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Susan Emshwiller
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Thar She Blows: a novel Paperback – April 5, 2023

by Susan Emshwiller (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
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Caught in a redundant housewife existence, Ann never leaves her beige suburban home, her schlubby do-nothing son Brian is directionless after graduating high-school, and it looks like nothing will ever change. But when Brian is swallowed by a whale and Ann receives a garbled phone call from him, she is determined to find that monstrous beast and rescue her son. Experts, her ex, the press-everyone thinks she's crazy-but she's committed to her worthy quest. Both Brian and Ann battle their skeptical inner voices in an inspiring journey of self-discovery, reinvention, survival, and sacrifice. As mother and son face epic adventures, they encounter unlikely allies from across the globe and might just find each other. Yet the ultimate danger is closing in...

Devilishly funny, heartbreaking, thrilling, this epic whale-of-a-tale combines absurdist magical realism with intimate family dynamics.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    349 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    April 5, 2023
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.88 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0989423638
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0989423632
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Susan is afraid of nothing in her writing...Full stop. Hilarious! A mother/son fiasco/journey wrapped in love, grit, and impossibility-be-damned!! I promise you will love this wild ride into the inner workings of one whale and one mother.

- AMY MADIGAN, actor, producer

Susan Emshwiller wears all her hats in this remarkable and satisfying novel. A page-turner adventure, well-researched and exciting, Thar She Blows is equally as strong for its human drama of a mother and son searching for each other and also themselves. Characters so genuine, flawed, funny and true, they win you over to this improbable premise from the first pages. Enjoy the ride!

- GREGG CUSICK, author of My Father Moves Through Time Like a Dirigible

Susan Emshwiller's Thar She Blows twists the thrill of a whale watching trip on its head. This quirky dry-witted account of one woman's search for her son swallowed by a whale, blossoms into a search for herself. The story's descriptive details struck that sweet spot of believability that readers will never doubt the possibility of life inside a whale. Funny, tender, and uplifting, this journey of discovery is a nonstop, cover-to-cover read, flipping one page after the other hoping, cheering, and breathlessly wondering about the final outcome for mother and son in this suspenseful tale of rescue.
- ANNE ANTHONY, author of A Blue Moon & Other Murmurs of the Heart

If you are holding this book in your hand, congratulations. If you have chosen to buy this book, chosen from all the books you could have chosen to buy, HUGE CONGRATULATIONS. You are in for a wild and heartfelt ride. What can I say about Susan Emshwiller's writing, except that there is no one like her. She is truly an original.
- NANCY PEACOCK, Piedmont Laureate, author of The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson

A wickedly smart story of a mother losing patience and a son finding direction in the most unusual way possible, Thar She Blows by Susan Emshwiller is a deep dive into the tenderness and tension of mothers and sons. Pushing the literary boundaries of magical realism, this one-of-a-kind novel is a bizarre tale of losing, seeking, and finding...inside the belly of a whale. The tongue-in-cheek prose offsets the serious issues at hand, while the premise of a booze cruise gone ridiculously awry teeters perfectly on the brink of allegory, parable, and farce. With whip-smart characters, exceptional comedic timing, and high emotional stakes, this book is a surprising read throughout, balancing an outlandish premise with relatable insight. -- SPR

About the Author

I'm a produced screenwriter (including co-writer of the film Pollock), a filmmaker, a published playwright, and short story writer. My writing can be found in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Independent Ink Magazine, Black Heart Magazine, Gone Lawn, Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine, and Anchala Studios Flash Fiction. I was a set decorator for many years in Hollywood and a featured actress in Robert Altman's The Player. My feature film, In the Land of Milk and Money, a wild social satire, garnered awards and rave reviews at festivals in the US and internationally. I'm a member of the Writer's Guild of America and have taught screenwriting at North Carolina State University, OLLI at Duke, the Met Theatre in Los Angeles, and in conferences and festivals around the country. I live with my husband, dogs, and chickens in Santa Fe NM where I enjoy inventing stories and backyard contraptions.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pinehead Press (April 5, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 349 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0989423638
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0989423632
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.88 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 24 ratings

About the author

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Susan Emshwiller

Susan Emshwiller

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SUSAN EMSHWILLER was raised in Levittown on Long Island, N.Y., by writer Carol Emshwiller and sci-fi illustrator, avant-guard filmmaker Ed Emshwiller.

Susan got her BFA from Syracuse University in painting and printmaking, and her Masters from California Institute of the Arts where she studied film, mentored by Alexander Mackendrick (“Man in the White Suit,” “Sweet Smell of Success”).

In Los Angeles, her “day job” for many years was set decorator, working with David Mamet, Michael Apted, Graeme Clifford, and notably with Robert Altman on “The Player,” (in which she is a featured actress) “Short Cuts,” “Kansas City,” and “Cookie's Fortune.”

She has written and directed several plays including critically acclaimed and award-winning "Brushstokes," inspired by paintings of Edward Hopper. Her play "Dominoes" is was published by the Dramatists Play Service, and “Defrosting Popsicles” by Playscripts.

Susan has written many screenplays on spec and for hire; most notably— co-writer of the Academy-Award winning film “Pollock” for actor/director Ed Harris.

She has written and directed short films, PSAs, music videos, and commercials. Susan’s feature film, “In the Land of Milk and Money,” a wild social satire, garnered awards and rave reviews at festivals in the US and internationally.

