Whale

Whale | By Cheon Myeong-Kwan | Translated by Chi-Young Kim

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.