Fluke or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings

Fluke or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Christopher Moore Grade: B This may be the best line of dialogue ever written: "Oh, that's heinous fuckery most foul."

As always, it's tough to describe the plot of a Christopher Moore novel. On the surface, this one seems easier than most: Marine biologist Nate Quinn has spent his career trying to determine why humpback whales sing. One day while tagging whales in the waters off his Maui research center, he sees on the tail of a humpback these words: BITE ME. It doesn't make any sense, and neither does the request passed along to the old woman who helps fund his research to bring the whale a pastrami on rye.

Then there's the fact that his new research assistant, a comely young woman, can, oddly enough, locate whales by sticking her entire head in the water. As for the author of the line of dialogue that starts this review, it's uttered by Kona, the Hawaiian/Rasta (ie, Jewish teen from New Jersey) gofer who discovers that binary code may explain the whales' song, at which point Nate is off on the adventure of a life-time.

Anyone who's ever read my signature line knows that I am a Tigger fangirl. And it's also pretty clear if you read my recent Christopher Moore interview that I am fast becoming a major fangirl. Put the two together, and I'm in heaven over this line describing said comely research assistant: "She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as though she were going to explode or Tigger off across the room any second." Anyone who can turn "Tigger" into a verb is my kind of writer.

Moore did a tremendous amount of research on whales, and it's easy to separate fact from the clever asides he includes - ie, that all killer whales are all named Kevin, and are "four tons of doofus dressed up like a police car." That said, I had a tough time in the book's second half keeping up with the author. That's partly because of the story's fantastical turns, but also because the premises that inform this half of the book are difficult to digest - and while all the humor makes the whale facts go down easily, the humor and the research can be dischordant at times. I'm still not sure I visualized correctly all the word pictures Moore painted, but after reading some passages twice, I came fairly close. Had I the mental capacity of the author, my grade would have been a B+; because I don't, the book earns a straight B instead.

Even with that complaint, I heartily recommend this book. I couldn't put it down once I'd begun, and for every read who is in love with words, you really can't miss this one.

TTFN, Laurie Likes Books

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