This lyrical, coming of age novel takes place in the 1930’s off the Welsh coast. Two strangers come to a small town after a whale washes ashore. While the whale seems foreign to the residents, the residents intrigue these two new visitors who, like anthropologists, record their way of life. The visitors remind eighteen-year-old Manon that there is a world apart from her small town. This is a quiet, contemplative novel, that continued to wash over me like a wave when the book ended.

Here is my review for whale fall! Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review ! I gave this book 3.5 stars

Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor was a wonderful atmospheric read for a cold and gloomy spring day. When outsiders arrive, Manod is drawn to them as her stagnant life could change. Rich in atmosphere, O'Connor nails the isolated island community and landscape, a small place that is lost or behind in time. Whale Fall is melancholy and lonely, intimate and lyrical, and hits the spot for a shorter novel that is driven by character and place rather than plot.

In "Whale Fall" by Elizabeth O'Connor, readers are transported to a remote Welsh island in 1938, where we meet Manod, an 18-year-old woman living a simple life with her father and younger sister. Despite her isolation, Manod is intelligent and curious, yearning to explore the world beyond the island.

When two English ethnographers arrive to study the island's culture, Manod becomes involved in their research, forming unique relationships with both scholars. The story unfolds with captivating simplicity, drawing readers into Manod's world and the complexities of her relationships.

O’Connor’s straightforward writing style was beautiful in its simplicity. She has the ability to powerfully make a point in few words, and I was shocked to find such a well-developed, unique voice in a debut work. Already looking forward to reading whatever she writes next!

This is a gem of a debut novel. Manod is an 18 year old living on a remote island off the coast of Wales. The islanders are a diminished population. Simple folk who live as one with nature and still believe in superstitions and the old ways of life. The world is on the brink of the Second World War. A huge dead whale washes up on the shore. Two University researchers visit supposedly to study the Island ways and write a book about it. Naive Manod is caught up in this as she struggles to maintain her identity while learning the hard way how the world can be a cruel place. Read this if you are a fan of beautiful prose and literary fiction done right. Not so much of a plot here but it's still a short and sweet story well worth your time.
Thank you NetGalley, Pantheon Books and Elizabeth O'Connor for the ARC

Thank you Netgalley and Pantheon for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

4 stars

This is a captivating historical coming of age story set in a fictional remote Welsh island in the midst of WWII. Where our main character, Manod, is wanting more out of life after seeing all of her peers moving to the mainland. Then a whale washes up on shore and slowly starts decomposing throughout the book symbolizing the decay of the island. Then 2 students from Oxford arrive to gather information for the book they are writing about the island and the people living there. Manod begins working for them and becoming even more enamored with the idea of leaving their small island for the mainland to pursue an education. Later, when Manod is looking through the students notes she begins to realize their intentions may be questionable. She becomes torn between having a deep love for her family, the island, and her culture, while also still being drawn to wanting more out of life. O'Connor's prose is gorgeously lyrical and paints such a vivid picture of this fictional island it feels like a real place. While also sprinkling in snippets of folklore throughout the book. Although I did thoroughly enjoy my time with this book, I was just expecting a little more out of it. With that being said I think this is still a great book to read while you're in your 20s trying to find yourself!

The premise sounded promising, but the writing felt very heavy handed and the story didn't flow in a natural way.

Thank you Netgalley & Pantheon Publishing for an eARC ♥️


Whale Fall is the kind of book that wraps itself around your heart and refuses to let go. It's a stunning tale of self-discovery, set against the rugged backdrop of a remote Welsh island in the 1930s.

Manod's journey is one of quiet courage and determination, as she navigates the constraints of her small community and the allure of the outside world. Her story is a gentle reminder that our dreams and desires are worth fighting for, even when the path ahead is uncertain.

O'Connor's writing is like a soft breeze on a summer's day - warm, inviting, and full of beauty. Her prose is a masterclass in subtlety, weaving together themes of identity, community, and the human condition with grace and precision.

If you're looking for a book that will transport you to another time and place, and leave you feeling all the feels, then Whale Fall is the perfect choice. It's a beautifully crafted tale that will stay with you long after the final page is turned.🥹

Read this in one evening—such a lyrical, beautiful little book with a small story that tells us so much about human behavior and their desires and follies, using just one tiny island and a handful of characters. So glad I read it!

3.5 Rounding Up

For me personally, I felt like this didn’t live up to its full potential. The writing really was well done and the atmosphere was absolutely jumping off the page. But this was very disconnected feeling, abruptly moving to a different time or day or event with little to no transition. I understand this was intentional for the small, hard-hitting feel this was meant to portray. But I wish we would have just gotten a little more out of all the events and interactions.

This is not to say this wasn’t a good story, because it really was. There were some very heartfelt and tender scenes that I felt benefited from the sparse telling, but overall just a little bit more of everything would have made this feel like a more whole story to me. I don’t dislike the way this ended as it fits with the style of this story.

I loved the melancholy atmosphere of this island cut off from the mainland and living about 20 years behind the rest of the population. The descriptions of the island dwellers way of life were my favorite aspect.

Life in a small island community for some is a cherished ideal, for others a stultifying existence.

