What do you think?
Rate this book
The Whale Tattoo
Cruelly beautiful, utterly authentic – introducing a searingly talented new Queer writer.
When a giant sperm whale washes up on the local beach it tells Joe Gunner that death will follow him wherever he goes. Joe knows that the place he needs to go is back home.
Having stormed out two years ago, it won’t be easy, nor will returning to the haunted river beside the house where words ripple beneath the surface washing up all sorts of memories. Joe turns to his sister, Birdee, the only person who has ever listened. But she can't help him, she drowned two years ago. Then there’s Tim Fysh, local fisherman and long-time lover. But reviving their bond is bound to be trouble.
As the water settles and Joe learns the truth about the river, he finds that we all have the capability to hate, and that we can all make the choice not to.
Ransom’s fractured, distinctive prose highlights the beauty and brutality of his story, his extraordinarily vivid sense of place saturates the reader with the wet of the river, and the salty tang of the sea
When a giant sperm whale washes up on the local beach it tells Joe Gunner that death will follow him wherever he goes. Joe knows that the place he needs to go is back home.
Having stormed out two years ago, it won’t be easy, nor will returning to the haunted river beside the house where words ripple beneath the surface washing up all sorts of memories. Joe turns to his sister, Birdee, the only person who has ever listened. But she can't help him, she drowned two years ago. Then there’s Tim Fysh, local fisherman and long-time lover. But reviving their bond is bound to be trouble.
As the water settles and Joe learns the truth about the river, he finds that we all have the capability to hate, and that we can all make the choice not to.
Ransom’s fractured, distinctive prose highlights the beauty and brutality of his story, his extraordinarily vivid sense of place saturates the reader with the wet of the river, and the salty tang of the sea
Unknown Binding
First published February 4, 2022
26 people are currently reading
1283 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
May 25, 2022
A grimy, sea-soaked and beguilingly filthy story of queer love and loss. The Whale Tattoo is chillingly atmospheric and evocative in its English coastal setting. Joe has fallen into the compulsory life of a seaman that traps so many like him in his small coastal town. Haunted by the nagging water of the river and an ominous beached whale, Joe finds love in the form of a local fisherman named Tim Fysh. This affair comes with dangerous entanglements and deadly consequences for both of them as their private passion is threatened by the encroaching pressures and prejudices of the suffocating community that they can't seem to escape.
Jon Ransom has crafted a salacious web of secrets, sex and mystery. The characters are almost incestuous in their clustered connections. They are all tethered to each other in one way or another and the messy revelations throughout the story propel the narrative deeper and deeper into a cesspool of allegiance, grief and vengeance. Soon, the love that they each have in their lives overflows into hate that may very well destroy them.
The novel adopts a verisimilitude and unvarnished transparency that is both off-putting and engaging. The resulting aesthetic is like the briny sea; ruggedly romantic and unflinchingly honest. Joe is an open wound of a man who is taunted by the trauma and anxieties of his life in the nefarious form of a dying whale on the shore. The river is a character in itself that Joe must contend with as it torments him with dark thoughts confirming his worst fears.
The writing balances wistful beauty with ugly truths and spins a tangled web of jealousy, small town secrets and the power of grief to consume you along with everyone around you. Joe must decide if this whale will swallow him whole along with everyone that loves him or if he will fight his way out of the belly of this beast. Ultimately, this is a tale of hope in the face of our demons and an exercise in finding the beauty and tenderness in the brutality of life.
Jon Ransom has crafted a salacious web of secrets, sex and mystery. The characters are almost incestuous in their clustered connections. They are all tethered to each other in one way or another and the messy revelations throughout the story propel the narrative deeper and deeper into a cesspool of allegiance, grief and vengeance. Soon, the love that they each have in their lives overflows into hate that may very well destroy them.
The novel adopts a verisimilitude and unvarnished transparency that is both off-putting and engaging. The resulting aesthetic is like the briny sea; ruggedly romantic and unflinchingly honest. Joe is an open wound of a man who is taunted by the trauma and anxieties of his life in the nefarious form of a dying whale on the shore. The river is a character in itself that Joe must contend with as it torments him with dark thoughts confirming his worst fears.
The writing balances wistful beauty with ugly truths and spins a tangled web of jealousy, small town secrets and the power of grief to consume you along with everyone around you. Joe must decide if this whale will swallow him whole along with everyone that loves him or if he will fight his way out of the belly of this beast. Ultimately, this is a tale of hope in the face of our demons and an exercise in finding the beauty and tenderness in the brutality of life.
