Whale: SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2023

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She wasn’t obsessed with the whale just because of its size. When she saw the blue whale from the beach, she had glimpsed what eternal life looked like, life that had triumphed against death. That was the moment the fearful small-town girl became enraptured by enormous things. This is a book where you feel very close to the narrator. You don’t leave her side for a second, you feel every emotion she describes, with an extraordinary poetic force. Senior Lecturer, English and American Studies, & Director of the Centre for New Writing, University of Manchester Whale is my first novel. As I wrote it quite a long time ago, I’m stunned that it’s shortlisted for the International Booker Prize this year, and that makes it all the more exciting. The publication of Whale changed my life, and it feels like Whale is still a propulsive force in my life.

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.” — Lee Dong-jin This is such a bizarre book I encountered this year. It doesn't have macabre theme & probably has sort of folklore stylish. It also has a storytelling written style with such beautiful language. Nothing is happy here, just full of sombre and disturbing tone here. The author describes the book as a revenge play, but I would describe it as a story about the life and role of women in Korea’s history. The violence, harm, and utter indifference for their lives is alarming but absolutely real. And that is why understanding the intent of the author is important. Even if this was written almost 20 years ago and also set in a post-war Korea, the reprinting of modern classics, as this is considered, should be viewed with a critical lens, at the very least for the sake of discourse. A lot has changed in the 19 years since the original publication of this novel, and with the rise of the #MeToo movement in South Korea, I think it’s important that we talk about this. And I don’t have the answers. I only have more questions. Whilst the writing is often comedic, the tone is a philosophical one, with a twist of nostalgia and melancholy. The book is a classic in Korean literature, and this translation, though making the Booker Longlist, is not the first into English. We're very pleased to be able to present this event in the lead-up to the Booker Prize. If you are interested in Korean literature or fiction in general, this is a perfect opportunity to enjoy a discussion about this essential book with the author Cheon and his translator Chi-Young Kim.

Cheon Myeong-kwan is a South Korean novelist, screenwriter and director whose work has been translated into eight languages. Upon publication of the author’s first story, Frank and I (2003), he received the prestigious Munhakdongne New Writer Award. Cheon’s debut novel, Whale, was published the following year. It won the 10th Munhakdongne Novel Award and has become one of the most loved novels in South Korea, where it is regarded as a modern classic. Rather than focus explicitly on these episodes – the Korean War, US occupation and military dictatorships, for instance – Whale tells its grand national narrative on a smaller human scale. How does it feel to be shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, and what would winning mean to you? The book was described by the FT as a ‘distinctly Korean take on Great Expectations’. What do you think is meant by this statement, and do you agree? Geumbok's daughter is Chunhui. She's the whale-like, autistic- y, mute girl who talks to the dead or alive elephant. We like her. We don't want bad things to happen to her. Bad things happen to her. We don't know what her thoughts were and we don't know what kind of life she desired. She was different, and she lived in isolation because of that.

The friendship at heart of the novel – between Alina and Laura – will resonate deeply. Nettel renders their bond in all its richness and complexity.Cheon’s epic saga centres on a mother, Geumbok, and her daughter, Chunhui, and how their experiences map onto developments in South Korean society. Why do you think Cheon chooses to put his character’s lives in conversation with South Korean history? What were the specific moments in time he chose to focus on? Alina and Laura are old friends whose relationship is based on eschewing procreation as the be all and end all. It’s a perspective that gets increasingly complicated through pregnancy, birth, loss, a growing intimacy with the troubled son of a neighbour, unexpected resilience, the “birthing” process of writing a thesis and gradual drifting apart with a mother. It is a poet’s book. The style is sublime, the language bewitching and we are overwhelmed by certain metaphors, whose originality and sensuality sweep us away.