's a difficult story but an important one, something you experience rather than simply read. It gets five stars for being a 'substantial piece of literature' rather than just a 'really good book.'
September 12, 2024
Beautiful and heart wrenching. I love the authors poetic writing style.
February 21, 2012
I am on a constant quest to find women writers who speak in stories I can relate to. In Hogan I feel I have found such a writer. Hogan does not shy away from the victimization inherent in her Native character’s lives, but it is with great elegance that she recognizes the circumstances that bring individuals and cultures to the disorienting places in which we find ourselves today. Here, Hogan weaves the stories of Native Americans into the story of the Vietnam War. People of the Whale draws parallels between a struggling coastal Native American village of the A’atsika Nation and a war torn Vietnamese village. Hogan emphasizes the human need for connection with the natural world while she questions how we define our loyalties and ideologies. I find such territory often difficult to navigate, but with Hogan as a guide I covered new ground regarding the ideas of what it means to be accountable to a family, a people, a history, a future, and a place. Filled with beautiful imagery, a new perspective on old stories, stand alone one-liners, and believable characters that kept me invested, this is one of those books that makes me feel good for having read it. Check out more of my reviews at walksonstilts.wordpress.com
July 21, 2017
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 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.
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 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.
November 8, 2015
haunting tale with beautifully metaphorical language and insight. 4 1/2 stars
September 11, 2018
In this novel, Linda Hogan did just about everything right. And at least as far as I’m concerned, this wasn't easy, because the novel contains several things that do not appeal to me, including the real-life effects of Native American tales (aka magical realism), some New Age-y language, and repetitive tales and phrases that do not grow with repetition. And yet Hogan made it all work.
She pulls off a narrative pace that is, for the most part, rapid to the point of sketchiness. She successfully mixes Native American and Vietnamese hill cultures. There is a good balance between real-world issues and myth. And the character around whom everything turns — a Native American woman named Ruth — is more than capable of holding the novel together. This is as American as any novel I've ever read; don't think of it as just Native American.
Hogan’s ear for prose isn’t perfect, but it’s sufficiently good and at a consistent level, and she handles the density and lyricism of the prose very well. The last section is the novel’s weakest, but as a whole this is an amazing, singular work. A 4.5.
She pulls off a narrative pace that is, for the most part, rapid to the point of sketchiness. She successfully mixes Native American and Vietnamese hill cultures. There is a good balance between real-world issues and myth. And the character around whom everything turns — a Native American woman named Ruth — is more than capable of holding the novel together. This is as American as any novel I've ever read; don't think of it as just Native American.
Hogan’s ear for prose isn’t perfect, but it’s sufficiently good and at a consistent level, and she handles the density and lyricism of the prose very well. The last section is the novel’s weakest, but as a whole this is an amazing, singular work. A 4.5.
May 7, 2009
I wasn't so sure about this book for the first 75 pages or so. The language is very poetic and this was jarring and seemed a bit overdone at the start. But when part 2 kicked in, with the story of the main character's daughter growing up without him in the wake of the Vietnam War, Hogan hits her stride. And from that point the narrative never flagged for me. I guess either the poetry subsided or I grew so used to it that it didn't bother me any more. And, too, Hogan's characters are so richly drawn that I became wrapped up in their stories and need to see how they were resolved, which to me is a sign of great writing. Add to the this that Hogan tackles the big topics unflinchingly and shows us many aspects of a Native American culture that most people would never consider.. She looks at the effects of the war from so many different perspectives and also weighs in on the importance of finding your connection in your culture, while still living in the present. In the end, while I might not have finished this book based on the first 50 pages, I'm really glad I read it.
June 17, 2009
Linda Hogan is a poet who writes exquisitely beautiful and deeply meaningful novels about the emotional and environmental fall-outs of devastating events that somehow manage to come to a place of redemption and hope. Raised on a remote west coast reservation, Thomas Just goes out drinking with his buddies and ends up signing up to serve in the Vietnam War. The effects of the war on Thomas, his wife, his children, and his community reverberate through the years as everyone struggles to restore the lost balance in their lives and the world around them. Whales and the sea are the main sources for spiritual connection and redemption. Though all the characters are engaging, Thomas's wife, Ruth, was the emotional center of the novel for me. Her strength of spirit and ability to gracefully survive and speak her own truth are an inspiration.
January 1, 2009
I had such a good conversation with my BF about this book. I think Linda Hogan is a fantastic writer. This is a relatively short book but it took me quite a while to read because it's so dense. It's written beautifully, and the reason why I had to read it slowly is because I had to stop and think about Native American lore and culture and how that collides with Western (white) culture. Everything that Thomas was raised to believe, revere, and live is in complete contrast to what he has to do in the Vietnam War. The story is sad but not morose, and it's one of the best books (probably the best?!) that I have read that deals with post traumatic stress disorder from the war (particularly Vietnam).