August 8, 2022
Enjoyed this more than I was expecting. The plot was often a little predictable, but there is a great voice in the main protagonist that perfectly captures the feeling of life in a small UK coastal town. And yes, there’s quite a lot of sex, which feels entirely appropriate for these lads, at their age, in this setting - again furthering the essence of the protagonist’s voice.
April 20, 2022
-random dickensian setting
-my balls ache
-i flick the dog-end somewhere
-someone no-one cares about dies
-the river speaks to me, drip-dripping, woosh-wooshing, lap-lapping
-someone vomiting
-i get fucked in the arse
repeat x 7 times
sorry not for me 3/10
-my balls ache
-i flick the dog-end somewhere
-someone no-one cares about dies
-the river speaks to me, drip-dripping, woosh-wooshing, lap-lapping
-someone vomiting
-i get fucked in the arse
repeat x 7 times
sorry not for me 3/10
February 15, 2024
This is a pretty amazing novel; certainly out of the ordinary, intense and pulls no punches. Set in and around Kings Lynn in north Norfolk, it has a wonderful sense of place, it being one of those places that can feel like they are almost on the edge of the world. The characters are all pretty tough and yet also quite vulnerable, the plot is dark but the reader yearns for things to get better for everyone, and it is full of pace and life - even when discussing death, which happens a lot. It has an alternative vibe that I rarely see these days; more like some of the queer novels that were published in the '90s. A well deserved winner of a Polari prize. I devoured it and can't wait for Jon Ransom's next book.
July 29, 2022
I just finished this book and can still smell fishguts, mud, sweaty armpits and dirty underpants. I have rarely read anything that uncompromising and authentic. And sexy AF also. My mind is blown that this is a debut novel.
February 19, 2024
A wild, bleak novel about pain and loss, but not one I'm likely to read again any time soon.
June 30, 2024
(some spelling mistakes corrected in June 2024).
It is always hard to know what to write about a novel such as this one which has already garnered so much well deserved praise. I even wonder if I have the right to add my voice to the chorus because it likely only does me credit for joining such distinguished company. Neither the novel nor the author needs my five stars or words of praise but I am proud to be an echo of my betters all the same.
Recounting this novel's story line and adding words of praise is inadequate for what I feel about this novel so instead I am going to try and show via an anecdote why this book is so remarkable to me.
Back in the 1970's when I was maybe 19 or 20 I was reading Anthony Burgess's 'Earthly Powers'* and was asked why I was reading another gay novel. I can not pretend that I gave a very good response but what I tried to explain, very poorly I am sure, was that the day of the 'gay' novel that dealt with 'homosexuality' as something to be explained and justified to a straight audience was over. It was irrelevant and as ridiculously irrelevant as those films made in the 1960's showing that black people were just like us. Gays, like so many others, existed outside of the need for any other group to understand or accept them.
Nothing startling there but forty odd years later I am astounded that in the course of my lifetime a whole new literature has come into being and I cannot imagine anyone asking about the need for another 'gay' novel. A novel like 'The Whale Tattoo' is not a gay novel or a novel about gays and is certainly not a novel for gays. It is a novel about Joe Gunner and his life and experiences as a working class child, adolescent and young man dealing with everything that growing up in a decaying fishing town in Norfolk entails. There is plenty of frank sex as well as violence, confusion, anger, love, hate, hope, kindness, generosity, egotism, selfless and selfishness and every other emotion, action and potential action that you can think of. Joe's life is about as far from the sanitised M&M of the commercialised gay world as you can get, but then his heterosexual counterparts are equally alien to any clichéd straight stereotypes.
I hope this novel is read by adolescent boys, straight and gay, and girls and adults as well. It is a novel of great depth which deserves to be read widely. In its honesty and freshness I would compare it and Jon Ransom to the French author Edouard Louis.
*Whether 'Earthly Powers' should be considered a 'gay' novel is considered in my review of the book - it isn't in case you don't want or can't be bothered to read it!
It is always hard to know what to write about a novel such as this one which has already garnered so much well deserved praise. I even wonder if I have the right to add my voice to the chorus because it likely only does me credit for joining such distinguished company. Neither the novel nor the author needs my five stars or words of praise but I am proud to be an echo of my betters all the same.
Recounting this novel's story line and adding words of praise is inadequate for what I feel about this novel so instead I am going to try and show via an anecdote why this book is so remarkable to me.
