Whalefall Quotes

“Jay's not sure he believes in therapy. He definitely doesn't believe in closure. People aren't doors. They're whole floor plans, entire labyrinths, and the harder you try to escape, the more lost inside them you become.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“No one carries the best parts of themselves. The best parts are those held inside of others.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“(We are sorry we never asked questions)
(We wanted to know but were afraid)
"Of what?"
(Answers to questions have weight)
(And we wanted to stay light)
(We are sorry)”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Seventy percent of the planet is water. Most of that water is deep ocean. The origin of everything. Less than 5 percent of the deep ocean is mapped. Humans know more about Mars. Anything could be down there. Therefore, everything is.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Don’t sons have responsibilities, too? The answer is yes, they do. To hold their fathers accountable.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“What always felt brutal to Jay about the natural world now feels like its most elegant design. We all eat each other, like Hewey said. That's why we live forever.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Let me tell you the lesson of this prophet. Truth never outweighs mercy.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Jay didn’t find his dad’s remains.
He is his dad’s remains.
He breathes sleepy at last.”
― daniel kraus, Whalefall

“A single life is nothing but a spark. The explosion is everything after death, the generations of reverberation. Every consumed morsel of your body, your wisdom, your kindness, your art, is another bid for perfection, a chance to get it right this time, or next time, or the time after that.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“There need be no struggle when we are all the same weight.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“(There is no fighting when there is no way to win)”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Good memories are all around. It only took dying for him to rub the sleep from his eyes and see them clearly again.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“(All of our so-called successful men are sick men)”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Did you know sailors and angels are homophones in Hebrew?”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Steinbeck called this ‘the hour of the pearl.’ ” It’s dusk, the dusk of dusk, an unblurred luster.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Mitt’s dying plea, Don’t break my heart, don’t
break my heart, don’t break my heart.
Dad’s whisper, at last, gives Jay permission to do the opposite.
(Break it)”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“If you can’t know what’s right in front of you, you can’t know what’s beyond you.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“That’s all right. Every hour of the pearl, you realize you’ve lost pages too. More and more pages until”—he whistles—“you’re all gone.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“A single life is nothing but a spark. The explosion is everything after death, the generations of reverberation. Every consumed morsel of your body, your wisdom, your kindness, your art, is another bid for perfection, a chance to get it right this time, or next time, or the time after that. There is no death.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“The simple sharing of hope, its weight not so heavy after all, is a wonder.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“But those three people waiting outside are the tones of Jay's voice, the organs in Jay's body.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“(We are dying now)
(There is no changing that)
(But you Jay)
(There is strength in you yet)”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“The whale’s time is passing fast now. But the females stick close, do what they can. They are the whale’s family now. Which means the whale is home. Jay wonders how it feels for Mitt, sender of so many clicks over his seven-month demise, to be the subject of such a reception, to feel the bodies of loved ones so close inside the ocean vast. There’s nothing to hug in a stomach, but Jay does his best. He wants the whale to know he’s here. At last, he’s here.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“But there’s satisfaction in sitting still. Most people, they’re never satisfied. They get a nice car and, pretty soon, the nice car’s not nice enough. It’s leftover survival instinct, probably, something to keep the species developing. Your mom’s like that. Your sisters. Doesn’t mean they’re bad, they’re just— They don’t know how to just be. There’s these guys in Cannery Row. One day you’ll read it. Bunch of hobos, but they know how the pursuit of money, it’ll kill you. They have a little shack and they’re happy. They take life as it is. Not how they wished it could be.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“All this plastic is getting in the way of our animal duty. Which is, we've got to eat each other over and over to keep this carousel turning round.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“It is the moon, pale blue, mottled, massive, dream, legend.
Rising.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“It is the moon, pale blue, mottled, massive, dream, legend.
Rising”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Fact: sperm whales sleep less than any mammal on Earth.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“With their tidy, evenly spaced teeth, pillowy pink tongues, and cheerful faces, orcas look like malevolent clowns, so embroiled in the religion of death their markings resemble skulls.”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall

“Orcinus orca!” Hewey cries, then translates the Latin. “Bringer of death!”
― Daniel Kraus, Whalefall