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Inside The Whale (2008)

by Jennie Rooney(Favorite Author)

3.28 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0701182741 (ISBN13: 9780701182748)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Chatto

review 1: I enjoyed this first novel by a very young author quite a lot by the time I got into the swing of it. World War II stories usually do appeal to me, especially those set in England. Stevie stays in England while Michael spends most of the war in Africa. I especially enjoyed his work with messenger pigeons. Details add realism. There’s also a marvelous description of a ballet class. The novel is written in very short chapters that alternate between Stevie (short for Stephanie) and Michael. It’s a love story with more than the usual complications. I won’t spoil it by giving away more details. The problem with the book is that Rooney’s leaps both in characters and in time are too confusing at the onset. Eventually I picked up enough of the story line and relationships ... moreto get it. For me, that happened around page 20 in one of the best funeral scenes I’ve ever read. It’s a tender, bittersweet story told with a sense of humor.
review 2: An unusual love story, Stevie and Michael's lives are explored in alternate short chapters that move between the present, the London Blitz and Africa. Gradually their interconnecting story is pieced together. This is a gentle read, but very engaging. It's not a predictable story; the author continually comes at things in quite a quirky way. One chapter begins: 'I have discovered that if I approach my ear from a certain angle, I can slot a pound coin into the cavity and wedge it there.' The writing style is spare and direct and yet the novel paints likeable and rather moving portraits of its characters. It's very funny in parts too. This was Jennie Rooney's first novel so I look forward to reading her later ones. less

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