Joanne Fedler started writing The Whale’s Last Song for herself. After losing her mother, and in the depths of her grief, she found comfort in children’s books.
“I was enchanted by Kate Di Camillo’s book The Magician’s Elephant,” she told The AJN. “Soon after, the first three chapters of The Whale’s Last Song leaped out of me.”
Fedler didn’t have an agent or a publisher in mind when she wrote the manuscript. And originally, she explained, it was written as a children’s book.
“In my mind, it was a ‘children’s book for adults’ in the tradition of The Little Prince, or even the stories of Winnie the Pooh,” she recalled, sharing that throughout the writing process, she also worked visually. “I painted watercolours and made line drawings trying to bring the world of the book alive inside me visually. I made objects from things I found washed up on the beach. I listened to whale music. I wrote silly poems, and wondered what if a little girl went on a journey to save someone she loves? And out came The Whale’s Last Song, like a cry from deep inside me.”
Fedler’s mother died from ovarian cancer during the horrible years when COVID-19 took over the world. She described feeling “unworlded” by her mother’s death, saying she had to find her way back to life.
“Grief is so mysterious; it offers us no answers or solutions. I was trying to write a memoir about this loss, but it was too soon. I needed something oblique, so I began to write a fable about a motherless child who is on a journey to try and save someone she loves,” she recalled. “It allowed me to approximate, but not directly address my grief which was still too raw. I drew on poetry, imagery, imagination and mystery as I tried to come to terms with the fact that I could not save my mother. The Whale’s Last Song, through the language of wondering and enchantment, addresses this longing, indirectly and symbolically.”
The Whale’s Last Song is described as “a touching, tender and lyrical fable about what we do for the ones we love, and the beauty and mystery of being alive in a world in which we are part of everything, and everything is part of us”.
It follows a little girl, Teo, who leaves her village, searching for a cure for her sister who has been infected with the pox. Along the way, she encounters creatures and teachers who help answer her questions about who she is and where she has come from. While the book is about sisterly love, Fedler said there’s a surprise at the end which challenges what many believe a ‘sibling’ to be.
“I hope the book nudges readers to keep their wounded hearts open in these troubled times when we are all struggling to find medicine to heal us and our world.”
“We tend to cast our circles of care too small, and don’t wonder whether a tree, a pet, a friend or even a dream can also be considered ‘kin’ in the way we think of those to whom we are related by blood,” she said.
Prior to The Whale’s Last Song, Fedler had all but given up on her writing. She had success in her early career as an author but, as she has said, too many disappointments followed. She said though, that she needed to write this story.
“After a long break from writing, The Whale’s Last Song emerged as an expression of the wisdom, poetry, books and philosophies I’ve been steeped in all my life. It embodies the vision of life I have come to hold which is that humans are not special, but part of a much greater living system, of which we are small (but terribly powerful) players,” she said.
The book is inspired by three quotes, which are written at the beginning of the book.
The first is “A full life is a beautiful life – although it can also be a difficult, even tragic life” by Andreas Weber.
The second, unattributed, says, “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
And the third, by Mary Oliver, says, “Maybe the world without us is the real poem.”
“Grief is so mysterious; it offers us no answers or solutions.”
Fedler said each of them, along with The Whale’s Last Song, remind her that humans have a lot to answer for.
“We have not been good caretakers of our home, nor have we safeguarded the future of our children. When we die, the world will continue without us. At the same time, while we are alive, we have the power to make soup, offer consolation, be kind to a stranger,” she said. “The three quotes at the beginning of the book frame the story for the reader, in a paradox: given that we are here for a short time only, we have the chance to be of service, even though the poem of creation outlasts us.”
As for what she hopes readers get out of the book, Fedler said she hopes the book is read slowly.
“I hope the book nudges readers to keep their wounded hearts open in these troubled times when we are all struggling to find medicine to heal us and our world. A story like this lets us borrow joy and sorrow from elsewhere and reflects our own back to us.”
The Whale’s Last Song is published by Harper Collins, $32.99 rrp
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