"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."

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

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

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

"[Whale] redefines what fiction can be."

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

“Fast-paced and imaginative.”

“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."

Cheon Myeong-kwan is a South Korean novelist and screenwriter. Upon publication of his first story, “Frank and I” (2003), he received the prestigious Munhakdongne New Writer Award. His debut novel, Whale, was published the following year, won the 10th Munhakdongne Novel Award and became one of the most loved novels in South Korea, where it is regarded as a modern classic. His work has been translated into eight languages.

Chi-Young Kim is a literary translator and editor. A recipient of the Man Asian Literary Prize for her work on Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin, she has translated over a dozen books, including works by Ae-ran Kim, You-jeong Jeong, and Young-ha Kim, among others.