'The prose and learning may even stand up to Melville himself … The elegance of language, the grandeur of nature being described – all this is dazzling, dazzling. It makes the heart pound.' Los Angeles Times Whales have always been the life-force of Angelus, a small town on the south coast of Western Australia. Their annual passing defines the rhythms of a life where little changes, and the town depends on their carcasses. So when the battle begins on the beaches outside their town, and when Queenie Cookson, a local girl, joins the Greenies to make amends for the crimes of her whaling ancestors, it can only throw everything into chaos. 'A major work by anyone's standards … He is capable of lines of pure lyricism … Language is, in Tim Winton's hands, a powerful and finely-tuned instrument.' Washington Post 'Sparsely populated with intense, brooding loners … A profound and inspiring work of fiction.' The Age 'I finished this book with a rare sense of elation.' West Australian