Back in the 1970's when I was maybe 19 or 20 I was reading Anthony Burgess's 'Earthly Powers'* and was asked why I was reading another gay novel. I can not pretend that I gave a very good response but what I tried to explain, very poorly I am sure, was that the day of the 'gay' novel that dealt with 'homosexuality' as something to be explained and justified to a straight audience was over. It was irrelevant and as ridiculously irrelevant as those films made in the 1960's showing that black people were just like us. Gays, like so many others, existed outside of the need for any other group to understand or accept them.
Nothing startling there but forty odd years later I am astounded that in the course of my lifetime a whole new literature has come into being and I cannot imagine anyone asking about the need for another 'gay' novel. A novel like 'The Whale Tattoo' is not a gay novel or a novel about gays and is certainly not a novel for gays. It is a novel about Joe Gunner and his life and experiences as a working class child, adolescent and young man dealing with everything that growing up in a decaying fishing town in Norfolk entails. There is plenty of frank sex as well as violence, confusion, anger, love, hate, hope, kindness, generosity, egotism, selfless and selfishness and every other emotion, action and potential action that you can think of. Joe's life is about as far from the sanitised M&M of the commercialised gay world as you can get, but then his heterosexual counterparts are equally alien to any clichéd straight stereotypes.
I hope this novel is read by adolescent boys, straight and gay, and girls and adults as well. It is a novel of great depth which deserves to be read widely. In its honesty and freshness I would compare it and Jon Ransom to the French author Edouard Louis.
*Whether 'Earthly Powers' should be considered a 'gay' novel is considered in my review of the book - it isn't in case you don't want or can't be bothered to read it!
April 13, 2022
3.5
A beautifully written novel with a gritty, punchy story. Jon Ransom is a serious talent.
A beautifully written novel with a gritty, punchy story. Jon Ransom is a serious talent.
March 28, 2025
All very immersive and well crafted, but I found the relentless onslaught of misery, piss, sperm and vomit rather hard going. I get enough of that at home.
April 20, 2022
Second book read for our London gay men’s book club. 3.5 rounded down.
Ransom’s debut novel follows Joe who, after an encounter with a washed-up whale, returns to the rundown coastal town he calls home; to his house beside a river that teases and torments him with the past it dredges up, in dialogue with Joe himself; to the memory of his sister, Birdee (whose interactions with the protagonist are some of the most poignant parts of the book); to his complicated and ill-fated relationship with his fisherman lover, exemplary of nominative determinism: Fysh. Relentlessly bleak at times and sometimes reading like a gritty, arthouse gay French film set in Norfolk with all its discarded fag ends, bodily fluids and grimy sex, there is nevertheless a lot to like here. Notably, the mimetic, lyrical quality of its prose which echoes the bodies of water so central to the The Whale Tattoo’s plot; writing of occasional “ball-aching” beauty (as will become clear if you give this a go), which for all its fluidity, can’t much help the novel feel more than a bit one-note and flat.
Ransom’s debut novel follows Joe who, after an encounter with a washed-up whale, returns to the rundown coastal town he calls home; to his house beside a river that teases and torments him with the past it dredges up, in dialogue with Joe himself; to the memory of his sister, Birdee (whose interactions with the protagonist are some of the most poignant parts of the book); to his complicated and ill-fated relationship with his fisherman lover, exemplary of nominative determinism: Fysh. Relentlessly bleak at times and sometimes reading like a gritty, arthouse gay French film set in Norfolk with all its discarded fag ends, bodily fluids and grimy sex, there is nevertheless a lot to like here. Notably, the mimetic, lyrical quality of its prose which echoes the bodies of water so central to the The Whale Tattoo’s plot; writing of occasional “ball-aching” beauty (as will become clear if you give this a go), which for all its fluidity, can’t much help the novel feel more than a bit one-note and flat.
July 4, 2025
An interesting concept with a gritty story. Very Shuggie Bain about it.
February 15, 2022
I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the way this book was written—a rich character study that ingrained itself deeply within the protagonist's mind. The sex was written fascinatingly. I wish that the plot had felt more consequential to the story itself. On the whole, a rewarding story.
4/5
I loved the way this book was written—a rich character study that ingrained itself deeply within the protagonist's mind. The sex was written fascinatingly. I wish that the plot had felt more consequential to the story itself. On the whole, a rewarding story.
4/5
February 5, 2022
I got this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for the review below.
'The Whale Tattoo' is a book that takes off at a breakneck pace and delves deep into the specifics of how we hurt and affect those that we love most, as well as the scars left behind by love.
