Whalesong — Robert Siegel

Once upon a moonlit sea, a whale was born and began his song of his long and eventful journey through the great oceans.

Hruna's voyage takes him to many things. Seals, dolphins and Ala the seagull all guide him on his travels and help him during times of great danger and great joy.

And before his song is over, Hruna is put to the ultimate test when he leads a daring rescue amongst the icebergs, and saves his pod from the whalers.

"Whalesong" is the classic fable of Hruna the humpback whale and his journey into love, mystery, and spiritual awakening in the waters of the world.

**Acclaim for Robert Siegel and Whalesong**

"Whalesong is one of those rare and wondrous things, a book which is born a classic. Robert Siegel has become one with the great song of the humpback whale, and the reader is drawn into the song with him. Hruna's tale of birth and life and terror and sacrifice and joy has the quality of true myth. Whalesong is an utterly beautiful book."

-- Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time

"I was enthralled by Whalesong. Robert Siegel's book is a short masterpiece of imaginative fiction that should be read by every American. It should be read by every whale, which is to say that Siegel has humanized these greatest of earthly creatures, has made them talk, feel, and act like us, under the aegis of their singing. This is a masterful work combining mythology, philosophy, and poetry in a story that is exciting and convincing."

-- Richard Eberhart, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award

"Robert Siegel's accomplishment is breathtaking, astonishing. He has made the ways of our huge warm-blooded kin come utterly alive without condescension or anthropomorphism. It is through him that we can now not only understand but live the meaning and being of the 'deepest beast'."

-- James Dickey, National Book Award Winner, author of Deliverance

"This is a marvelous whale opera. I enthusiastically recommend these lyrics and hope someone will write the music. Maybe it will be a humpback whale..."

-- John and Toni Tilly, authors of Communications Between Man and Dolphin

"This beautifully written and epic tale of a great species' struggle for survival deserves to be widely read by adults as well as children. Its special ability to illicit empathy and provoke outrage from readers could prove as powerful of all the voyages of Greenpeace in assuring that the whales will continue to sing their song."

-- John Ferell, author of Rain

"Siegel's tales have the magic of Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and the lyric majesty of Thoreau's prose. Highly recommended."

-- Library Journal

"It is almost as if Moby Dick was scaled down and re-written from the viewpoint of the whale."

-- Fantasy Review

"I've spent my entire writing career trying to capture the magic that Robert Siegel effortlessly captures in the pages of Whalesong. Be prepared to love this book."

-- J.R. Rain, author of Moon Dance

About the Author:

Robert Siegel is the author of nine books of poetry and fiction. His poetry includes A Pentecost of Finches: New and Selected Poems, The Waters Under the Earth, The Beasts & The Elders and In a Pig's Eye, and he has received prizes and awards from Poetry, Prairie Schooner, The Transatlantic Review, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. His poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and the Atlantic Monthly. His fiction includes Alpha Centauri and the Whalesong trilogy, which received the Golden Archer and Matson awards.