The Whale Tattoo

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Ransom and Armfield were announced as the winners at a ceremony at the British Library on Friday evening. From one of the most acclaimed debut novelists of 2022 author of the Polari Prize short listed The Whale Tattoo. Delving deep in the psyche of the main character Joe, who is trapped in a small seaside town, queer and tormented by death. The first thing readers are bound to take note of regarding Jon Ransom’s debut novel, THE WHALE TATTOO (2022; 231 pp.

Some of the stylistic choices, while understandable for their intent, make the text slightly difficult to follow in places, but otherwise the novel is well written, with an affecting insight into the lengths that love and loss drive people to and a refreshing frankness about sex. In sometimes dream-like, deliberately disjointed language, a tale is told of after a flood in early 1950s east England somewhere. Speech isn't clearly delineated, isn't often assigned to particular speakers, and can sometimes feel stylised.

There’s quite a lot of gay sex scenes throughout the novel the scenes are graphic at times but in no way voyeuristic I felt that they were vital to developing the tone of the story and to understanding the characters and their motivation. There’s real intensity here- the first half of the novel takes place during a heatwave and as emotions simmer it reminded me of the Southern American work of authors such as William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams and I found myself having to remind myself that this was early 1950s Britain. The Whale Tattoo has hints of Iain Bank’s Wasp Factory, and perhaps also The Crow Road, leading you to suspect our protagonist may not be the most reliable narrator of his own life.

It may seem contradictory (so much of this novel is), but equally impressive, in spite of the bleakness of Joe’s life and events, there is beauty ever present—be it in Ransom’s writing or the final events which flood the pages of the novel like a rising tide.Please note that your continued use of the Acast service will be deemed an acceptance of this update. And yes, there’s quite a lot of sex, which feels entirely appropriate for these lads, at their age, in this setting - again furthering the essence of the protagonist’s voice. It's one of those books where you know something bad is about to happen, something bad has happened - an impending sense of underlying doom. Finishing THE WHALE TATTOO, readers are likely to close the cover, sit and wonder, basking in the presence of having had a unique reading experience. The use of such a close first person narrator, within a timeline that skipped back and forth with little warning or explanation, meant that I felt thrust inside this world that told of pain and hurt, and yet somehow also of the various types of love and care.

It isn’t a very long section but it does not work as far as I am concerned and I couldn’t see its relevance. The books first big surprise could have been handled more adeptly (I can’t say more, no spoilers here).Photograph: Sophie Davidson View image in fullscreen Opening up what we believe is possible … Julia Armfield, author of Our Wives Under the Sea.