Manod is an 18 year old girl in 1938 who was raised on a small Welsh-speaking island just off the coast of England, a community that has just 12 families living there, plus the minister and the lighthouse keeper. She lives with her lobsterman father (Tad) and in the absence of a mother is helping to raise her younger sister Llinos. The men on the island are either farmers or fishermen, neither of which is an easy or profitable life. The younger residents are more and more often moving to the mainland in search of better ways to make a living. Despite having been an extremely good student at school, Manod has few options open to her…it is expected that she will marry (preferable someone on the island) and have children, though she dreams of continuing her education and leading a bigger life. Even as the rumors of coming war are reaching the island, something dramatic happens that will change life there forever. A dead whale washes up on the beach, which the more superstitious islanders feel is an omen (though they can’t agree on whether it is a good or bad one). Next two British academics arrive, Joan and Edward, wanting to study the islanders’ way of life. Their speech, customs, stories, songs, and more are all of great interest to the pair, but neither speaks Welsh particularly well. Monad speaks both Welsh and English well, and is asked to work as their interpreter. She is as fascinated with Joan (who wears lipstick and dresses in clothes just like those Monad has seen in magazines) and Edward and the life that they have lived as the academics are with the unspoiled rural way of life on the island. In both cases, the idealized virtues are far from what the reality of each situation is truly like, and will lead to disenchantment all around. Has Manod found a way to escape the harsh life that seems her destiny? Will Joan and Edward record an accurate view of the islanders’ life or will they portray it as what they hoped it might be?
Author Elizabeth O”Connor has written a haunting story about a disappearing way of life set in an unforgiving locale, and the coming of age of a young woman at a time and in a place that seems to offer but one path ahead, one that does not appeal. Manod has seen the life of wives on the island, who frequently lose their husbands to the sea, and where contact with the larger world is infrequent and at times even impossible. Joan and Edward are enchanted by this community that works in concert with their natural surroundings, but don’t seem to see how difficult and precarious life is there. Told with compassion and using precise, evocative language, this story allowed me as a reader to quickly enter the world Manod inhabits, and look at things through her eyes. She is a character who will live within me for some time to come. Readers of authors like E. Annie Proulx, Howard Norman and Michael Cunningham should grab a copy of Whale Fall, find a cozy chair, a mug of their beverage of choice, and settle in for a rewarding read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon Books for allowing me early access to this captivating novel of love, loss and disappointment.

This historical fiction debut wasn't my cup of tea but it was a quick read with an interesting premise (a group of reporters show up on a remote Welsh island to investigate a whale that's washed up on shore). Short with a strong female lead this was a quick read and good on audio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Whale Fall opens with two quietly catastrophic events - a whale washes up on the beach at the same time as two researchers from the mainland arrive to survey the participants.

Manod, a Welsh woman straining to move beyond her island community, is tasked with helping the ethnographers. What begins as a way to cautiously expand her own world spirals into betrayal as Manod realizes the researchers are looking for a fantasy.

Whale Fall perfectly bridges the divide between literary and historical fiction. Based on real events, there’s a familiar disillusion of being sold a dupe. The whale’s death and decay mirrors Manod’s distance from her community, as she becomes enraptured and then cast aside. Never heavy handed, O’Connor’s windswept language carries the sparse outer world of the island, leaving an ongoing sense of longing.

I rarely see sequels within lit fic, but I would read more of Manod’s self discovery.

This was such a quiet and thoughtful story set on a remote Welsh island. I really enjoyed following the character of Manod and learning more about her and her life on this island. There is an eclectic cast of characters throughout, and I really enjoyed seeing all of these different interactions. This book is on the shorter side, and I was really impressed by how much O'Connor was able to pack into this tale that let all of the characters and setting feel read. This felt incredibly human and well-written, and it definitely showcases Elizabeth O'Connor as an author that I will absolutely read more from in the future!

While it has beautiful writing, I didnot feel drawn to the characters and felt distracted while reading, that my attention wasnt being grabbed. Maybe will try again at a different time and headspace.

I was immediately hooked by this book's setup: a dead whale washes up on the shore of a remote Welsh island — a bad omen? An invitation to explore? Soon two English ethnographers arrive to study the island's culture, and our heroine Manod's live is unsettled in ways she couldn't have predicted. I loved this exploration of the anguish (and sometimes, rewards) of wanting more, of being curious, of looking beyond the current horizon. Once that fire is burning in your chest, it's impossible to put it out without *something* happening. The combination of folklore and setting made this a page-turner — a fascinating, moving way to take a virtual trip to Wales.

2.5 Stars rounded up
I need to learn not to pick up books like Whale Fall, the melancholy wears thin for me even in a book that is just over 200 pages. I can appreciate the beauty in the prose, and the parallels between the book and actual islands in Britain made the novel more interesting in retrospect, but unfortunately, Whale Fall fell a little flat for me. If you enjoy books by Otessa Moshfegh or the movie the Banshees of Inishiren, that is the vibe from this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pantheon for the digital ARC of Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor. The opinions in this review are my own.

I always want to love these types of books more than I actually do. It's very much a short snapshot of someone's life but it's just too short for me to really get invested. I am impressed with this author's writing and will see what they publish in the future. I would recommend this if it seems interesting to you and if you like short books.

4/5 ⭐️

Whale Fall starts with a washed up whale on an island in the early 1920s-1930s with less than 40 people. Our main character Manod is caring for her sister grappling with the desire to go to the mainland where she can have other opportunities. Journalist from the mainland come to document the life of the island and slowly a friendship is made between Manod and the outsiders. This story is about self discovery and if the life others have is not only what it seems but to be better. As you read the story, you find that the whale is symbolic in a way and I loved that tie in. I found the FMC relatable in trying to decide to go against what her culture has taught and the little information she has received about mainland life. If you are a fan of coming of age stories and stories that evoke asking yourself inner personal questions, I would highly recommend this book.

Release day May 7th!

Thank you NetGalley for a complementary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was melancholic, lonely at times, deeply intimate, and beautiful. The writing style was unique and immersive — the way the island and its lifestyle was described made me feel as if I was there. The book managed the convey so much emotion and longing in its simple aspects, centered around the metaphor of this beached whale. For a shorter book it carried a lot of emotional impact.