Whales on Stilts

Review

M.T. Anderson’s delightfully weird Whales on Stilts delivers on the promise of its title – there are plenty of whales, plenty of stilts, plenty of whales ON stilts, and enough lasers to light up a small, uninhabited Pacific island. It’s a young adult novel that doesn’t talk down to its target audience, but rather engages them in a fun, semi-educational story that also serves as a fine introduction to postmodernism, absurdism, satire, and metafiction. There’s enough in here to please adults who enjoy these literary elements as well, but it isn’t multilayered in a suggestive, double entendre-ridden sense. Whales on Stilts can be enjoyed as a tongue-in-cheek throwback to the pulpy fantasies you enjoyed as a kid.

The story focuses on Lily Gefelty, an understated, supposedly unremarkable young girl who visits her father at work - where he constructs stilts for whales with gleeful obliviousness – and grows suspicious of his comically absurd boss Larry. A rubbery blue man in a grain sack mask and a penchant for dumping buckets of brine over his head, Larry reigns over his corporation with evil visions of WHALES EQUIPPED WITH EYE LASERS WALKING ON STILTS (quite possibly the most amazing phrase I will ever type in this blog) dancing in his head. It’s up to Lily and her friends Jasper Dash and Katie Mulligan to stop the invasion before humanity falls victim to these spiteful cetaceans.

 Jasper and Katie are perfect representations of Anderson’s use of lighthearted satire. Each pays a comedic homage to a different genre of children’s literature, with Jasper filling in as a steampunk interpretation of boy adventurers like Johnny Quest while Katie’s life on an absurdly traumatized street is pure Goosebumps. In a hilariously meta twist, the two option their stories out to writers from Harcourt who make beelines towards them at the first sign of exploitable action, then twisting the situations into more profitable fare. Then there’s Anderson’s amazing send-up of reading guides and author interviews…and the footnote that spans seven pages…and the fake ads…Yeah. Whales on Stilts probably contains more outrageous, overblown fun than most of the books I’ve read as of late, even if it’s skewed towards a younger audience. And there’s nothing the matter with that!

Bibliographic Information

Anderson, M.T. Whales on Stilts. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2005.

Further Reading

Whales on Stilts is a great bridge between the likes of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s The Stinky Cheese Man (and Other Fairly Stupid Tales) and comparatively darker young adult books by the likes of Roald Dahl and Paul Jennings. Both authors take a satirical and intelligent approach towards young adult literature, but apply it in considerably more acidic tones that may frighten or overwhelm some kids. Uncanny! is a great short story collection by Paul Jennings, though any of his Un- series of books (Unbelievable!, Unreal!, Undone!, etc.) are twisted classics in their own right. Uncanny! just happened to be my favorite of the bunch, but obviously others may think differently. And what more needs to be said about Roald Dahl’s Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Almost all of his children’s books are necessary reads, but those two form the lynchpin of his oeuvre. And they, in turn, pave the way for enjoying scathing and entertaining satires aimed for adults later on in life.

~Riot