To become a whale by Ben Hobson

Members were impressed with Brisbane author, Ben Hobson’s debut novel, To Become a Whale. Set in 1961, the story tells of a 13 year old boy, Sam, whose mother has died and who must leave everything he knows in order to live and work with his formerly absent father at the whaling station then in operation on Moreton Island.

We were struck with how well the author was able to describe Sam’s feelings and difficulties in living up to the expectations of his tough, unemotional and sometimes unpredictable and violent father; and in trying to ‘man-up’ and earn the respect of his fellow workers in the carnage of a whale slaughterhouse.

The author did a particularly good job of showing us Sam as completely alone, powerless and untrusting of his father in the early section of the book. Together the two of them struggle to build a shack in order to ‘start a new life’ in a place without memories of the mother or grandparents, following the father’s will. The father’s purchase of a hapless puppy for the boy to train as a guard dog on the property enables the author to explore the differences in the feelings of the two individuals towards animals. This is further highlighted when the boy first experiences the father’s workaday existence amid the blood and gore of the whaling station where respect is earned by how skilfully and efficiently you can butcher a carcass.

The book was a page turner which some of us devoured in only a couple of sittings. We were fascinated with the history of the whaling industry at Tangalooma, particularly the apparent lack of any kind of occupational health and safety requirements for workers and the lax regulation of the catch.

However, we decided that the author, after having solidly established the setting, circumstances of work on the island and the interpersonal relationships between the men with each other and with the boy, rather lost his way in the second half. While we were pondering the question of whether the boy was becoming a copy of his father, the author revealed other plans for the plot.

Through predictable circumstances, Sam is abandoned by his father to fend for himself. But in so doing, Sam is given powers by the author beyond what could be expected of a 13 year old boy.

Members felt that Hobson loses credibility with the reader in thus creating a boy’s own hyperadventure. We were also somewhat unconvinced by the description of the boy’s interaction with a living whale (however necessary this was to the heart of the book).

We then pondered about the audience Hobson was writing for. While some of us argued that adolescent boys might be inspired by the practical skills and working life expected of boys without other choices in the 1960s (far removed from school routines, gaming online or social media), we came to the conclusion that the author was largely writing for himself about his own experiences. This is borne out in an article Hobson wrote when the book came out (Of Blood and Blubber: On writing ‘To Become a Whale’ May 2017:  https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/2017/05/of-blood-and-blubber-on-writing-to-become-a-whale/) where he describes how he felt he did not fit in with the prevailing expectations about male behaviour when he was growing up (he is now in his 30s).

Some of us felt that the tough, uncompromising attitude of the father towards his son - “You’ve got to be hard sometimes on your loved ones. Things have got to have a use” - is still prevalent in some families today.

Our overall rating for the book was in the range of 6-7 out of 10.

Who is Ben Hobson?

Ben Hobson was born in Gippsland, Victoria and grew up on a farm.

He graduated in 2011 from QUT with a degree in music and subsequently travelled the country with the band, Sounds Like Chicken.

He currently lives in Brisbane and teaches English and Music at a Queensland high school. He is married to Lena and has two sons, Charlie and Henry. (His blog makes a point of saying that he also owns a dog named Lincoln and that this information was provided on the insistence of his son, Charlie.)

He is interested in philosophy, theology, writing and reading. His first novel, To Become a Whale, was published in 2017. It was long listed for the ABIA Debut Fiction award and The Courier-Mail’s People Choice Award. His second novel, Snake Island, was released in August last year.