The narrator of the story has returned to his hometown to reunite with his lover, Fysh, and his family, torn asunder by dysfunction and tragedy. The story assumes a non linear structure, almost like throwing broken pieces on the ground and arranging them into a collage: an epic of loss and ultimately, hope.
The exploration of the main character and his relationship with Fysh (his lover) is almost too painful to bear as the novel unfolds. As time goes on and we learn more about them, the characters gain more complexity giving the story a rich texture. This too goes for Fysh's wife Dora, the narrators dad, as well as his late mother and his sister.
The prose in particular is spare in places, but the author uses language beautifully. Not a word is wasted and the narration reflects the dialogue where the characters converse in clipped tones. There were times where I worried that too much was being held back and I was going to be left at the end with more questions than answers, but to the best of my recollection, I don't think anything was left unanswered. This was a particular concern with the imagery around water and the eponymous whale tattoo, but this all makes sense. Trust the process!
This book is sexually explicit and quite graphically violent in places, but if you have the stomach, I'd say give it a read. Can't wait to see what Jon Ransom does next!
'The Whale Tattoo' is a book that takes off at a breakneck pace and delves deep into the specifics of how we hurt and affect those that we love most, as well as the scars left behind by love.
The narrator of the story has returned to his hometown to reunite with his lover, Fysh, and his family, torn asunder by dysfunction and tragedy. The story assumes a non linear structure, almost like throwing broken pieces on the ground and arranging them into a collage: an epic of loss and ultimately, hope.
The exploration of the main character and his relationship with Fysh (his lover) is almost too painful to bear as the novel unfolds. As time goes on and we learn more about them, the characters gain more complexity giving the story a rich texture. This too goes for Fysh's wife Dora, the narrators dad, as well as his late mother and his sister.
The prose in particular is spare in places, but the author uses language beautifully. Not a word is wasted and the narration reflects the dialogue where the characters converse in clipped tones. There were times where I worried that too much was being held back and I was going to be left at the end with more questions than answers, but to the best of my recollection, I don't think anything was left unanswered. This was a particular concern with the imagery around water and the eponymous whale tattoo, but this all makes sense. Trust the process!
This book is sexually explicit and quite graphically violent in places, but if you have the stomach, I'd say give it a read. Can't wait to see what Jon Ransom does next!
August 7, 2023
Repetitive, dreary stream of consciousness. The most interesting thing about it was the blurb.
April 22, 2024
This novel was a little too thin and melodramatic for me. Joe has just returned to his hometown, a homophobic village in coastal Norfolk, to discover that his former lover, Fysh, the boy he adored from his childhood, has recently married and will soon have a child. Joe is the stereotypical working-class fuck-up: he drinks too much, smokes too much, seeks out anonymous sex, and jumps from job to job, making one bad decision after another. In this small town, enclosed in sprawling marshland, Fysh and Joe are a constant topic of gossip. Joe's father is a judgmental bigot and Fysh's brother, Doug, wants Joe to leave. Joe seems condemned to a life of miserable solitude. He would prefer to feel pain rather than feel nothing at all. He spends his days wandering along the river, talking to himself, hearing the voice of a washed-up whale taunting him. What ensues is a down-and-out drama: death, suicide, conspiracy, a whale phantom, a deranged one-armed soldier, and Joe finds himself suddenly living with Fysh's wife, caring for the woman who replaced him. The prose is beautiful but the story turns ridiculous.
June 22, 2024
3.5/5⭐
You know, this was very difficult to rate. The last 100 pages were the real deal and I enjoyed them more than the entire book.
If I can describe this novel in one word that would be vulgar. It's very vulgar and the writing style is a bit different that what I'm used to. Needless to say, it was an interesting read.
I liked what the author did with the story, I liked the plot devices that he used, but the beginning was draining and the writing style was not my cup of tea...
You know, this was very difficult to rate. The last 100 pages were the real deal and I enjoyed them more than the entire book.
If I can describe this novel in one word that would be vulgar. It's very vulgar and the writing style is a bit different that what I'm used to. Needless to say, it was an interesting read.
I liked what the author did with the story, I liked the plot devices that he used, but the beginning was draining and the writing style was not my cup of tea...
January 2, 2023
This was ❤️B❤️R❤️I❤️L❤️L❤️I❤️A❤️N❤️T❤️
October 18, 2025
got about 70-ish pages in and gave up. couldn’t get into it, found it a bit predictable. that’s not to say someone else won’t love and enjoy it.
March 17, 2025
josh o’connor i have the perfect role for you…
February 12, 2022
I would like to thank the publisher for the advance copy of this book I received.
