Do white whales sing at the edge of the world?

by Paul Wilson

Gabriel Emerson seemed a magic child. He dreamed dreams beyond the reach of his older brother. But Gabriel was left traumatized by the collective violence of World War II. Together with three others he re-traces the doomed Arctic voyage of his namesake, an Elizabethan scholar and explorer.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1862070350
• ISBN13: 9781862070356
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Granta Books
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.3" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The human imagination at its storytelling best

Well what a trip this book was. Set in Northern England at the turn of the century Wilson crafts a mesmerising account of the lives of the 'inmates' of the institute for the 'feeble-minded', set up by the most influential man in the area who's aim is to surpress a local well-guarded secret; the revelation of which adds a profound sadness to the tale and invokes incredulity once more at the cruelty of mankind. Gabriel Emerson,an innocent and humble main character, escapes his captivity by losing himself in his obsession with his namesake - the Gabriel Emerson who discovered the North-West passage an age earlier , steering a course through deadly ice flows and the hostile terrains of the ever-winter lands. Wilson creates the most haunting and tragic of tales through his tender descriptions of the pathetic inhabitants of this town, dominated by their boorish patron with the iron fist. The poetry of his prose is simply magical and adds to the beauty of his tale which has immense depth, intricate detail and an ending as powerful as the spell which the entire book casts over you while you're lost in time and space. I'm still searching for a book to enthrall me as much as this did - this book is an essential read for those who delight in lyrical poetic language and sublime storytelling.