Skip to product information
1 of 1

Click to look inside

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free UK delivery over £5
  • 20% off preloved books right now when you join +Plus
  • Buying preloved emits 46% less CO2 than new
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan

** SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE **

A sweeping, multi-generational tale blending fable, farce, and fantasy--a masterpiece of modern fiction perfect for fans of One Hundred Years of Solitude


Whale is the English-language debut of a beloved and bestselling South Korean author, a born storyteller with a cinematic, darkly humorous, and thoroughly original perspective.

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 a few of the events that set Myeong-kwan Cheon's beautifully crafted, wild world in motion.

Whale, set in a remote village in South Korea, follows the lives of many linked characters, including Geumbok, an extremely ambitious woman 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 humor, Whale is an adventure-satire of epic proportions by one of the most original voices in international literature.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781953861146
ISBN 10 1953861148
Title Whale
Author Cheon Myeong-Kwan
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Archipelago Books
Year published 2023-05-02
Number of pages 372
Prizes Commended for Man Booker International Prize 2023
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.