This book was just not for me. I know from other reviews that I am in the minority on this, so if you like books that make you write reviews that sound like English essays you may have better luck. I loved the idea of a book like Allan Sillitoe or Thomas Mcguane but with a gay MC, but I bounced hard off of the structure. Unlike others, I didn't feel any connection to any of the characters. I felt sorry for Joe, who has had so many struggles that just get worse as the novel goes on.
This book will resonate with some readers, but it just wasn't for me. Recognizing this, the 3 star rating is only because Netgalley forces me to give a rating.
This book was just not for me. I know from other reviews that I am in the minority on this, so if you like books that make you write reviews that sound like English essays you may have better luck. I loved the idea of a book like Allan Sillitoe or Thomas Mcguane but with a gay MC, but I bounced hard off of the structure. Unlike others, I didn't feel any connection to any of the characters. I felt sorry for Joe, who has had so many struggles that just get worse as the novel goes on.
This book will resonate with some readers, but it just wasn't for me. Recognizing this, the 3 star rating is only because Netgalley forces me to give a rating.
May 14, 2025
Jon Ransom wastes no time in raising a moody stage for the reader to unload all his attention onto. With a foggy quay biting into a marsh, and a river that taunts Joe with its whispers, the story’s setting never stops feeding its ghoulish dealings.
And yet, despite the burden of its desires, the novel is brilliantly fast-paced. Within the first few pages, both Joe’s discomfort and his torturous affection for Fysh are defined with remarkable efficiency, creating a hook that sinks far too deep to ignore.
Above all, THE WHALE TATTOO stands out for its delectable crudeness of expression. Loss, grief, jealousy, love and lust are all full-bodied entities battling over space on every page, but the mundanity that houses them leaves little room for sentimentality. Instead, the shock of feeling plays out on the surface, raising hair and skin alike, never slipping far enough to strip the narrative of its haunting visuals.
It’s the decaying flesh of the whale on the beach, the hot vomit strangling its victim, the black river resembling an oil stain as it lures its prey into the dark, along with the rage recognized only in the light of day, that animate the story’s underlying menace. And yet, a sense of fragility prevails.
That’s because, no matter how unnerving the scene, Ransom’s prose remains still and tranquil. Much like the surface of the river that keeps mocking the protagonist, there’s an ominous tenor behind every word; a beauty that shocks. And, much like the elusive line between the bank of the river and land, time is a shifting entity within the parameters of the story. There’s no clear distinction between the past and the present, only a rush of sensation.
The body of water it holds penetrates the protagonist’s psyche, floods reality in a way that is both hungry and foreboding. What’s more, every character carries the water’s darkness deep within, every limb appears forged from something indistinct and shapeless. It’s the vagueness of their motives, the troubled honesty with which they navigate their subconscious, that transforms THE WHALE TATTOO into a breathless enigma.
It keeps pace with the reader, warning of the consequences of its eventual unraveling. Tension keeps ballooning, swelling like a wave until it crests. When it finally splinters at the reader’s feet, its belly reveals the turmoil beneath, the intrigue thickened by roiling passions.
And so, THE WHALE TATTOO is both a dream and a nightmare, both a pursuit of objectivity and an escape from the claws of morality. None of the story’s elements can be considered gratuitous, none can turn the reader away from its pages.
That’s because, despite its glide through feeling and time, the novel scratches an itch that few books can reach. It’s Ransom’s raw reflection on life, his recognition of the brutality that transforms moments of passing rapture into something dreary, that leaves the reader entranced.
And yet, despite the burden of its desires, the novel is brilliantly fast-paced. Within the first few pages, both Joe’s discomfort and his torturous affection for Fysh are defined with remarkable efficiency, creating a hook that sinks far too deep to ignore.
Above all, THE WHALE TATTOO stands out for its delectable crudeness of expression. Loss, grief, jealousy, love and lust are all full-bodied entities battling over space on every page, but the mundanity that houses them leaves little room for sentimentality. Instead, the shock of feeling plays out on the surface, raising hair and skin alike, never slipping far enough to strip the narrative of its haunting visuals.
It’s the decaying flesh of the whale on the beach, the hot vomit strangling its victim, the black river resembling an oil stain as it lures its prey into the dark, along with the rage recognized only in the light of day, that animate the story’s underlying menace. And yet, a sense of fragility prevails.
That’s because, no matter how unnerving the scene, Ransom’s prose remains still and tranquil. Much like the surface of the river that keeps mocking the protagonist, there’s an ominous tenor behind every word; a beauty that shocks. And, much like the elusive line between the bank of the river and land, time is a shifting entity within the parameters of the story. There’s no clear distinction between the past and the present, only a rush of sensation.
