What do you think?
Rate this book
When the Whales Leave
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 distant, the old woman’s tales are subsumed into myth—and her descendants are 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.
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 distant, the old woman’s tales are subsumed into myth—and her descendants are 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.
132 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1977
40 people are currently reading
1016 people want to read
About the author
Yuri Rytkheu
44 books34 followersIn Cyrillic: Юрий Рытхэу
Yuri Sergeyevich Rytkheu. He was a Chukchi writer, who wrote in both his native Chukchi and in Russian. He is considered to be the father of Chukchi literature.
Yuri Rytkheu was born on March 8, 1930 in the village of Uelen in the Far Eastern Territory (now the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) in the family of a hunter-St. John's wort. His grandfather was a shaman. At birth, the boy was given the name Rytkheu, which means "unknown" in Chukchi. Since the Soviet institutions did not recognize the Chukchi names, in the future, in order to obtain a passport, the future writer took a Russian name and patronymic, and the name "Rytkheu" became his last name.
Rytkheu graduated from a seven-year school in Uelen and wanted to continue his studies at the Institute of the Peoples of the North, but due to his age he was not among those who were seconded to this university. Therefore, he decided to independently go to Leningrad for training. This path stretched over several years. In order to earn money for travel and life, the future writer was hired for various jobs: he was a sailor, worked on a geological expedition, participated in the hunting game, was a loader at a hydro base.
Rytkheu studied at the literary faculty of Leningrad State University from 1949 to 1954. The writer was a little over 20 years old when his stories appeared in the almanac "Young Leningrad", and a little later in the magazines "Ogonyok", "Young World", "Far East", the youth newspaper "Smena" and other periodicals. In 1953, the publishing house "Young Guard" published his first collection of short stories in Russian "People of Our Coast" (translated from Chukotka by A. Smolyan). During his student days, Yuri Rytkheu was actively involved in translation activities, translated into Chukchi the tales of Alexander Pushkin, the stories of Leo Tolstoy, the works of Maxim Gorky and Tikhon Syomushkin. In 1954 Rytkheu was admitted to the Writers' Union of the USSR. Two years later, in Magadan, his collection of stories "The Chukotka Saga" was published, which brought the writer recognition not only of Soviet, but also foreign readers.
Yuri Sergeyevich Rytkheu. He was a Chukchi writer, who wrote in both his native Chukchi and in Russian. He is considered to be the father of Chukchi literature.
Yuri Rytkheu was born on March 8, 1930 in the village of Uelen in the Far Eastern Territory (now the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) in the family of a hunter-St. John's wort. His grandfather was a shaman. At birth, the boy was given the name Rytkheu, which means "unknown" in Chukchi. Since the Soviet institutions did not recognize the Chukchi names, in the future, in order to obtain a passport, the future writer took a Russian name and patronymic, and the name "Rytkheu" became his last name.
Rytkheu graduated from a seven-year school in Uelen and wanted to continue his studies at the Institute of the Peoples of the North, but due to his age he was not among those who were seconded to this university. Therefore, he decided to independently go to Leningrad for training. This path stretched over several years. In order to earn money for travel and life, the future writer was hired for various jobs: he was a sailor, worked on a geological expedition, participated in the hunting game, was a loader at a hydro base.
Rytkheu studied at the literary faculty of Leningrad State University from 1949 to 1954. The writer was a little over 20 years old when his stories appeared in the almanac "Young Leningrad", and a little later in the magazines "Ogonyok", "Young World", "Far East", the youth newspaper "Smena" and other periodicals. In 1953, the publishing house "Young Guard" published his first collection of short stories in Russian "People of Our Coast" (translated from Chukotka by A. Smolyan). During his student days, Yuri Rytkheu was actively involved in translation activities, translated into Chukchi the tales of Alexander Pushkin, the stories of Leo Tolstoy, the works of Maxim Gorky and Tikhon Syomushkin. In 1954 Rytkheu was admitted to the Writers' Union of the USSR. Two years later, in Magadan, his collection of stories "The Chukotka Saga" was published, which brought the writer recognition not only of Soviet, but also foreign readers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
September 9, 2020
Content warning for the book: graphic wild animal abuse
When the Whales Leave is a beautiful ecological fable. Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse's translation is stunning. In the translator's note at the end of the book she talks about how Yuri Rytkheu said that he only cares if the book "sings" in English like it does in Russian. And it does! So much. Especially the first couple of pages where Nau and the first humans are completely entwined with nature. The descriptions of the ice, water, whales, winter sky and the land are a complete sensory experience. The writing feels alive. It's a short book and the prose itself is fairly sparse, but it has this magical ability to transport you to that little Chukchi village, among the early and modern people.
