Whale: A Masterpiece of Modern Korean Fiction

English language

Published Jan. 2, 2023 by Europa Editions, Incorporated.

ISBN:: 978-1-78770-433-6

No rating (1 review)

An adventure-satire of epic proportions, which sheds new light on the changes Korea experienced in its rapid transition from pre-modern to post-modern society.

Set in a remote village in South Korea, Whale follows the lives of three linked characters: 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. A fiction that brims with surprises and wicked humour, from one of the most original voices in South Korea.

3 editions

V171 reviewed Whale: A Masterpiece of Modern Korean Fiction by Chi-Young Kim

Goodreads Review of Whale, by Cheon Myeong-kwan and Chi-Young Kim

No rating

Whale is a historically and atmospherically rich story centering around a shrewd woman named Geumbok in the 1950s. It is a full account of her birth, full life, death, and the full life of her daughter as well. With elements of mysticism, this was a surreal read as we followed Geumbok and all of the women that preceded and followed her in life, manifesting as a tragic, but oftentimes funny, family epic.

In many ways, this felt like a Korean "One Hundred Years of Solitude" with the satire dialed up quite a bit. I really enjoyed that aspect, as Solitude is one of my favorite classics. All of the characters were uniquely charming in their own way, even if they were unlikable. Even the characters that were likable had moments of unlikability, painting a realistic picture of who they were as people. Many had redemption, others fell into corruption. The …

Whale is a historically and atmospherically rich story centering around a shrewd woman named Geumbok in the 1950s. It is a full account of her birth, full life, death, and the full life of her daughter as well. With elements of mysticism, this was a surreal read as we followed Geumbok and all of the women that preceded and followed her in life, manifesting as a tragic, but oftentimes funny, family epic.

In many ways, this felt like a Korean "One Hundred Years of Solitude" with the satire dialed up quite a bit. I really enjoyed that aspect, as Solitude is one of my favorite classics. All of the characters were uniquely charming in their own way, even if they were unlikable. Even the characters that were likable had moments of unlikability, painting a realistic picture of who they were as people. Many had redemption, others fell into corruption. The structure of this story jumped back and forth between characters and timelines, always keeping you just at arms reach of what was going on and why we were shifting focus to a new character or story, but never enough to feel disjointed or sloppy.

The story itself I found to be quite touching, focusing on themes of abandonment, family connections and love so deep it can't be communicated. It is a story of extreme hardship and extreme wealth, fluctuating between the two several times. What resulted was an introspective, satisfying story that keeps you thinking about it long after the fact.

This book feels like an homage to contemporary classics. If you like classical literature, generational stories with aspects of political satire and equally lovable and unlovable characters, you should pick this up.

Subjects

Language and languages