The body of water it holds penetrates the protagonist’s psyche, floods reality in a way that is both hungry and foreboding. What’s more, every character carries the water’s darkness deep within, every limb appears forged from something indistinct and shapeless. It’s the vagueness of their motives, the troubled honesty with which they navigate their subconscious, that transforms THE WHALE TATTOO into a breathless enigma.
It keeps pace with the reader, warning of the consequences of its eventual unraveling. Tension keeps ballooning, swelling like a wave until it crests. When it finally splinters at the reader’s feet, its belly reveals the turmoil beneath, the intrigue thickened by roiling passions.
And so, THE WHALE TATTOO is both a dream and a nightmare, both a pursuit of objectivity and an escape from the claws of morality. None of the story’s elements can be considered gratuitous, none can turn the reader away from its pages.
That’s because, despite its glide through feeling and time, the novel scratches an itch that few books can reach. It’s Ransom’s raw reflection on life, his recognition of the brutality that transforms moments of passing rapture into something dreary, that leaves the reader entranced.
November 6, 2023
DNF at 74%
This was one of the weirdest book that I have ever read. The casual queerness was nice but wasn’t a fan of the casual homophobia and the character constantly vomiting everywhere. I lost interest after stopping for a couple of days.
This was one of the weirdest book that I have ever read. The casual queerness was nice but wasn’t a fan of the casual homophobia and the character constantly vomiting everywhere. I lost interest after stopping for a couple of days.
June 12, 2022
Dark, atmospheric, absorbing. I picked up this one and couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. Delving deep in the psyche of the main character Joe, who is trapped in a small seaside town, queer and tormented by death. The book convincingly portrays the claustrophobia of an English small town, especially where you grow up queer and people live hard lives. With numerous scenes of graphic sex this is a very descriptive novel, where the inky black water and sky really come alive in the writing. An astonishing debut novel.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 27, 2023
Wasn’t so sure about this to begin with and almost gave up halfway, but I’m so glad I didn’t. The ‘river’ sequences felt silly at first, but as the book went on it was like taking a dip into Joe’s psyche.
The closing quarter of this book is filled with every twist and turn imaginable, making this more of a thriller in it’s final throws.
Also: lots of dirty smelly gay sex lol
The closing quarter of this book is filled with every twist and turn imaginable, making this more of a thriller in it’s final throws.
Also: lots of dirty smelly gay sex lol
February 4, 2022
This review originally appeared on The Queer Review. https://thequeerreview.com/2022/02/04...
Jon Ransom’s debut novel, The Whale Tattoo, is filled with prose that picks you up in its wake and takes you on a journey. Complex, fraught and violent, The Whale Tattoo reads like an early Tracy Lett’s play – a steaming mix of blue-collar rage and menace.
Joe Gunner is working in a chip shop when a sperm whale washes up on the local beach, whispering frightening portents into Joe’s ear. When Joe returns to his hometown, a fishing village by the river, he faces his past and the repercussions of the life he fled two years ago. When he meets up with his ex-lover, Tim Fysh, events spiral as Joe is caught between Tim’s aggressive brother Doug, Tim’s pregnant wife Dora and his own homophobic father. Meanwhile the whale won’t stop haunting him.
Where does anger go? Suppressed or not, anger infuses the text; Joe’s anger at those around him, at himself, at his sexuality. He grew up in a world of angry young men and it’s through that haze he sees events around him. Sexual trysts are quick and hidden, his lack of connection is palpable. Joe’s disregard for his own wellbeing fills each scene, from simple things like instantly getting his clothes dirty, to pushing genuine people away and putting himself in dangerous situations. He is a man in crisis who can’t admit it to himself, and he’s not alone. Everyone around him is filled with anger. His father is cold and dismissive. Dora wants recompense for Joe’s affair with her husband. Doug threatens to kill him if he goes near Fysh again. Even in death, characters get no peace.
Ransom’s text bleeds between events and memories giving Joe an uneasy, distracted air. His emotions get the best of him and he gets lost in the past when the present gets overwhelming. It’s a gripping read, unpredictable but emotionally coherent. Joe and Dora’s interactions spark with unspoken knowledge and emotions. The prose, like Joe’s mind, slides between events, always inhabiting an insecure, liminal space. It manages to be both blunt and poetic all at once.
