2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Last Whale Watch and Other Stories is a short story collection by Bert Silva. It offers a snapshot of the lives of a number of different characters, from an officer in the army to police officers reflecting on an actress’s death. These stories are very much character-driven rather than plot-driven.
The first story in the collection, the titular “The Last Whale Watch,” is a science-fiction story revolving around a mechanical whale. Based on this, I thought that more of the stories would be centred on similar science-fiction concepts, but apart from this one they all very much take place in our reality, either present or past. As such, I felt that the first story was a little bit out of place in this collection. However, I tried not to let this expectation influence me too much and to simply enjoy the book as I read it. I also thought the last story, “Faraway,” felt out of place in this collection. It made up over half of the entire collection and was more like a novella than a short story. In my opinion, this piece would probably have been better off published separately.
I felt that a lot of the stories focused too much on character with no plot to support them. Many of them didn’t really go anywhere, and the conclusion often felt unsatisfying. There are some exceptions to this, such as "Deadly Passage," my favourite story in the collection. It follows a young man seeking revenge for something he believed happened to a woman he loved. In general, though, the stories kind of felt like they lacked something. All the characters seemed to have a remarkably similar voice as well, which meant a great deal of the stories did not feel all that different. However, I did like the concepts behind many of them, I just think they need a bit more work to make them distinct from each other, and I think the collection could be curated a little better so that it works as one coherent book.
I also noticed a number of grammar errors. There were quite a few places where quotation marks were used incorrectly in particular. I don’t think they particularly detracted from my enjoyment of the book though but rather are just a sign that the book could do with a bit more editing.
Taking everything into consideration, I would give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed some of the stories, and it definitely has potential, it just didn’t quite feel like a finished product to me. If you like short stories with a focus on characters and not much plot, you might enjoy the book more than I did, but for me, it’s important that short stories strike a better balance between these two.
******
The Last Whale Watch and Other Stories
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like meadhbh's review? Post a comment saying so!
