Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Fiona and the Whale by Hannah Lynn. It's certainly a surprising and provocative read.
Hannah Lynn is an award-winning novelist. Publishing her first book, Amendments – a dark, dystopian speculative fiction novel, in 2015, she has since gone on to write The Afterlife of Walter Augustus, a contemporary fiction novel with a supernatural twist – which won the 2018 Kindle Storyteller Award and the Gold Medal for Best Adult Fiction ebook at this year’s IPPY Awards – and the delightfully funny and poignant Peas and Carrots series.
While she freely moves between genres, her novels are recognisable for their character driven stories and wonderfully vivid description.
She is currently working on a YA Vampire series and a reimaging of a classic Greek myth.
Born in 1984, Hannah grew up in the Cotswolds, UK. After graduating from university, she spent ten years as a teacher of physics, first in the UK and then around Asia. It was during this time, inspired by the imaginations of the young people she taught, she began writing short stories for children, and later adult fiction Now as a teacher, writer, wife and mother, she is currently living in the Austrian Alps.
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About the book
With her personal life on the rocks, it's going to take a whale sized miracle to keep her afloat.
Event planner Fiona Reeves did not have her husband's sudden departure on her schedule. However, she’s certain that it's only a hiccup and he'll be back in no time, begging for forgiveness. Fortunately there’s a distraction of mammoth proportions swimming in the River Thames.
Absorbed by the story of Martha the sperm whale, Fiona attempts to carry on life as usual as she awaits her husband's return. However, nothing can prepare her for the dramatic turn of events that throws her life into ever greater turmoil. The road ahead has many paths and for Fiona it’s time to sink or swim.
Fiona and the Whale is a poignant and often hilarious contemporary fiction novel. If you enjoy topical tales, second chances and a little bit of romance, you'll love this new book from the Kindle Storyteller Award Winner, Hannah Lynn.
The author takes an interesting approach to the story by becoming sort of a narrator. The occasional friendly commentator who checks in to see how the reader is doing on their reading journey. It doesn't interrupt the process, in fact it is very much like having another fictional character or fictional narrator except for the fact it is the author.
I'm going to come out and say it like I see it, as is my wont. I felt for Fiona - I really did. Her husband is a pretentious self-involved misogynist in the middle of a classic mid-life crisis. There is absolutely nothing to like about him, especially the way he uses their son to humiliate his wife.
However, when Fiona has her epiphany she acts as if she has found God in the freezer section at the supermarket and her main goal in life is to save the souls of all the heathens around her. You can find God just let the other souls wander around aimlessly and without him if they choose to do so.
Lest there be some misunderstanding because of my snark - this story isn't about religion, faith or God. Fiona's epiphany is her role in the destruction of our environment. The role of humans in the poisoning of the planet. I'm not sure talking to people as if they are idiots and the enemy is the way to create change, and there is no doubt we need change.
In that sense this book is timely and on point. Fiona goes all Greta Thunberg on her friends, her life and her business. Why? All because of a whale, that's why. I really liked the way the whale became both a symbol and a metaphor at the same time. It's a symbol of the destruction the human race is causing and it is a metaphor for Fiona's life. The way she is left abandoned, adrift in strange waters and slowly choking, albeit unawares, on the toxic matter in and around her.
Kudos to the author for the conscience awakening read. It is a thought-provoking contemporary read, which combines environmentalism with a flair of women's fiction. If you walk away from this read spending just a bit of time contemplating your role in the environment and not what you could do, but what you should be doing right now, then the author has done her job.
Buy Fiona and the Whale at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.
Buy Amendments at Amazon Uk, Buy Amendments at Amazon com, Buy The Afterlife of Walter Augustus at Amazon Uk or Amazon com, Buy Peas, Carrots and an Aston Martin at Amazon Uk or Amazon com.
Enter the Whale Sized Giveaway (Open Internationally)
Prizes are - $25 Amazon Gift card, 2 print copies of Fiona and the Whale, 10 ebooks of Fiona, 5 ebooks of The Afterlife of Water Augustus, 5 ebooks, of Peas, Carrots and an Aston Martin.
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