Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Nineteen-year-old Jay Gardiner scuba dives off the coast of Monterey in what he knows is a long-shot attempt to find the remains of his estranged father, who killed himself in the ocean the prior year. However, during his dive, Jay finds himself entangled with a sperm whale looking to feed and is accidentally swallowed. Trapped in the whale’s first stomach with an hour of oxygen left, Jay must rely on his knowledge of marine life to find a way out of the massive sea creature or risk suffocation—or worse. Kraus’ novel is an intense survival story set in the vast, dangerous ecosystem of the ocean. Plagued with guilt, flashbacks reveal the strained relationship between father and son as Jay fights to survive agonizing physical torture inside one of the largest mammals on earth. Whalefall’s atmospheric prose is as beautiful as it is horrifying, conjuring a haunting tale that shocks and repulses, but ultimately inspires.