The Ocean is Everyone's But It Is Not Yours

The Forgetters

by Dave Eggers

In The Ocean Is Everyone’s But It Is Not Yours (the sixth short story in Dave Eggers’s Forgetters series of standalone hardcover minibooks), Aurora Mahoney runs one of three whale-watching businesses on the Monterey coast. It’s a life of great beauty, wonder and camaraderie, but after one of her fellow captains retires, a new, and decidedly different, sort of captain takes his place. What had been a simple and charmed life is clouded by a sinister, and yet aloof, new force on the waterfront. This is a page-turning examination of what makes a paradise, and how easily one human can destroy it.

Published in a pocket-sized hardcover with stunning cover art by Annie Dills, The Ocean Is Everyone’s But It Is Not Yours is available this March exclusively to McSweeney’s readers and subscribers, and in independent bookstores everywhere this summer.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Adult Fiction

72 pages, Hardcover

Published August 5, 2025

About the author

Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is best known for his 2000 memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is also the founder of several notable literary and philanthropic ventures, including the literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the literacy project 826 Valencia, and the human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness. Additionally, he founded ScholarMatch, a program that connects donors with students needing funds for college tuition. His writing has appeared in numerous prestigious publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine.

Reviews

[Hayley Chwazik-Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella packed a lot of punch in its 93 pages! Best consumed in one sitting, it details a short window into the life of Aurora, a captain on a whale watching vessel in Monterey Bay. The small town community and her old ways are tested when a sleek, matte-black vessel rolls into port to set up a competing business with the latest technologies and standoffish, uniformed crew. All of a sudden, the change is palpable as generations of small businesses along the pier shutter due to anonymous complaints about codes. The character of the pier is upended overnight. With an urgent anger and indignent righteousness, Aurora and her crew are forced to reckon with the powerful forces of wealthy and aloof outsiders upending everything as they recalibrate their own next steps.

[Nathan Holic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite of the Eggers series of hardcover shorts, though this is the first that’s felt firmly in the “novella” camp, as opposed to just long short story. I loved it. And ultimately, I think it’s an amazing example of what a novella can and should be.

[Sarah Duer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorites by one of my all time favorite authors. Can’t wait to read it again

[Megan Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of this series so far.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book as a simple and quick read, especially bc I was feeling stocked and needed something easy to get back into reading. The story is smart and kept my attention, and I liked the characters. I was hoping for a bit more depth or a sci-fi twist. And even though the villain’s motivations weren’t fully explained, it was still a fun and easy read. Overall, I’d give it about 3.5 stars because it’s a smart little story that’s enjoyable, especially at the end.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the start of this novella we meet Aurora, who's been in charge of her dad's whale watching business for the past two years, since his retirement. Business isn't booming, but it's steady, both for Aurora and for her friend Declan, whose "looser and boozier" tours leave from the same pier. There used to be a third whale watching boat on the same pier too, and the three captains co-existed (and told each other about any sightings when they were out on the water, so their passengers could all see whatever there was to see)—but that boat was recently sold. When it reappears with a new look and a new name, it isn't long before Aurora and Declan realize that its new captain is not as community-minded as the old one. And it's not just that the new guy, Brandin, doesn't radio Aurora and Declan when his boat spots a whale: it soon becomes clear that his vision for the pier doesn't include Aurora and Declan at all.

I don't want to say more about the plot because it's a pleasure to see things unfold, but I really liked this love letter to everything "impractical and untidy about the California coast," which is "open and messy and public," much to the dismay of the Brandins of the world. I love when Aurora rhapsodizes in her mind about her life as a captain, "its freedom and light, the hunt of it, and the hint of danger, and the faces from all over the world, all on her boat, trusting her to show them prehistoric mothers swimming in golden water with their cloud-white babies."

I've only read one other novella from this series (The Forgetters) but this definitely made me want to read more: they work as standalones/I haven't read them in order, but looking at plot summaries of the others I think there are connections, and I look forward to piecing them together at some point.

[Ajti · Rating 2 out of 5]

No spoilers:
This is my first book by this author and I know he has devoted fans who would know better than I if this is just his writing style. However, I found this so painfully boring that had it been even slightly longer I wouldn’t have finished it.

Where the “miracle of nature” is discussed it could have happened in such a more profound way to actually share that joy rather than merely the petty BS of paper thin characters it was impossible to care about.

It also seems to lack nuance in its conversation about that miracle of nature and whether we are just entitled to it and what our impacts on it are. Granted, not the point of the story, but it felt weird that there were no allusions all things considered (no spoilers means no details)

The entire ending actually relied on the fact that we don’t really know the characters in the book at all, and while it was easily the most interesting part of the book I’d say it’s a flaw that it relies on characters being simplified shadow shapes. Everything was through a haze of distance.

