Not Forgetting the Whale

By: John Ironmonger

Narrated by: David Thorpe

The story of a man who had given up hope....and the village that gave it back to him.

When a young City trader, Joe, washes up on the sands of St Piran in Cornwall, warning of a deadly pandemic virus and a financial apocalypse, he is rescued by the villagers and given a home.

From the retired village doctor and the beachcomber, to the priest's wife and the flamboyant romantic novelist, they take this lost soul into their midst. The village, Joe tells them, must store up food, and isolate themselves to stay safe.

But are Joe's fears unfounded? Why has Joe fled the city for St Piran? And what of the whale that lurks in the bay?

Intimate, funny and heart-warming, Not Forgetting the Whale is a story about a community reacting to a deadly threat, about the best and worst in our nature - and the search for a place to call home.

©2015 John Ironmonger (P)2015 Orion Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"Forget everything you know about apocalypses: this novel, set in Cornwall, will restore your faith in humanity." (Elle UK)

"A gentle and uplifting tale of warding off apocalypse in a remote corner of Cornwall." (Financial Times)

Best read of 2020!

Even though this book was originally published in 2015 the parallels of today are uncanny. There are four little words that can take down the global economy, Gas, Oil, War and Flu. (It's a flu as you may have guessed.) As an author, if a reader says they were brought to an emotional state, that's a win. I was definitely brought to an emotional state listening to this novel. I loved everything about this book but especially the narrator, David Thorpe. He's amazing and entertaining. (I want to write a book now just for his voice!)

a Sweet Uplifting story

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator was excellent and the characters entirely likeable and endearing.