Whale

"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."

* Monocle *

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

* Buzz Magazine *

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

* Asian Review of Books *

"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."

* Tony's Reading List *

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

* David's Book World *
"A novel that seduces." * JoongAng Ilbo *

"[Whale] redefines what fiction can be."

* The Kyunghyang Sinmun *

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

* OhmyNews *

“Fast-paced and imaginative.”

-- Dennis Maloney * Modern Family *

“Whale has leaped over the boundaries of a novel and entered a new space, just like South American fiction.”

-- Shin Soo-jung (South Korean film star)

"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, critic *

“Whale is a book that hooks you by the nose. It floods your senses with a certain voluptuous intensity alternating with the pungent odour of dried fish and human desire in all its manifold variations.”

* The Hin