Reviews

La Baleine by Ch'on Myonggwan, Cheon Myeong-kwan

bogmanbugtime's review against another edition

challenging sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

blackbirdsbooktiles's review against another edition

4.5

"To what extent did she understand discrimination and indifference, or the hostility and disgust that came her way? If any of you, dear readers, are curious about these aspects of her life, it means you have the talent to become a storyteller, because stories are an exploration into a life filled with injustice."

inked_finch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lottieroddis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

staggering masterpiece. a mix of dickens, zadie smith and 100 years of solitude, with a sprinkling of pachinko, the whale is pure magic.

sasamme's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

rouge_red's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-paced

2.75

Points for readability and the story feeling like reading a legend or fable. And like a fairy tale, I don't think the characters are as well formed as they could be; we're really in this for the weird shit that happens to them, things that are often larger than life. Though, to be fair, some of the moments in this book are focused on the mundane, but can become imbued with a grander feeling, especially when coupled with the magical realism present throughout. We do gradually become more grounded when we get to the last story with Chunhui, though her ending (with the endless amount of brinks in the field) is a rather grand reveal. All in all, this was an interesting story, but I think it relied on being quirky rather than making me feel connected to the people at the heart of it.

lynntalksbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jasm1050's review against another edition

3.0

3,5

lmdov's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

The ending is a great pay off for some of the more difficult moments. It feels like a word of mouth story told and embellished year after year until the truth is irrelevant. That is the law of magical realism.

ellsoquent's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0