June 18, 2012
Very moving, captivating. Hogan created a challenging setting and main characters (Thomas and Ruth) and made them real. With difficulty and some unevenness, she transcended time and place, blurring the lines (if any) between earth, water, and spiritual worlds. Thomas, Ruth, Marco, Aurora, and other characters were quite believe-able.
In "Power" (a novel), Hogan also deals with the issue of killing an animal -- in this case, the Florida panther which is "considered to be a sacred ancestor of the Taiga people." I highly recommend this novel.
In "Power" (a novel), Hogan also deals with the issue of killing an animal -- in this case, the Florida panther which is "considered to be a sacred ancestor of the Taiga people." I highly recommend this novel.
February 5, 2021
A magical book about a Native American man who enlists in the army and goes to Vietnam. The sentences roll like ocean waves.
August 12, 2022
The descriptions were beautiful and the story was beautiful and heart-breaking. The character of Ruth is - as Thomas observes - one of the only real warriors and heroes - and she’s absolutely incredible and I loved her. The collisions of old ways and new ways, colonizer culture and indigenous cultures, gender roles, and all the rest are beautifully and tragically described. As is the total devastation of wars and how the psychic wounds affect a whole culture. In ways it reminded me of Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony - which I obsessively love - the writing is gorgeous and the narrative has the same slow burn and the beautiful revelation of culture and representations of the impact of the war on veterans and the struggles of younger generations who are trying to be assimilated into mainstream culture, but feel displaced everywhere. I didn’t love this as much - maybe because Tayo in Ceremony is one of my all-time faves and it’s hard to measure up, but I did love Ruth and find the story compelling.
September 12, 2024
Listened to this and sped up the narration to 1.3x as the reader had a super slow cadence. I appreciated the cultural information on native people in the PNW, I hadn’t read anything about these people and their whale based economy and really their total way of life. What a contrast to the military industrial complex of the Vietnam war. Informative though extremely dark, not much joy, heavy on major traumas. Would recommend if you are okay with grisly details of the Vietnam war and the extreme drama in the actual community of the whale people. I enjoyed the beautiful prose. Author’s descriptions of nature and people and their character development is phenomenal.
August 29, 2024
There was so much in this fairly short book. It begs for discussion.
February 5, 2009
A new book from another of my favorite novelists, this is just as good as her last. Set in a village of a native nation fallen on hard times on the Pacific Coast, young Thomas, descended from those who talked to the whales, loves childhood friend Ruth and they marry. When out drinking with his buddies, Thomas joins the army and is shipped to Vietnam. Ruth takes this as a betrayal, but does not stop loving him. His death is reported and Ruth continues on, fishing, arguing with the men who want to start hunting whales again, and trying to keep traditional values alive. She was pregnant when Thomas left, and their son, Marco, grows into manhood with the gift of tradition and the teaching of the elders.
Thomas had not died, though, and one day he comes back, tortured by the death of his companion in Vietnam—he deserted and fell in with tribal peoples there—and at having to leave behind his daughter. Once home, he joins the whale hunt, though Ruth is against it. Marco, though against the way the hunt has been organized—the meat sold to Japanese interests—decides to accompany the hunt and tells the men not to shoot the first whale they encounter. They do, however, Marco is killed, and drought visits the village.
Meanwhile, back in Vietnam, Thomas’ daughter struggles to survive after escaping the ransacking of her village. Eventually she secures a place in the city and decides to travel to America to see her father.
From Ruth’s determination to stand for what is true for her people despite personal loss, to Thomas’ desperate inner conflicts, Lin’s journey growing up, or the folk wisdom of the elders, this is a beautiful, complex, and rewarding novel. Don’t miss it.
Thomas had not died, though, and one day he comes back, tortured by the death of his companion in Vietnam—he deserted and fell in with tribal peoples there—and at having to leave behind his daughter. Once home, he joins the whale hunt, though Ruth is against it. Marco, though against the way the hunt has been organized—the meat sold to Japanese interests—decides to accompany the hunt and tells the men not to shoot the first whale they encounter. They do, however, Marco is killed, and drought visits the village.
Meanwhile, back in Vietnam, Thomas’ daughter struggles to survive after escaping the ransacking of her village. Eventually she secures a place in the city and decides to travel to America to see her father.
From Ruth’s determination to stand for what is true for her people despite personal loss, to Thomas’ desperate inner conflicts, Lin’s journey growing up, or the folk wisdom of the elders, this is a beautiful, complex, and rewarding novel. Don’t miss it.
January 5, 2017
This book was simply lovely. There are elements of Native American myth and story, woven together with the story of a man (like so many men) who lived through the horrors of Vietnam. Thomas Just and his wife Ruth are the central characters. Thomas is trying to make sense of, and return to his life in California (albeit with no further interest in Ruth) after the shattering yet also transformative experience of Vietnam. The A'atsika tribe that both Thomas and Ruth belong to is the true beating heart of this story. I think that their people's struggle to maintain, and re-discover their deep connections to the natural world are really what makes this story resonate and stick. At times the lines between reality and tradition in the narrative blur in a beautifully spellbinding way. I'll never think of an octopus or a whale the same way again after reading this. Highly recommended.