Because it's a fable, its inherent lesson is obvious from the beginning, but it managed to make me freshly emotional at the end. The measured way Rytkheu writes the unravelling of human hubris was fascinating and suspenseful. At certain moments, the book even reads like a horror story. Part III especially has this intense push towards horror. By the end I was angry and disgusted by the actions of the characters. There is also this one line in the novel that is delivered so well, because you have to wait the entire novel to read it and when you do, it's like a punch.
There is a lot to unpack in this little novel, from the use of dialogue to mimic the way stories become myths, to the way nature is described changes in tandem with how the relationship between humans and nature changes. I loved it!
Although I would be remiss not to mention that although one of the most important characters in this book is a woman, all of the women here are passive characters. In fact, we almost never hear any of them speak, except occasionally from Nau. We also never see them do or feel anything except undying love for their husbands and children. You could erase all the places where a woman besides Nau is mentioned and not lose out on any of the main narratives. Now, of course, this is my 2020 sensibility speaking about a book 45-year-old book, but it did bother me. (And since we're all friends here, let's mention that 1975 is not 1875, so...) I couldn't help but wonder how much more good stuff could be in here if this was written by a woman. Still a good read, but fair warning.
Definitely don't skip out on the Introduction and Translator's Note in this edition as both provide the loveliest context and commentary on the author, his people, and the book's smallest storytelling marvels.
Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse calls this book "a story against the dark, cold night" and that's exactly why I recommend reading it.
Nau was fast breeze, green grass, wet shingle, high cloud, and endless blue sky, herself and all these things at once.
When the Whales Leave is a beautiful ecological fable. Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse's translation is stunning. In the translator's note at the end of the book she talks about how Yuri Rytkheu said that he only cares if the book "sings" in English like it does in Russian. And it does! So much. Especially the first couple of pages where Nau and the first humans are completely entwined with nature. The descriptions of the ice, water, whales, winter sky and the land are a complete sensory experience. The writing feels alive. It's a short book and the prose itself is fairly sparse, but it has this magical ability to transport you to that little Chukchi village, among the early and modern people.
Because it's a fable, its inherent lesson is obvious from the beginning, but it managed to make me freshly emotional at the end. The measured way Rytkheu writes the unravelling of human hubris was fascinating and suspenseful. At certain moments, the book even reads like a horror story. Part III especially has this intense push towards horror. By the end I was angry and disgusted by the actions of the characters. There is also this one line in the novel that is delivered so well, because you have to wait the entire novel to read it and when you do, it's like a punch.
There is a lot to unpack in this little novel, from the use of dialogue to mimic the way stories become myths, to the way nature is described changes in tandem with how the relationship between humans and nature changes. I loved it!
Although I would be remiss not to mention that although one of the most important characters in this book is a woman, all of the women here are passive characters. In fact, we almost never hear any of them speak, except occasionally from Nau. We also never see them do or feel anything except undying love for their husbands and children. You could erase all the places where a woman besides Nau is mentioned and not lose out on any of the main narratives. Now, of course, this is my 2020 sensibility speaking about a book 45-year-old book, but it did bother me. (And since we're all friends here, let's mention that 1975 is not 1875, so...) I couldn't help but wonder how much more good stuff could be in here if this was written by a woman. Still a good read, but fair warning.
Definitely don't skip out on the Introduction and Translator's Note in this edition as both provide the loveliest context and commentary on the author, his people, and the book's smallest storytelling marvels.
Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse calls this book "a story against the dark, cold night" and that's exactly why I recommend reading it.
March 3, 2024
Yuri Rytkheu was born in 1930 in Uelen, a village that sits on a barrier spit of land on the tip of the far northeastern Chukchi peninsula, just over sixty miles from Alaska. He died in 2008, and was one of Russia’s foremost Indigenous authors. He came of age around the time that the Soviet Union took control of the Chukchi Peninsula in 1923 and was amongst the first generation of Indigenous children schooled in the promises of socialism.
I have read and reviewed his other two books, A Dream in Polar Fog and The Chukchi Bible, both of which I highly recommend. They are all very different.
