Death of a Whaler

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Death of a Whaler
First edition cover
First edition cover
Author Nerida Newton
Country Australia
Language English
Genre(s) Novel
Publisher Allen & Unwin
Released July 2006
Media Type Print (Paperback)
Pages 312 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN ISBN 1-74114-791-3 (first edition, paperback)
Preceded by The Lambing Flat

Death of a Whaler is a novel written by Australian author Nerida Newton and was first published in 2006. It was Newton's second novel, her first award-winning novel being The Lambing Flat.

[edit] Plot summary

A simple, powerful story about death, grief, rebirth and reawakening - an Australian classic in the making from the award-wining author of The Lambing Flat.

Byron Bay, 1962. On the second last day before the whaling station is closed down for good, Flinch, the young spotter, is involved in a terrible accident.

Over a decade later, Flinch has become a recluse, unable to move on from that fatal moment. The Bay, too, seems stalled in its bloody past, the land and the ocean on which it was founded now barren and unyielding.

It is only after crossing paths with Karma, a girl living in one of the hinterland's first hippie communes, that Flinch gradually and reluctantly embarks upon a path towards healing, coming to terms with his past, present and future.

[edit] Major themes

A very Australian tale of fate, forgiveness and redemption, Death of a Whaler is a big-hearted story about the unsteady progress we make towards healing and wholeness.

[edit] External links