June 2, 2017
I have been searching for words that can adequately describe all the ways I love this book. I can't. What I know is it's the most beautifully written book full of tales, conflicts and pain that I have ever experienced. I am so grateful for all the wisdom and lessons conveyed.
Told under the backdrop of a Native American from a remote, seaside village who enlists in the Vietnam war,it is a history of sorts...culture wars, old ways vs new, internal struggles, good vs evil, man vs nature.
The prose is poetically perfect, lyrical and takes time to get through. I tend to be a skimmer at times but I savored every word and didn't want it to end. My first reaction was to immediately begin to read it again.
Told under the backdrop of a Native American from a remote, seaside village who enlists in the Vietnam war,it is a history of sorts...culture wars, old ways vs new, internal struggles, good vs evil, man vs nature.
The prose is poetically perfect, lyrical and takes time to get through. I tend to be a skimmer at times but I savored every word and didn't want it to end. My first reaction was to immediately begin to read it again.
September 7, 2015
I liked this book, and true to Linda Hogan's other books, the imagery is amazing. The story started off really strong and I loved the fantastical embedded in Native American folklore. However, it soon jumped to Vietnam and back with a good storyline, but not as strong as where we'd started. I still wanted to learn more about Ruth being born with gills and what happened to Thomas, if even in the "other world". Most of the pieces wrapped up in the end, but with less energy and vividness than I'd hoped. I think this was a very personal story to the author but maybe the whales and the war were two different stories. This certainly won't stop me from reading all of her other books though...
July 16, 2016
There were things I liked and things I didn't....almost in equal measure. I did the audio for this book and that was a plus.
This was kind of a sad little story. The writing was quite eloquent. I felt though that it was a little too deep for me when it came to all the superstitions. I'm really not a fan of that.
I liked the story of Marco and his family, but then it shifted to someone else. It felt a little disjointed and I kept wanting focus.
So even though I liked this, I didn't like all of it.
This was kind of a sad little story. The writing was quite eloquent. I felt though that it was a little too deep for me when it came to all the superstitions. I'm really not a fan of that.
I liked the story of Marco and his family, but then it shifted to someone else. It felt a little disjointed and I kept wanting focus.
So even though I liked this, I didn't like all of it.
September 15, 2025
One of my absolutely all-time favorite novels, it is poignant, compassionate and genuine. Hogan so brilliantly invites the reader to experience the beauty of a culture far different from one’s own—but also the anxiety and disorientation, misunderstanding and tragedy that can result. The prose is beautiful, poetic. There is so much to uncover, to learn and to consider in this novel. Thank you, Linda Hogan.
November 17, 2008
i don't think i am deep enough to understand these cultures. i also think the author hasn't been to vietnam, which is a little frustrating. she also writes ridiculous sentences that have nothing to do with the story they just make her sound smart. i'm not sold on barbara kingsolver loving it.
August 16, 2015
As usual, Linda Hogan tells a powerful story with beautiful, descriptive language that pulls me into the world of the story. This novel is one of my new favorites.
August 25, 2015
Beautifully written. Characters are very real and the plot moves quickly. Cultures clash, Native American tradition of hunting whales vs. sport and money.
May 29, 2022
I chose this book because of the 2022 Q2 prompt “Octopus” and I am so glad I read it! The euphonic diction reads almost like poetry, and the tone is incredibly peaceful and purposeful despite it circling topics like grief, war, betrayal, and decay. It not only shows the contrasts of the real war and peace amongst American Indians, but also the betrayal of ancestral traditions to American profit. Thomas & Ruth’s relationship before and after the Vietnam was is so powerful, seeing the drastic change in Thomas. I love the themes of loyalty and betrayal to allies, the natural world, and our creator. The element of truth and living our truth is strongly tied to serious consequences that occur in nature and to our quality of life. A drought occurs when a character is murdered and betrayed, and the parallel consequences to the earth and the people was really well done. I also loved the historical allusions to the soldiers who went with good intentions but faced impossible decisions of whether to listen to their commands or go against America and save women and children. The wall in Washington was an interesting symbol, shown in contrast to the wall Thomas built so he couldn’t see the light. Overall, it was really a tragic, beautiful story that reminds us that evil exists everywhere, and we must open our eyes to our own truth and live that life in gratitude to our creator and those we love.
December 2, 2021
I reached my 75th goal for books read with this book. What a lovely note to reach my goal on. This audio version has a really good voice actor and the story(ies), were so interesting and a topic not quite covered in other Indigenous materials. I love this book, the whales, the octopus & the women 💕
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