Rytkheu wrote this short short fable in 1975. Milkweed Editions published this English translation by Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse in 2020. A young woman called Nau lives alone on the edge of an Arctic sea, where she falls in love with a whale. The whale, Reu, returns her adoration, and transforms into a man’s body to live with her. On a rocky spit of land by the sea, Nau gives birth to whale babies; they must live in the water, leaving Nau to worry for them, listening for their breath at night. Nau gives birth to human children, who learn to hunt from their father. They kill reindeer on the tundra and walruses on ice floes. They see their brother-whales, spouting in the deep. Reu and Nau grow old. Before Reu dies, he tells his children, “every whale is your brother. To be a brother does not require that you look the same. Kinship means much more than that.”
Nau lives to an old age, though nobody knows exactly how old, insisting that all people are her descendants, and that she created language because of her yearning to speak with Reu.
Though touching on a variety of genres, the beauty of the story is in the detailled descriptions of the landscape, the moss, lichen, and cloudberries that are so much a part of the permafrost tundra.
Rytkheu brings the rich heritage of the Chukchi people, their storytelling tradition and ecological knowledge to western literature.
His other two books are quite different as I said above. His first, A Dream In The Polar Fog, more of an adventure story, and his last, The Chukchi Bible, more cycnical, more political, reflecting a less enamored view of Soviet realities in the North.
This is the most beautiful of the three though, Rytkheu, thanks to his wonderful translator Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse, bringing his world to ours.
It is a svelte novel with a far-ranging message, beseeching that we cease imagining ourselves as masters of the oceans before all our seas become “bereft of any sign of life.”
I have read and reviewed his other two books, A Dream in Polar Fog and The Chukchi Bible, both of which I highly recommend. They are all very different.
Rytkheu wrote this short short fable in 1975. Milkweed Editions published this English translation by Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse in 2020. A young woman called Nau lives alone on the edge of an Arctic sea, where she falls in love with a whale. The whale, Reu, returns her adoration, and transforms into a man’s body to live with her. On a rocky spit of land by the sea, Nau gives birth to whale babies; they must live in the water, leaving Nau to worry for them, listening for their breath at night. Nau gives birth to human children, who learn to hunt from their father. They kill reindeer on the tundra and walruses on ice floes. They see their brother-whales, spouting in the deep. Reu and Nau grow old. Before Reu dies, he tells his children, “every whale is your brother. To be a brother does not require that you look the same. Kinship means much more than that.”
Nau lives to an old age, though nobody knows exactly how old, insisting that all people are her descendants, and that she created language because of her yearning to speak with Reu.
Though touching on a variety of genres, the beauty of the story is in the detailled descriptions of the landscape, the moss, lichen, and cloudberries that are so much a part of the permafrost tundra.
Rytkheu brings the rich heritage of the Chukchi people, their storytelling tradition and ecological knowledge to western literature.
His other two books are quite different as I said above. His first, A Dream In The Polar Fog, more of an adventure story, and his last, The Chukchi Bible, more cycnical, more political, reflecting a less enamored view of Soviet realities in the North.
This is the most beautiful of the three though, Rytkheu, thanks to his wonderful translator Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse, bringing his world to ours.
It is a svelte novel with a far-ranging message, beseeching that we cease imagining ourselves as masters of the oceans before all our seas become “bereft of any sign of life.”
January 3, 2022
A moving and atmospheric novel retelling the origin myth of the Chukchi people. The Chukchi people come from the Chukotka region of Siberia, a narrow spit of land in the Bering Sea. When the novel begins, Nau is the only person in the world, and is at one with all aspects of the environment. Every day she goes to visit the whales swimming off the shore, and, over time, develops a friendship with one of them. One day, when she goes to the shore, she meets a man rather than a whale. The two fall in love, and Nau bears his children: first two whales, and then many humans. Whales and humans live in harmony in the severe weather of this isolated land, but over time humans begin to forget the importance and personhood of whales. This is an environmental fable, about the devastating impact of disrespecting the natural world, and a hymn to the beauty of the Chokotka region and the long Arctic winters and brief Arctic summers. It is moving, original, and brimming with a sense of place and time.
Read
November 23, 2020Updated to add: Now also on Bogi Reads the World! http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/nove...
A mythic novel by a Chukchi author, translated from the Russian. I am usually really hesitant about Russian to English translation, but this one was poetic and deeply felt, by Belarusian-American translator Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse. (She talks a bit about her translation process in the afterword.)
