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Author: Myeong-kwan, Cheon, Kim, Chi-Young

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 29 February 2024 by Europa Editions (UK) Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 368 pages
128 x 197 x 26 | 250g

‘A DISTINCTLY KOREAN TAKE ON GREAT EXPECTATIONS.’ Financial TimesA 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.