When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu: book review

When the Whales Leave (1975, English version 2019) is set in Russia’s far north Arctic region of Uelen.

In Part One, Nau is a young girl when she sees a majestic whale and falls in love with him. Reu, the whale, also falls in love with Nau. If he doesn’t return to the water ‘before the last ray of the sun is gone’ he must stay on land forever. And that is what he chooses to do. Together they have children—in both whale form and in human form. Nau will always be remembered in her community as the person who joined the land and the sea together.

In Part Two, the villages are tired of old Nau’s outrageous stories of her youth as the wife of a whale and her stories about her whale children. It’s nothing but a myth, they say. A miracle changes the lives of villagers Enu and Kliau when they have an accident at sea. It concludes with Giru, the grandson of Enu, becoming the next leader of the land.

Part Three is about the generation of Armagirgin, the grandson of Giru.

With passing generations, change is inevitable as a nation’s heritage becomes more and more distant and people, over time, become masters of the wild. This opens the debate about whether this is a strength or a weakness.

This is an interesting generational tale told in the style of indigenous story-telling. It is gentle and mystical, with themes of heritage, curiosity about distant lands, animal-human relationships, ego, duty, and responsibility.

Written 45 years ago, it is still relevant in today’s times. I like the way it is written ‘like a song’ and, in parts, like the ocean’s tidal waves. I like the development of characters, especially Nau, the first voice of warm-hearted wisdom as she influences the men of multiple generations.

MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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