Whalefall is a 2023 novel by Daniel Kraus about a teenage scuba diver who is swallowed by a sperm whale. Its cover art is by Will Staehle. Jay Gardiner is a teenager living in the California Central Coast who is struggling over the recent death of his father, Mitt Gardiner. Mitt was a well-known figure in the local scuba diving community who worked a variety of jobs that drew on his diving and nautical skills. While Mitt was well-liked by local divers, he had a strained relationship with Jay. After an incident in which Mitt gets drunk and pressures Jay to cut himself, Jay moves out and begins staying with friends. Not long after, Mitt is diagnosed with advanced mesothelioma. Despite pressure from his mother and sisters, Jay never visits his father to make amends.
Adaptations (1)
Whalefall was adapted into a 2026 film.
Whalefall2026 · film · dir. Brian Duffield · IMDb ↗Following the death of his father, Jay Gardiner goes diving off the central Coast of California in search of his remains, but is swallowed by a massive sperm whale. While trapped inside its belly with only one hour of oxygen left, Jay comes to realize that the hard-earned lessons his father imparted may be the key to his escape.
