Whale Fall, partly a coming-of-age novel and partly a novel of a bygone place and time, takes place on a Welsh island in 1938. Manod is a young woman with big dreams, and when two people come from the mainland with the intent to study the island’s traditions, Manod thinks (and is led to believe) she may have found her way out. The island reminded me in some ways of my childhood in a Newfoundland fishing outport (I even remember a time when a whale washed up on our beach) and that sense of not quite belonging, but still being part of a community. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more by Elizabeth O’Connor.