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cover of episode The Sunday Story: A Life Worthy of Whalefall

The Sunday Story: A Life Worthy of Whalefall

2023/11/12
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Daniel Kraus
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Shara Ko
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Shara Ko: 本书表面是一个惊悚故事,讲述了潜水员被鲸鱼吞没的经历,但更深入地探讨了父子关系、父亲留下的遗产以及对有意义人生和死亡的思考。作者Daniel Kraus在创作过程中也受到了其姐姐去世的影响,这使得作品更具深度和情感共鸣。 Shara Ko: 小说探讨了父子关系中未解开的遗憾以及这种关系对个人的影响,并提出了和解的可能性,但和解并不一定意味着原谅、放下或接受,而是一种对过去经历的理解和接纳。 Shara Ko: 小说中主人公寻找父亲遗体的行为,可以看作是对过去、对愧疚以及对责任的隐喻式探索。 Daniel Kraus: 小说中的‘鲸落’象征着有意义的死亡,即通过留下遗产(生物学上的、家庭的、艺术的或对他人产生的影响)来使自己的死亡具有意义。 Daniel Kraus: 书中章节长度的变化是为了模拟潜水员在紧急情况下呼吸和控制恐慌的状态,从而增强小说的紧张感和真实性。 Daniel Kraus: 为了确保小说的科学准确性,作者进行了三个月的密集研究,采访了鲸鱼科学家和潜水专家。 Daniel Kraus: 小说中父亲的形象是一个热爱海洋,但无法维持家庭生活,并试图将自己的理想强加给儿子的复杂人物。 Daniel Kraus: 在鲸鱼腹中,主人公开始将鲸鱼与父亲联系起来,并试图在逃生过程中与父亲和解,弥补过去的遗憾。 Daniel Kraus: 有时无法获得解脱,只能坦然面对自己的错误和遗憾,并尝试着去理解和接受。 Daniel Kraus: 《约拿书》是关于第二次机会和真相与怜悯之间关系的隐喻,但本书并非对《约拿书》的直接解读。 Daniel Kraus: 小说中的鲸鱼并非邪恶的象征,而是具有神性,象征着海洋和精神上的救赎。 Daniel Kraus: 人们在生活中寻找的,无论是来自上帝还是自然,都是一种渺小的感觉,这种感觉反过来能让人意识到更大的存在。 Daniel Kraus: 作者在创作中借鉴了自己与父亲和家人的关系,以及对生死的思考,特别是其父亲去世和姐姐即将去世的经历。 Daniel Kraus: 小说融合了惊悚和感人的元素,旨在给读者带来意想不到的情感体验。

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Ayesha Rascoe interviews Daniel Kraus, author of _Whalefall_, a novel about a son's reconciliation with his deceased father. The book uses the metaphor of a whale fall—a whale's carcass creating an ecosystem on the ocean floor—to explore meaningful life and death. The conversation also touches upon the author's personal experience with loss.
  • The book Whalefall is about a son's reconciliation with his deceased father.
  • The metaphor of a whale fall represents meaningful life and death.
  • The author's sister passed away shortly after the interview.

Shownotes Transcript

What does it mean to live a life worthy of those we leave behind? On this episode of The Sunday Story, Ayesha Rascoe explores the idea with author Daniel Kraus. Kraus' latest novel is Whalefall. It tells the story of Jay Gardiner, a troubled young man burdened by guilt after the death of his estranged father. Jay hopes to redeem himself by diving to recover his father's remains in the ocean off the California coast; instead he is swallowed whole by a whale. It is in the whale's dark belly that Jay finally begins to reconcile with his father and understand the lessons he'd been trying to pass on. The book is not just a page-turning thriller but a deep meditation on fathers, sons and loss.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)