I kept thinking that this author writes like he hasn’t had enough hard things happen to him.

I do not recommend this, because I can’t think of anything like it that people enjoy to compare it to. And it is NOT worth the $16 I paid for it, in length or story quality. 2* only because it had sentences that made sense together like language.

[Miz Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a fondness for novellas (love the new trend of publishing them as books) and the title intrigued me. I did not know until I picked it up that it is part of a series of connected novellas. I will be looking the others up. This one focuses on the economic impacts of wanton capitalism and individualism versus thriving as a community looking out for each other. The setting is a seaside town where a trio of whale-watching tour boats make a pleasant living until one captain retires and the new owner takes a predatory stance to claim all the business for himself and other wealth-minded tourists. A lot of anger and redemption can be found in this slim volume. A satisfying read.

[Chaya Forman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wait jk I lied this was the best book of 2026 so far! It was just short :(. Third two sittings book of the year which feels like cheating. Anyways, I rollerbladed to the library the day before the big storm in Jan. Out of the 4 books I grabbed as my snow in prep, I was most excited about this one! Mostly because it has a whale eye on the cover, and there's mention of ORCAS in the first sentence!

Gentrification makes my blood boil so the middlish endish section had me tight tighttt... I kept closing the book in annoyance and sighing to gab. Fuck all gentrifying pigs everywhere.

God I want to work for q family owned whale watching company!!!

[William Canepa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkably satisfying bit of wish fulfillment. The evil in this story is so evident in contemporary society. There is a longing baked into this tale that it will physically find its way into to the hands of a real-life patron of the Brandins of the world and that they will read it and be awakened to the folly of their ways and we will all sail into a warmer world. But they do not read and do not long for warmth. This story provides us with a path to their destruction, having dispatched with the idea that they can ever be rehabilitated. This is the way of the Mangione and I’m here for it.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Eggers knocks it outta the park with this short and yet very fulfilling novella that feels like a complete novel. Three long-standing whale watching operators in the Monterey Bay work together to keep their small businesses a float. When one drops out and is bought by a mysterious new high-end aloof investor the tides change (I know too many puns). The new crew is anything but warm and they seek to destroy the small businesses with legal tactics and other misdeeds. But, wait for the final twist. This slim hardback is one of a series of six by the famed author - eager to read the rest!

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story about gentrification set in a small wharf in Monterey, focused on a 100 year old whaling tourist industry which is invaded by an evil capitalist captain who sets to displace the legacy tour boats.

But outside its convictions, it’s a lovely novella that paints eclectic vignettes of its characters. Lots of fun Eggers-style descriptions, which keeps the read enjoyable even when highlighting the entropy that capitalist greed has on our pure & innocent pursuits.

Highly recommend!

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of many novellas from Dave Eggars that he intends (if all goes well) to incorporate into one larger novel in the future. Although it takes place in California, the scenery of this tale—mostly the likability of the main characters that run the struggling whale watching ship—reminded me of Sitka, Alaska in a manner that increases my fondness for this book.

I’m excited to read the others in the series. Also I think this has to be one of the most beautiful titles a book has seen.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another unbelievably great story from the Forgetters series. Eggers has a way to suck you in within a page or two and not let go until the last sentence. This story about two whale watching boat captains in a battle with a new comer is simply wonderful. Also look out for the nod to The Comebacker :)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story. By the author of The Circle. This is another of 7 unrelated stories which the author plans to put together into a book. This story was about a couple of whaling boats that get competition from a new captain. I liked this story a lot better than the last one. Funny, sad, bittersweet, and nice ending.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one with a happy ending.

[Lory Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this short story! 🐋 I’ll be looking into the others in this series and more of Dave’s work.

[Timothy Curry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been loving receiving these little volumes in Egger's series called The Forgetters. This is one of the best so far. I read it months ago and still think of the characters and setting.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really easy read, intriguing story, semi-satisfying conclusion. Glad I picked this one up.

[gabs coker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little happy ending never killed anyone

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent beach read- excellent end

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a satisfying read: it draws you in, somehow paints a picture of each character, takes you nowhere the story doesn’t need to go and ties up each loose end. Someone turn this into a TV show.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eggers is a master of this short form.

[Ann Straight · Rating 5 out of 5]

short and sweet- on Ann Page

[Brittany Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A miracle can’t be hoarded. A miracle must be shared.”

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying Eggers' short story series. This one and Keeper of the Ornaments have been my fave so far.

[Phil Oxnard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant little morning read that got me surprisingly angry then surprisingly happy.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ability of this short story to illicit such strong and wide range of emotions from me was unbelievable. Please read if you also despise mega corporations and the ultra rich.

[Sophia Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The forgetters is genuinely one of the best series I’ve come across in my perusal of the library stacks