WHALE, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED

A crusty old fisherwoman and her faithful dog prepare their last rites.

Tan-skinned, white-haired Maude’s been fishing for a long time; she’s seen it all. At least, she assumes that she has, until the day she, her dog, Claude, and their “trusty little boat” are all swallowed by a whale. Ever the pragmatist, Maude attempts to stage her own farewell party, but she’s constantly interrupted by an increasing number of (recently swallowed) guests. With this cumulative tale, the unseen narrator continually must restart the ode, “Farewell Maude, a grand old dame. / Farewell Claude, sixth of his name” with additional elegies added on for a crab, an octopus, a goat, a sea lion, and a puffin. When a celebratory candle (a flare placed in the middle of a sandwich) causes the whale to sneeze and blow the whole kit and kaboodle out its blow hole, Maude treats this turn of events with the same unimpressed ennui she has every step of this adventure. A kraken-infused ending suggests future annoyances to Maude’s routine. Grandiose grump that she is, Maude and her continual interruptions are well rendered by Durst’s peppy art, which is filled with tiny details. Maude’s eyes never rise above their half-lidded skepticism, but what she lacks in joie de vivre, the accompanying animals more than make up for.

Stand aside, Pinocchio. There’s new whale bait in town, and she’s got her own kind of flair.