The great strength here is Ransom’s pacing. Joe’s life unfolds in an ever-enlightening roll of revelations. Neatly balancing the forward momentum of the story and the piece-by-piece exploration of a man who barely knows himself, The Whale Tattoo places you inside Joe’s mind and the turmoil therein. It’s a tough act, making us inhabit Joe’s headspace without making him unlikable, despite doing a number of unlikable things. Joe is broken and impulsive but there is a core of nobility in him. The theme of unexpected ‘found family’ and self-acceptance reminded me strongly of Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World.
Thankfully, and unlike so many queer novels, this isn’t a book of “misery porn”. Joe’s life takes horrid turns but the reader never loses sight of the potential for growth, making The Whale Tattoo a surprisingly enjoyable and cathartic read.
Jon Ransom’s debut novel, The Whale Tattoo, is filled with prose that picks you up in its wake and takes you on a journey. Complex, fraught and violent, The Whale Tattoo reads like an early Tracy Lett’s play – a steaming mix of blue-collar rage and menace.
Joe Gunner is working in a chip shop when a sperm whale washes up on the local beach, whispering frightening portents into Joe’s ear. When Joe returns to his hometown, a fishing village by the river, he faces his past and the repercussions of the life he fled two years ago. When he meets up with his ex-lover, Tim Fysh, events spiral as Joe is caught between Tim’s aggressive brother Doug, Tim’s pregnant wife Dora and his own homophobic father. Meanwhile the whale won’t stop haunting him.
Where does anger go? Suppressed or not, anger infuses the text; Joe’s anger at those around him, at himself, at his sexuality. He grew up in a world of angry young men and it’s through that haze he sees events around him. Sexual trysts are quick and hidden, his lack of connection is palpable. Joe’s disregard for his own wellbeing fills each scene, from simple things like instantly getting his clothes dirty, to pushing genuine people away and putting himself in dangerous situations. He is a man in crisis who can’t admit it to himself, and he’s not alone. Everyone around him is filled with anger. His father is cold and dismissive. Dora wants recompense for Joe’s affair with her husband. Doug threatens to kill him if he goes near Fysh again. Even in death, characters get no peace.
Ransom’s text bleeds between events and memories giving Joe an uneasy, distracted air. His emotions get the best of him and he gets lost in the past when the present gets overwhelming. It’s a gripping read, unpredictable but emotionally coherent. Joe and Dora’s interactions spark with unspoken knowledge and emotions. The prose, like Joe’s mind, slides between events, always inhabiting an insecure, liminal space. It manages to be both blunt and poetic all at once.
The great strength here is Ransom’s pacing. Joe’s life unfolds in an ever-enlightening roll of revelations. Neatly balancing the forward momentum of the story and the piece-by-piece exploration of a man who barely knows himself, The Whale Tattoo places you inside Joe’s mind and the turmoil therein. It’s a tough act, making us inhabit Joe’s headspace without making him unlikable, despite doing a number of unlikable things. Joe is broken and impulsive but there is a core of nobility in him. The theme of unexpected ‘found family’ and self-acceptance reminded me strongly of Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World.
Thankfully, and unlike so many queer novels, this isn’t a book of “misery porn”. Joe’s life takes horrid turns but the reader never loses sight of the potential for growth, making The Whale Tattoo a surprisingly enjoyable and cathartic read.
November 3, 2023
Captivating from the moment I picked it up.
~
"Death has found me. The land is sick with death. This death is marsh beneath my nails, damp wind hounding my skin, doing its best to get inside. There’s no shelter. Or anything to figure out here. The whale was right. Death is everywhere." - the opening simply grips you like algae tangled around your ankle.
The Whale beings death. At least that is what it tells Joe upon being washed up on shore. Having been gone for two years, Joe returns back home to a life he gladly left behind, to a father who hates him, a sister who is dating an ex-army and a fuckbuddy who is unhappily married. But the river whispers to Joe, telling him truths and lies and secrets.
I picked this book up because I wanted to read something set in a lighthouse. It does not have a lighthouse but it features bodies of water and I was in the mood for that. So glad I chose to keep this book because it is inrecible 🙏
A bit disorientating, a bit fractured, a lot of prose and authenticity. I could hardly put the novel down. It's one of those books where you know something bad is about to happen, something bad has happened - an impending sense of underlying doom. And I'm here for it. None of the characters are good people. Some of them are bad people. All of them feel like people.
An utterly amazing debut novel about the life of a gay working-class man in the middle of nowhere.
