Overview

A sweeping, multi-generational tale blending fable, farce and fantasy.

“Funny and light while also deeply philosophical and sensual.”

"A kaleidoscope of interlocking stories, all painted larger than life."

"A novel that seduces."

"[Whale] redefines what fiction can be."

"Whale overflows with freshness. That''s what makes it special."

“Fast-paced and imaginative.”

"A rich, fantastical tale..... unique and ambitious."

"In recent years East Asia has usurped Latin America as the lodestar of magic realism… Cheon Myeong-kwan’s Whale, a novel of tycoons, ghosts and cinephiles that was first published in South Korea in 2003 and has now been translated into English by Chi-Young Kim, rides the crest of this wave… Told in an omniscient and playful narrative voice, smoothly translated by Chi-Young, this is a distinctly Korean take on Great Expectations, a tale of aspiration and folly punctuated with artisanal bricks and dried fish."

"A lesson in magical realism, weaving together riotous tales of secret treasure, a giant baby and people who speak to elephants... Fast paced and cinematic."

"In tying together a series of fun, related anecdotes, Cheon cleverly spins a fantastical tale that also contains some unpalatable truths about not-so-distant Korean history – and that’s without even mentioning the man with the scar, the brickyard and the titular whale of a building."

"A peerless work devoted to telling a powerful story and lauded for expanding Korean literature into new dimensions."

“Whale has leaped over the boundaries of a novel and entered a new space, just like South American fiction.”

"There has never been a novel like this in Korean literature...A novel that''s more like reading out loud than reading quietly to oneself; its structure is like that of a folktale. You can feel the oral tradition in the rhythm of the sentences."

“Whale is a book that hooks you by the nose. It floods your senses with a certain voluptuous intensity alternating with the pungent odour of dried fish and human desire in all its manifold variations.”

"A DISTINCTLY KOREAN TAKE ON GREAT EXPECTATIONS." Financial Times

A woman sells her daughter to a passing beekeeper for two jars of honey. A baby weighing fifteen pounds is born in the depths of winter but named “Girl of Spring”. A storm brings down the roof of a ramshackle restaurant to reveal a hidden fortune. These are just some of the events that set Myeong-Kwan''s beautifully crafted, wild world in motion.

Set in a remote village in South Korea, Whale follows the lives of its linked characters: Geumbok, who has been chasing an indescribable thrill ever since she first saw a whale crest in the ocean; her mute daughter, Chunhui, who communicates with elephants; and a one-eyed woman who controls honeybees with a whistle.

Brimming with surprises and wicked humour, Whale is an adventure-satire of epic proportions, by one of international literature’s the most original voices.