The Whale’s Last Song (Joanne Fedler, HarperCollins)

Joanne Fedler’s spellbinding The Whale’s Last Song is set in a time known as ‘The Great Forgetting’, when a plague ravages the medieval hamlet of Villingraz. While the wealthy hide in their castles, hoarding supposed remedies, the lives of the poor become even more wretched. Teo is a young girl who has lost her mother to drowning while her father, Merdocai, is imprisoned after volunteering for experimentation in search of a cure. With her sister, Sancia, infected with the pox, Teo embarks on a journey through the forest to beg for a cure from Malakha, a powerful and terrifying spirit. With skill and confidence, Fedler weaves several themes into this seemingly simple story, exploring the societal impact of a pandemic and the heroism of ordinary people. However, the primary message centres on the environment. The titular whale, whose final journey impacts and runs parallel to Teo’s story, symbolises nature’s perfect balance. The whale sings its way back to its birthplace and eventual death, after which its body will provide life to others for many years to come. Like Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Fedler’s novel blends fantasy and realism to create a story in which ordinary people, without magical powers or weapons, overcome fear through their resilience and determination, making The Whale’s Last Song a superb fable for fantasy and non-fantasy readers.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Katy Briggs is a marketer with a degree in English and history. She is an avid reader across myriad genres. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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