Emshwiller's short stories can be found in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Independent Ink Magazine, Black Heart Magazine, Gone Lawn, Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine, and Anchala Studios Flash Fiction. .

She has taught play and screenwriting at North Carolina State University, OLLI at Duke, the Met Theatre in Los Angeles, and in conferences and festivals around the country.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
24 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sara Gardner-Gail
5.0 out of 5 stars Read "Thar blows" in one fell swoop, as once I started this entrancing whale tale I was hooked.
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
I read "Thar She Blows" in one fell swoop and I don’t often let myself have that luxury, but once I started this entrancing whale tale, I was hooked.

Susan Emshwiller’s story starts with a self-described “beige” housewife whose life is filled with suburban dread, divorce ennui and a failure-to-launch son and unbelievably, their lives are torn asunder by a whale. What follows is a wondrous story of a constellation of families and strangers all finding their separate, yet connected, ways in extraordinary circumstances, whilst crossing the vast waters of this world. Seamlessly woven into the fabric of this narrative are action-movie-like high stakes including man’s destructive, wasteful impact on earth’s flora and fauna.

Reading “Thar She Blows” one is a plunged into a cold sea of fear and doubt with the characters and then miraculously you resurface with them into hope, clarity, and purpose. You have to read it to believe it!
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Christopher W. Benson
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful allegorical tale
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
As an early and devoted adopter of Melville's Moby Dick, not to mention a descendant of many New England whalers and sailors, I so appreciated this updated story of the relationship between us humans and these great creatures of the sea. It offers a magical portrait of that connection, as well as of the maturing dynamics within a chronically dysfunctional family, and the restorative paths of its two central members. Beyond that, there are so many other memorable passages and characters in "Thar She Blows”, the whale itself being chief among them. The sprinkling of other whale-tale references were delightful as well – from Jonah to Queequeg and Pinocchio. There were also more subtle references for me, whether intended or not. the "Bottle" character called up a childhood favorite as well in Holling Clancy Holling’s classic children’s book “Paddle to the Sea.” All in all a funny, thoughtful and endearing story for our environmentally and psychologically fraught age!
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Steven Ingrassia
5.0 out of 5 stars Part mystery part adventure and all fun - This is a great read!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
I bought this book on a Friday afternoon, after seeing an interview with the author a few days earlier. I started reading and couldn't put it down. The narrative is vivid and richly descriptive. Ann and Brian, the two main characters, are uniquely original and quirky, and their individual adventures are compelling. Even the supporting characters are engaging, with intertwining sub-plots that keep the reader guessing and wanting more (especially 'Bottle" - enough said). I would have finished the following day, but I saved the last 25 pages for Sunday morning because I knew that I was going to miss this story. I highly recommend getting this novel.
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Tunzini
5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
What would you do if you had to find someone swallowed by a whale? What would you do if you were living in a whale? Part mother/son relationship, part thrilling quest, part self-discovery and reinvention, part fable of how we’re all connected…this unique novel makes the unbelievable believable and brings you on a journey that's hilarious, heart-wrenching, heart-warming, and always unexpected. You’ll be completely riveted to find out what happens in this astounding tale of a whale.
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DesmoProfundis
5.0 out of 5 stars Could not put it down
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2023
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Judging this book by its cover, I thought it would be light and humorous. I was a little surprised to find it had 339 pages and wondered how an author could drag light humor out that long and make it work.

This was not light humor. It was exciting and dramatic. It involved disbelief and real science - crazy moms and AMBER alerts - cops and people off their meds. This book takes you around the world with its characters and has some of the steamiest scenes in it that maybe I've ever read... while also somehow remaining incredibly innocent.

This book is fantasy in a raw and real form. It makes you ask yourself if we aren't all living in a fantasy while a kid stuck in a whale might be living his real life.
3 people found this helpful
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Geekgirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, weird, wacky, delightful, magical
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2023
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Where to begin? Too much fun between the covers? A heady mixture of weird magical surrealism; sentient characters, non-sentient characters, questionably sentient characters; beige becomes technicolor in ways never imagined by Dorothy in Oz; a bildungsroman about a boy, his mom, a whale, and one hell of a rollercoaster of a quest. I'm still, 12 hours after finishing, trying to return to terra firma. All I can say is buy it, read it, and go along for the ride.
2 people found this helpful
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So. Cal.
5.0 out of 5 stars Will he ever get out???!
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
A unique book, very original premise. It was suspenseful, funny, touching, engaging and finally, just when you had given up all hope for a happy ending, satisfying in an unexpected way. In addition, it is very well-written, with lovely prose and a sure sense of pacing. A great read. Highly recommend.
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Jeffrey Barnes
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a whale of a story!
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2023
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I am giving this book five stars, but damn! I wish I could give it ten! This novel is absolutely amazing! It's the story of how a teenage boy in Southern California gets swallowed by a whale, how his mother tries to find him, and of the network of people touched by these events: a father on the run with his young daughter (read the novel to get the details on that), an Alaska State Trooper, and various Norwegians. If this sounds offbeat, well, it is. Truly! It is weird in all the right ways! it is an amazing adventure: scary, thrilling, funny, and touching, filled with fascinating characters. An unbelievably wonderful novel!
3 people found this helpful
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