When the Whales Leave is a short novel (novella? maybe?) of humanity's creation, the discovery of evil and the destruction of the environment, based on Chukchi folklore but - as far as I understand - also taking liberties with it. It is both beautiful and heartbreaking, and it really spoke to me.
I already got another Rytkheu novel, because after this one I want to read everything he'd written. I wouldn't call this novel perfect, and I could argue back and forth about its treatment of gender, but it was a striking work and it will stay with me for a very long time.
(Really really just in brackets, but if you like to study Tanach, I would especially recommend this book because it has a similar meta-plot and resonance to Bereishit - I thought it was just me because everything looks like Tanach to me these days, but the afterword remarks on it too. I think most Christian translations of Bereishit lose this nuance about the living world and humans' place in it and/or mistranslate it to mean ruling over nature by force - G-d forbid -, so I'm deliberately not saying "Bible" here... I also desperately do not want to center Western cultures.)
Also, a content notice for harm coming both to humans and animals.
______
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library
A mythic novel by a Chukchi author, translated from the Russian. I am usually really hesitant about Russian to English translation, but this one was poetic and deeply felt, by Belarusian-American translator Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse. (She talks a bit about her translation process in the afterword.)
When the Whales Leave is a short novel (novella? maybe?) of humanity's creation, the discovery of evil and the destruction of the environment, based on Chukchi folklore but - as far as I understand - also taking liberties with it. It is both beautiful and heartbreaking, and it really spoke to me.
I already got another Rytkheu novel, because after this one I want to read everything he'd written. I wouldn't call this novel perfect, and I could argue back and forth about its treatment of gender, but it was a striking work and it will stay with me for a very long time.
(Really really just in brackets, but if you like to study Tanach, I would especially recommend this book because it has a similar meta-plot and resonance to Bereishit - I thought it was just me because everything looks like Tanach to me these days, but the afterword remarks on it too. I think most Christian translations of Bereishit lose this nuance about the living world and humans' place in it and/or mistranslate it to mean ruling over nature by force - G-d forbid -, so I'm deliberately not saying "Bible" here... I also desperately do not want to center Western cultures.)
Also, a content notice for harm coming both to humans and animals.
______
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library
September 1, 2021
The author, Yuri Rthkheu (1930-2008) was an indigenous Chukchi, born on the Chukotka Peninsula in Siberia on the Bering Sea. He was was an Arctic explorer, hunter and writer. He worked on the sea and as a stevedore to earn money to go to university. He was the descendant of fishermen, and a shaman, and understood the decline of his subsistence hunting society was due to the communist way of life as well as its opposite, market economies. His writing was his life long work to preserve descriptions of the rich culture of his people. He was a man with his feet in two worlds.
When the Whales Leave is at its heart the origin story of the Chukchi people. They believe they are the product of a marriage between a human woman and a whale who became a man. Their first two children were whales, and the remainder had human forms. Rthkheu tells the story of a people who moved away from a lifestyle that treasured their Arctic environment, and moved to exploiting it. The resulting destruction of the natural riches, particularly wildlife which they overhunted and wasted, leads to the devastating conclusion of this story.
This is a tale for our times, although it was published in 1975. Climate change has become impossible to ignore. I became aware of this book after discovering Milkweed Editions, part of Seedbank. Seedbank collects writing from around the world that describe the relationship of humans to the natural environment. I discovered Seedbank after reading Tim Robinson's Listening to the Wind. These books will move readers to think deeply about the future of our planet.
When the Whales Leave is at its heart the origin story of the Chukchi people. They believe they are the product of a marriage between a human woman and a whale who became a man. Their first two children were whales, and the remainder had human forms. Rthkheu tells the story of a people who moved away from a lifestyle that treasured their Arctic environment, and moved to exploiting it. The resulting destruction of the natural riches, particularly wildlife which they overhunted and wasted, leads to the devastating conclusion of this story.
This is a tale for our times, although it was published in 1975. Climate change has become impossible to ignore. I became aware of this book after discovering Milkweed Editions, part of Seedbank. Seedbank collects writing from around the world that describe the relationship of humans to the natural environment. I discovered Seedbank after reading Tim Robinson's Listening to the Wind. These books will move readers to think deeply about the future of our planet.
May 4, 2021
When the Whales Leave left a permanent imprint on me. It was the best thing I read in 2020 and beyond, and I ended up gifting it to close friends this past winter.