~
"Death has found me. The land is sick with death. This death is marsh beneath my nails, damp wind hounding my skin, doing its best to get inside. There’s no shelter. Or anything to figure out here. The whale was right. Death is everywhere." - the opening simply grips you like algae tangled around your ankle.
The Whale beings death. At least that is what it tells Joe upon being washed up on shore. Having been gone for two years, Joe returns back home to a life he gladly left behind, to a father who hates him, a sister who is dating an ex-army and a fuckbuddy who is unhappily married. But the river whispers to Joe, telling him truths and lies and secrets.
I picked this book up because I wanted to read something set in a lighthouse. It does not have a lighthouse but it features bodies of water and I was in the mood for that. So glad I chose to keep this book because it is inrecible 🙏
A bit disorientating, a bit fractured, a lot of prose and authenticity. I could hardly put the novel down. It's one of those books where you know something bad is about to happen, something bad has happened - an impending sense of underlying doom. And I'm here for it. None of the characters are good people. Some of them are bad people. All of them feel like people.
An utterly amazing debut novel about the life of a gay working-class man in the middle of nowhere.
March 3, 2024
Step into Ronsom's Norfolk, where "mirrored pools burst with sky" and the tide ebbs and flows like one colossal breath. In this poignant setting, Joe's return home is fraught with turmoil and nostalgia.
Memories and unsettling prophecies surface as he confronts his past by the river, where words ripple in the murky depths, echoing truths long buried.
Reconnecting with Tim Fysh, a local fisherman and former lover, proves to be a turbulent journey for Joe. Their bond is tangled in a web of love, lust, loss, and trauma, shaping a dystopian narrative that unravels with each passing tide.
Set against the backdrop of working-class struggles, poverty, homophobia, and familial tragedies, The Whale Tattoo paints a vivid portrait of despair and resilience. Ronsom's evocative prose delves deep into the brokenness and abandonment that permeate this seaside town, drawing readers into a world suffused with raw emotion and harsh realities.
With a unique voice and a stark portrayal of daily struggles in a small seaside town, The Whale Tattoo captures the essence of endless monotony and challenges. It's a beautifully brutal depiction of life's uphill battle, reminiscent of Sisyphus' eternal task. An impressive debut that may not be for everyone, but those who appreciate dark, gritty storytelling will find it captivating.
#PudseyRecommends #TheWhaleTattoo #JonRonsom #Norfolk #DystopianNarrative #Love #Loss #Trauma #Despair #Resilience #EmotionalJourney #WorkingClassStruggles #DarkNarrative #RawProse #SaltySeas #RedemptionJourney #IntriguingReads #MustRead #LiteraryGem
Memories and unsettling prophecies surface as he confronts his past by the river, where words ripple in the murky depths, echoing truths long buried.
Reconnecting with Tim Fysh, a local fisherman and former lover, proves to be a turbulent journey for Joe. Their bond is tangled in a web of love, lust, loss, and trauma, shaping a dystopian narrative that unravels with each passing tide.
Set against the backdrop of working-class struggles, poverty, homophobia, and familial tragedies, The Whale Tattoo paints a vivid portrait of despair and resilience. Ronsom's evocative prose delves deep into the brokenness and abandonment that permeate this seaside town, drawing readers into a world suffused with raw emotion and harsh realities.
With a unique voice and a stark portrayal of daily struggles in a small seaside town, The Whale Tattoo captures the essence of endless monotony and challenges. It's a beautifully brutal depiction of life's uphill battle, reminiscent of Sisyphus' eternal task. An impressive debut that may not be for everyone, but those who appreciate dark, gritty storytelling will find it captivating.
#PudseyRecommends #TheWhaleTattoo #JonRonsom #Norfolk #DystopianNarrative #Love #Loss #Trauma #Despair #Resilience #EmotionalJourney #WorkingClassStruggles #DarkNarrative #RawProse #SaltySeas #RedemptionJourney #IntriguingReads #MustRead #LiteraryGem
March 2, 2025
Quite nicely written but did get a bit boring at times. Seems to be going round in circles at points and themes and main plot is not really well explored. I liked the metaphors and motifs but the pacing is off and the jumping between dreams/thoughts/flashbacks and story is not clear
February 10, 2022
What an incredible debut. This book teetered on the edge of too much for me a lot. It threatened to completely overwhelm me, so much so that I had to take breaks. But it's worth it. The writing is absolutely stunning, the story desperate and agonising. I felt so much for the people in this. I feel haunted by their tragedies even still and it left me almost breathless at times. Just absolutely brilliant all round, sometimes a punishing read but one I can easily recommend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews