The setting was the star of this debut novel by Elizabeth O'Connor. I particularly enjoyed reading about the imagined island, with evocative descriptions of the beauty and brutality of the natural world that envelops it.

The tension between tradition and modernity is ever-present, and the island is not immune from outside influence and global events (most noticeably the legacy of the First World War, represented by empty houses, and the looming threat of the next such conflict).

There are also other tensions between our protagonist Manod and the Engish anthropologists who are visiting the island. The depiction of this relationship was the most interesting part of the book to me. Manod herself has her own internal conflicts, struggling to come to terms with her past, her relationships with family and friends and what she wants her future to look like. This character development provides the main thrust for the novel.

I would highly recommend this to readers who enjoy thoughtful, character-driven books with lyrical writing and thought-provoking symbolism.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of Whale Fall in exchange for an honest review.

A fast-paced read. A literary piece that wasn't too heavy to read and not dragging. I might have missed some plot points but though I enjoy the symbolism of the whale to the city people, I wish there was a deeper connection with them. I'm watching a documentary about whales while reading this book and hearing the ocean sounds from the docu, it adds more feels to the island vibes of the book. I admire this book encapsulating the remote island vibes and the characterization of the main character,Manod.
At first, I thought that the ending was a bit off,that it was hanging. But I realized that it was the intention of the author. Just like Manod, I was left hanging and wondering what might have been after that ending.
Overall, I think this book is both light and heavy at the same time. The historical topics touched on this novel was heavy but the writing was not too extravagant and dramatic.

With thanks to the author, publishers Pan Macmillan, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Manod lives on a remote Welsh island and has reluctantly devoted herself to the care of her father and sister after the death of her mother. In spite of this, she harbours ambitions that go beyond the confines of this island life but can see no way to realise them.

After a dead whale washes up on the island shore, two English anthropologists arrive on the island. Manod thinks they are there for the whale, but they actually want to write a book about the conditions on the island and the culture of the island and its inhabitants. Manod is recruited by them to assist them in their dealings with the locals, and her relationships with them give her a glimpse into another world beyond the confines of the island, and offer a potential means of escape for her.

Beautifully written, the author does a wonderful job of describing the different characters living on the island, and of capturing the essence of the beauty and starkness of the island itself, all the while with the whale decaying on the beach, almost like a metaphor for Manod’s own happiness with her island existence.

A short novel based off the coast of Wales, this was a really good book but was juuuuust missing something for me to give it a higher rating. When a whale is beached on the coast, there are rumours of submarines hanging around offshore and it dredges up a lot for the local islanders who have already been through a lot in the great war. It just fell off for me towards the end and didn't really stick the landing, but i loved the writing and the atmospheric feeling of this book.

In 1938, on a remote Welsh island, eighteen-year-old Manod grapples with the choice between her isolated life and the allure of the outside world. Her mundane existence shifts when a whale washes ashore, sparking island-wide fascination. The arrival of a sophisticated couple who hire Manod as an interpreter introduces her to their glamorous, worldly lifestyle. As she becomes enamored with their stories and style, she starts to suspect their true intentions, realizing their presence might endanger her tight-knit community.

Elizabeth O'Connor's atmospheric writing vividly captures the island's stark, sensory details, immersing readers in Manod's world and her evolving understanding of the outside influences encroaching on her life.

I listened to this on audio and it was wonderfully narrated. It is set on a secluded island with a very small population before World War 2 . The story focuses on Manod an 18 year old girl and her sister. A whale has become stranded on the beach and over the course of the book we see its body decaying . Also arriving on the island are two anthropologists who are clearly outsiders and are writing a book about the conditions the islanders live in . We get snippets of folklore and songs throughout, which add to the atmosphere of the island. Mahod dreams of leaving the island and getting an educatIon and after meeting Joan she wants more than the traditions of the island. You certainly get the seclusion of the islanders and how intrusive the two outsiders are, monitoring and discussing their way of life. And all through this ,is this image of a decaying whale. It’s a short book but extremely atmospheric and moving in parts

Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor is a beautifully written literary debut set on a Welsh island. Little attention is given in mainstream literary fiction to this part of the world and it feels right that the setting comes to the fore in this quiet novel. Manod has been sheltered from a life other than the one she knows, which is interrupted by the arrival of two strangers on the island with whom she becomes entangled. The setting lulls the reader into a false sense of idealised pastoral, but a country both reeling from and on the brink of war is far from relaxing - instead O'Connor's prose draws out the empty spaces and hollow crevices left behind by grief, death, and waiting for the the promise of something better that must come.

i loooved this one! loved the welsh setting, the perspectives, the life they've built and what happens when outsiders arrive. quiet and powerful

A bleak and beautiful novel like the Welsh island it is set on. Eighteen year old Manod is employed by two English anthropologists but they have a hidden agenda. A coming of age story, it is a well written novel.

I will surely review in a proper way as the style of writing and the storytelling are excellent. As it's quite a hard time I found hard to rate and and review it in the best way
I think it's an excellent novel, a more extensive review will follow
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

At just 178 pages, this debut by Elizabeth O’Connor is a slim volume, but one whose size belies the heft of its content. Whale Fall is extraordinary; a lyrical, atmospheric, coming-of-age story with an unforgettable heroine, whose brutal rite of passage into adulthood comes with devastating consequences.

Set on a fictional Welsh island in 1938, Whale Fall centers around 18-year-old Manod, who lives with her fisherman father and younger sister in one of the few remaining, inhabited cottages. It’s a tiny, austere community, subsisting hand to mouth in a constant battle against nature. Manod dreams of escaping it to forge a better life on the mainland.

Her opportunity comes, when two anthropologists from Oxford University turn up to conduct a study of the island and its people, drawn there by the news of a whale beaching on its shores. As a fluent speaker of Welsh and English, Manod is the obvious choice to serve as their assistant and translator.

From the opening pages, O’Connor transports you to a place and a people steeped in tradition, superstition and folklore. Her writing is exquisite, her imagery compelling. But it is Manod who shines brightest in this bleak setting, endearing in her eagerness to impress the visitors.

As Manod struggles to reconcile her responsibilities to her family with her lust for a glittering future, she falls under the spell of educated, worldly Joan, and handsome, enigmatic Edward.

O’Connor takes great care not to immediately expose the interlopers for what they are, but instead peels away their facade layer by layer. A disdainful look here, an impatient gesture there, a harsh word quickly concealed with a tender touch or smile.

Manod, impressionable and naïve as she is, doesn’t stand a chance.

As a reader, you know exactly where this is going; that it’s a tale that can only end in betrayal and heartache. But it’s impossible to look away. O’Connor wants you to feel the disbelief, the rage, the pity. And I did, on all counts.

An immersive, affecting read from an exciting new talent.

Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor is an excellent evocative novel.
It is 1938, Manod, an eighteen year old woman living on a small island off the coast of Wales lives with her fisherman father and her sister. Changes are about to take place in her life, with the emancipation of woman, and in the world, with the oncoming war. Against this backdrop of personal and political changes a whale washes up on the beach and soon after two anthropologists arrive on the island who influence Manod at an important time in her life.
A highly impressive, literary, coming of age novel.

Thank u netgalley for the advance Arc of this book

In this book we follow a young girl who is on an island away from the main lands of England, the only future she has going forward if she stays on this island is a fishmens or farmers wife and she wants more then this, she wants an education and to live in the main lands of England but a film couple comes to her island and hire her to translate for them ( in this coming of age story for her tackling strong emotions). But the ones who have come to take photos and take stories are making life on the island look different to what it is and also not only manipulating her but the town people, this makes putting character second guess them and not see them as amazing as she first though.

Throughout the story we do have the Body of a whale dead on the island and the play on words with the title (whale fall) makes u look at the couple taking photos and filming things as maybe they are taking only what they need or want feasting off the spoils of what they create on each of these islands.

Very good read will recommend.

4 stars

I was a bit surprised to know that this was a debut novel, as the writing style is very striking and vivid, each sentence appears well-thought of. It introduces us to Manod, a Welsh young girl who is frequently feeling isolated in this island she lives in. With no mother to look after them, looks after her younger sister. She ponders on her desire to break free from this life and from her family, desiring to experience the wonder of the world beyond.

Two anthropologists soon arrive, aiming to study the small community's way of life. Manod catches hope of them being her chance to finally bring this dream to pass, not knowing the presence of a hidden agenda that will soon be brought to the surface. With this comes the ominous presence of a whale washing on the shore, which is highly symbolic, as well as being thought of by readers to be an omen.

It is lyrical in composition, and just the perfect length - not too overwhelming. The story is heartfelt and gripping, it made me think about it for days moving forward. I love how their folklore and culture was illustrated. I sometimes got confused with the transition in between scenes, and had some questions that felt like they were not answered, but it was still a beautiful read as a whole.

This is the kind of novel that as the answer to "why do you read?"
For me, I understand that I will only ever encounter a tiny segment of our world and only ever from my own perspective. Writing is an act of empathy: in all of its forms, it is highly personal and implores us to understand and connect with its creator.
If we disregard it as impractical or worthless, we chip away at our ability to understand empathise with people who are different from ourselves. It allows people to be othered and then persecuted. So, often, we are blind or numb to that persecution.
We follow eighteen-year-old Manod, who becomes enthralled with two English anthropologists who arrive on the island to document the what and the unusual community who uphold traditions and language long-abandoned elsewhere.
Manod hopes the two researchers are her ticket to a new life and an escapes from the drudgery of island life but her naivety is instead exploited by them.
Whale Fall isn't necessarily about persecution. But it is about "othering" a community of people whose lives remain fixed in the past due to their isolation. When a beached whale appears on the shore of a Welsh island, it is a harbinger and an omen. O'Connor has a really unique narrative voice and a way of creating visceral imagery that is haunting and disquieting, as the threat of war broods on the edges of the story like the gloom that seems to hang perpetually around the small island. Social inequality, women's emancipation, and grief sit at the heart of this story and I found it unlike anything I've read recently. With mesmerising writing and what feels like meticulous, careful selection of words, this was a fantastic read.

This wasn’t a bad book, but it’s much more introspective, character and atmosphere driven than I usually like. I found it to be quite meandering; although it’s relatively short it felt like it took a long while to get anywhere, and the ending overall was a touch anticlimactic.

The language is poetic, but there were missed opportunities to really dive into some of the things mentioned, without ever actually doing that. Manod lives on a remote Welsh island, though she yearns to leave. She sees her opportunity when an English man and woman arrive to study the island, and hire her to assist in their research.

A whale has washed up on the shore, and as time passes and Manod grows closer and closer to the researchers and to leaving the island, the whale deteriorates. There’s mentions of war and some indications of how this might impact the characters, but nothing to really dig into. The researchers Edwin and Joan come off as strange, especially the way Joan keeps romanticising the lifestyle led by the islanders. There’s an element of her character revealed slowly, and stated plainly later on by Edwin, but it’s skipped over and kind of left without any real impact.

It feels more like a snapshot or collection than a fully-fledged out novel, and though I don’t doubt this book will receive plenty of praise, it feels like it skims over meatier parts in favour of poetic prose and an attempt to make the island into as much a character as the humans we meet.

Thank you to Picador for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley, views remain my own.

the cover and title of this novel intrigued me but i did find the historical setting to be going too hard for the dire bleak type of thing.

This was an amazing book for a debut. I am looking forward to other books by Elizabeth O'Connor as this is such a great debut.

Whale Fall is a short novel set in 1938 on a remote island off the coast of Wales.

Manod is an intelligent young woman who has lived there her entire life, and knows no different than this harsh island existence.
Having become a stand-in mother to her younger sister after the death of the family matriarch, she leads a domestic life of chores and responsibilities, with little prospects for the future other than marriage.

She’s excited then when a boat brings two British ethnographers, looking to study the deeply old-fashioned culture of the island. They hire Manod as a translator and general guide, which at first feels liberating and flattering for her, but she soon begins to question the visitors real intentions.

This is a beautifully written book; the prose feels lyrical at times, and indeed folklore-based songs and stories are scattered throughout the story.
I really felt for Manod, like many women throughout history she finds herself in a restrictive and sexist era. In that sense this is very much a feminist text.

The mini British Invasion on the island felt quite realistic too; the ethnographers are your classic colonizers; happy to leave destruction in their wake once they have what they came for.
The impending onset of WW2 feels appropriately terrifying; what will become of the island and its traditional way of life?
This is somewhat answered by the afterword from the author about the inspiration for this book; other islands now abandoned, such as our own Great Blasket Island. I really appreciated that she included these reference points, as they added a lot to my experience of reading the story.

This is a quick, atmospheric read with an excellently developed sense of time and place. An at times poignant look at a life that no longer exists, and a relatable protagonist to root for. I really liked it; recommend!

With many thanks to @netgalley and @picador for my copy of #WhaleFall, available to buy now.

"Whale Fall" by Elizabeth O'Connor offers readers a haunting and atmospheric tale set against the backdrop of a remote island off the coast of Wales in 1938. For Manod, a young woman grappling with the harsh realities of her island home, the appearance of a beached whale signals ominous times ahead. As rumors of submarines and the echoes of the Great War haunt the villagers, Manod sees in the arrival of two anthropologists from the mainland a chance to escape her isolated existence and pursue a new life. However, as she becomes entangled in their relationship, Manod's dreams of freedom begin to unravel, leaving her stranded between the harsh landscape of her island home and the uncertain promise of the mainland.

O'Connor's prose is lyrical and evocative, painting a vivid portrait of life on the remote Welsh island. The sense of isolation and foreboding permeates the narrative, as Manod grapples with the weight of her past and the uncertainty of her future. The arrival of the anthropologists introduces a tantalizing possibility of escape, but their presence also brings complications that threaten to derail Manod's plans. As the tension builds and secrets are revealed, "Whale Fall" becomes a gripping exploration of longing, loss, and the search for belonging in a world on the brink of change.

However, while "Whale Fall" offers a compelling premise and richly drawn characters, some readers may find the pacing uneven and the resolution of certain plot points unsatisfying. The novel's atmospheric prose may overshadow the development of its characters, leaving some aspects of their motivations and relationships feeling underexplored. Additionally, the novel's exploration of themes such as isolation and longing may resonate more deeply with readers who appreciate introspective and atmospheric storytelling. Despite these minor drawbacks, "Whale Fall" is a haunting and beautifully crafted novel that will transport readers to a remote island where the echoes of the past reverberate in the present, and the promise of escape hangs tantalizingly on the horizon.