This translation, by a wonderful press that seeks progressive and diverse voices, of Yuri Rytkheu is an adaptation of a Chuchki peoples myth.
In the deep Siberian coastside, you find yourself immersed in uncorrupted nature, invested in the relationship between Human and Whale. It's a timeless story and legend of warning and consideration that we can hear loudly in 2021.
This translation, by a wonderful press that seeks progressive and diverse voices, of Yuri Rytkheu is an adaptation of a Chuchki peoples myth.
In the deep Siberian coastside, you find yourself immersed in uncorrupted nature, invested in the relationship between Human and Whale. It's a timeless story and legend of warning and consideration that we can hear loudly in 2021.
December 12, 2019
When the Whales Leave is a memorable novella, elegantly told and translated. The first part is an Indigenous story that explains how whales and the Chukchi people became siblings. In the second and third sections, more modern values come into play, and we see their effects on the ecosystem. I'd planned on reading one part each night, but I couldn't tear myself away from this beauty. Definitely one of my favorites of the year!
December 30, 2023
There isn’t much I love more than folk lore or mythology, especially from cultures I have yet to read from before. This is the mythology of the indigenous Chukotka people, they are located in northern Russia, 61 miles across the ocean from Alaska, but in very similar climate. It’s the story of their creation and generations after. How they were created from a love so great, that it turned a whale into a man, just so he could be with this first woman, making whale and people kin who need to take care of each other. It tells of the generations after and how the lack of faith and the loss of the great love for others and nature put things out of balance.
It was a beautiful story, well written. I will definitely check out his other books.
It was a beautiful story, well written. I will definitely check out his other books.
November 21, 2025
I liked a lot about this book but just feel so ick about human animal pairings - but everything else was great
January 20, 2025
TWs:
Beautifully written and translated folklore/mythology that "sings". It captivated me from the beautiful Part I until the brutal Part III. There are many emotions you can go through with this story as you follow the generations that come after Nau and Reu.
Beautifully written and translated folklore/mythology that "sings". It captivated me from the beautiful Part I until the brutal Part III. There are many emotions you can go through with this story as you follow the generations that come after Nau and Reu.
March 16, 2021
TW: animal cruelty and sexual assault
Its hard to give something like this a star rating, but alas it is the world we live in. With that in mind I don’t want anyone to rate my enjoyment of it through those little starts. Because my experience with this book was much more complex than that. So, I’m writing a review (finally, I know I’ve been slacking ok)
This book by Yuri Rytkheu is about the origin stories of his people the Chukchi, who come from the tundra area at the edge of Siberia across Alaska in modern day Russia. Through telling the story of his people Rytkheu uses multiple generations and narrators. Starting with the “Forever Living” mother of all men, Nau. She was the human, and eventually she falls in love with a whale after for many years admiring their majesty. The great love, which is a source of all beauty and good in the world eventually turns this whale into a man, who becomes Nau’s husband and the father of all mankind. But first Nau gives birth to two whale babies, who are her first children, only later to give birth to humans.
Her descendants all become the shore people and in this book we see all of their generations as they relate to their identity, ancestry and relationship with the environment.
This is beautifully written and translated. I read this for a translation class, and in reading the Translator’s note at the end was surprised by how seamless the transition between languages was, while at the same time retaining a lot of her own writing in it. She had a long relationship with the writer and this was truly what made this so magical. I think ultimately this translation did what the author asked of it: for it “to also sing in English”. This lyricism is what truly submerges you in the narrative making the images vivid and every emotion felt.
At many points I found myself actively emotionally involved, wanting to stop the characters actions or even talk to them. Everything from the beautiful and almost fantastic landscape to the humanity of each character was so entirely fleshed out that felt almost close enough to touch.
In summary I highly recommend this, and definitely if you read this don’t skip the translator’s note at the end
Its hard to give something like this a star rating, but alas it is the world we live in. With that in mind I don’t want anyone to rate my enjoyment of it through those little starts. Because my experience with this book was much more complex than that. So, I’m writing a review (finally, I know I’ve been slacking ok)
This book by Yuri Rytkheu is about the origin stories of his people the Chukchi, who come from the tundra area at the edge of Siberia across Alaska in modern day Russia. Through telling the story of his people Rytkheu uses multiple generations and narrators. Starting with the “Forever Living” mother of all men, Nau. She was the human, and eventually she falls in love with a whale after for many years admiring their majesty. The great love, which is a source of all beauty and good in the world eventually turns this whale into a man, who becomes Nau’s husband and the father of all mankind. But first Nau gives birth to two whale babies, who are her first children, only later to give birth to humans.
