Released: 9th June 2022
Genre: Historical, Drama, War
Number of Pages: 546
Joanna Quinn’s debut novel, The Whalebone Theatre, is a superb and absorbing tale that puts both characters and the passage of time first.
The book follows the Seagraves, a wealthy family who live on the Dorset coast at the old Chilcombe estate. Jasper is the old and worn out patriarch, a veteran of the First World War, and his wife Rosalind is somewhat distant. Over the next twenty years, we’re taken on a grand tale; the Seagrave children come of age and start to partake in the war effort throughout the 1940s. The perspective swaps between the three of them, but Cristabel is the main anchor of the story. She is the leading mind for the titular theatre, crafted from the bones of the old whale. A love of dramatic performance quickly takes hold.
Historical events may form the main backdrop, but The Whalebone Theatre also boasts a strong symbolic resonance. The beached whale represents the passing of perspectives from one set of the characters to the next. In the first half of the book it slowly disappears and the same holds true for the older generation. As we switch over to Cristabel, Digby and Flossie, they pick up the pieces and start to forge their own pathways amid the onset of World War Two. This brilliant connecting strand will keep the reader fully invested in this family from start to finish.
The bonds between the Seagrave children are presented beautifully with sensory language and letters sent over great distances. The senior Seagraves are marked by trauma and grief, often being more inactive and set in their ways. By contrast, their offspring are all more ambitious and engaged; seeing them take on challenges and blossom into adulthood, the heart of the story shines through, even with the carnage of global conflict raging nearby.
Recommended?
YES: With rich historical trappings, symbolisms and characters, The Whalebone Theatre pulls you in and immerses fully. The two generations are very distinctive with the passing of time and changing of motives always on full display. Cristabel, Digby and Flossie are all portrayed with great poignancy and the journey they take from Chilcombe to occupied Paris is packed with emotional moments. You should pick up this book as soon as you can.
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