"Culture conflict Fiction." . . "1961 - 1975" . . . . . . "Fiction" . . "Fiction"@en . . . "People of the whale : a novel" . "People of the whale : a novel"@en . . "Raised in a remote seaside village, Thomas Witka Just marries Ruth, his beloved since infancy. But an ill-fated decision to fight in Vietnam changes his life forever: cut off from his Native American community, he fathers a child with another woman. When he returns home a hero, he finds his tribe in conflict over the decision to hunt a whale, both a symbol of spirituality and rebirth and a means of survival. In the end, he reconciles his two existences, only to see tragedy befall the son he left behind."@en . "Raised in a remote seaside village, Thomas Witka Just marries Ruth, his beloved since infancy. But an ill-fated decision to fight in Vietnam changes his life forever: cut off from his Native American community, he fathers a child with another woman. When he returns home a hero, he finds his tribe in conflict over the decision to hunt a whale, both a symbol of spirituality and rebirth and a means of survival. In the end, he reconciles his two existences, only to see tragedy befall the son he left behind." . . . . . . . . . . "Psychological fiction"@en . . "Indians of North America Fiction." . . "Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Veterans Fiction." . .