When the whales leave /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Rytkhėu, I͡Uriĭ, 1930-2008, author.
Uniform title:	Kogda kity ukhodi͡at. English
Edition:	First edition.
Imprint:	Minneapolis, Minnesota : Milkweed Editions, 2019. ©2019
Description:	xi, 120 pages ; 22 cm.
Language:	English
Series:	Seedbank Seedbank (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Subject:	Chukchi -- Fiction. Whales -- Fiction. Chukchi. Whales. Chukchi Peninsula (Russia) -- Fiction. Russia (Federation) -- Chukchi Peninsula. Fiction. Novels.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/12319970

Hidden Bibliographic Details
Other authors / contributors:	Chavasse, Ilona Yazhbin, translator.
ISBN:	9781571311313 1571311319 9781571317254
Notes:	Translated from the original Russian into English.
Summary:	"Nau cannot remember a time when she was not one with the world around her: with the fast breeze, the green grass, the high clouds, and the endless blue sky above the Shingled Spit. But her greatest joy is to visit the sea, where whales gather every morning to gaily spout rainbows. Then, one day, she finds a man in the mist where a whale should be: Reu, who has taken human form out of his Great Love for her. Together these first humans become parents to two whales, and then to mankind. Even after Reu dies, Nau continues on, sharing her story of brotherhood between the two species. But as these origins grow more distant, the old woman's tales are subsumed into myth-and her descendants turn increasingly bent on parading their dominance over the natural world. Buoyantly translated into English for the first time by Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse, this new entry in the Seedbank series is at once a vibrant retelling of the origin story of the Chukchi, a timely parable about the destructive power of human ego-and another unforgettable work of fiction from Yuri Rytkheu, "arguably the foremost writer to emerge from the minority peoples of Russia's far north" (New York Review of Books)"-- Buoyantly translated into English for the first time by Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse, this new entry in the Seedbank series is at once a vibrant retelling of the origin story of the Chukchi, a timely parable about the destructive power of human ego and another unforgettable work of fiction from Yuri Rytkheu, "arguably the foremost writer to emerge from the minority peoples of Russia's far north" (New York Review of Books)"--
Other form:	Online version: Rytkheu, Yuri, When the whales leave Minneapolis : Milkweed Editions, 2019. 9781571317254

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In the lyrical, provocative latest from Rytkheu (1930--2008), after A Dream in Polar Fog, an Eve-like woman of the Arctic offers an unheeded ecological warning. Nau, the lone human living among the wildlife of the Eastern Siberian coast, forms a bond with a whale she names Reu. After Reu emerges from the sea as a fully formed man, they begin a romance. Their union produces both whale and human offspring, and the two species live harmoniously for generations. The novel's tone darkens and matures as it shifts its focus from Nau to her descendants, who resent her mysterious longevity and question her teachings about their kinship with sea creatures as they struggle to survive. Enu and Kliau set off in a "big hide boat" to find warmer lands, while Armagirgin, a feared and cruel warrior, defies Nau by harpooning a seal. His prideful action brings about a major storm, signaling that the end is nigh for their Arctic Garden of Eden. Though the plot and characters can feel underdeveloped, Rytkheu's folkloric prose and Chavasse's enchanting translation succeed in reimagining indigenous and biblical tales. This worthy fable offers profound considerations about stewardship of and people's relationship to the natural world. (Mar.)

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

When the whales leave /

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