Her descendants all become the shore people and in this book we see all of their generations as they relate to their identity, ancestry and relationship with the environment.
This is beautifully written and translated. I read this for a translation class, and in reading the Translator’s note at the end was surprised by how seamless the transition between languages was, while at the same time retaining a lot of her own writing in it. She had a long relationship with the writer and this was truly what made this so magical. I think ultimately this translation did what the author asked of it: for it “to also sing in English”. This lyricism is what truly submerges you in the narrative making the images vivid and every emotion felt.
At many points I found myself actively emotionally involved, wanting to stop the characters actions or even talk to them. Everything from the beautiful and almost fantastic landscape to the humanity of each character was so entirely fleshed out that felt almost close enough to touch.
In summary I highly recommend this, and definitely if you read this don’t skip the translator’s note at the end
July 27, 2021
Loved this book. Apart from the unsubtle parable about humanness, respect for nature, and humility required to (co-)exist on a fragile planet, this book got me thinking about the distinction between myth and religion: where does the former end and the latter begin? With authority? with force of authority? with coercion, fear, or with the withholding of something manufactured (or promised) to be precious? Humility and perspective seems required to put one's faith in myth, less so for religion.
April 6, 2020
Probably the best book I could have read during a pandemic, spare, linear, and seeping love.
October 10, 2024
I read this as assigned reading in grad school in a workshop on translation. Honestly, thank you, Rajiv, for giving me this gift.
May 2, 2022
Yuri Rytkheu is a Chukcha who grew up on the Russian side of the Bering Strait. I admit a shamedly ignorant and orientalist fascination for nomadic shamanistic peoples in remote places. I’m enchanted by the idea of a secret ancient wisdom, even while I know anything presented in translation is more likely to be an imposition of exogenous ideas than any perennial philosophy.
And I also admit to enjoying a couple Russian jokes I read about the Chukchi: A Chukcha and a Russian geologist go hunting polar bears. When they track one down, the Chukcha shouts, “Run!” and flees. The Russian shrugs, calmly raises his gun, and shoots the bear. “Russian hunter, bad hunter!”, the Chukcha exclaims. “Ten kilometres to the yaranga, you haul this bear yourself!”
This short book — which took me months to read, and yet which I plan to give to my seven-year old daughter — is both a folkloric cosmogony and a morality tale imploring us to live in harmony with the natural world rather than exploiting it.
Central to the theme is the idea that whales are our brothers, and we are descended from the union of common ancestors: Nau and Reu. As sweet and naïve as that sounds, it’s worth pointing out that, over geological time, it’s kind of biologically true. This union is inspired by a great love that transcends selfishness, and it is blindness to this love that will bring our destitution.
Much of the book is a pleasing attempt to find different ways to describe sunlight over snow, seawater thickening with cold, and seal anatomy. There is also a section that resonates with me and some of my other reading on the emergence of thought and word, and the way we have become isolated within our minds from the world ‘outside’, rather than true participants in it:
“When I was young, I dashed about the springy tundra hillocks, cold and soft with groundwater, like a doe. I had no inkling of what I was — a sable, a wolf, a wolverine — and it made no difference to me. Not until Reu came and gave me the gift of Great Love. And Great Love was a mystery, too, because we knew not whence it had sprung, to come to us. This mystery gave birth to thought; while there is mystery humans will always try to use reason to solve it”…
“Things, you understand, have a life of their own, regardless of people naming and measuring them,” Nau continued. “But of all the living creatures, only humans have words. And speech is what makes us human”…
“There aren’t any gods,” Nau snapped. “People just made them up, because they feared mystery. When you can’t be bothered to use reason to understand mystery, that’s when you make up gods. As many gods as there are mysteries in the world. You can blame everything on gods. Whenever a person shows weakness, some strange powers must be involved. These days people even say their own powers are gods-given. Disgraceful!”
And I also admit to enjoying a couple Russian jokes I read about the Chukchi: A Chukcha and a Russian geologist go hunting polar bears. When they track one down, the Chukcha shouts, “Run!” and flees. The Russian shrugs, calmly raises his gun, and shoots the bear. “Russian hunter, bad hunter!”, the Chukcha exclaims. “Ten kilometres to the yaranga, you haul this bear yourself!”
This short book — which took me months to read, and yet which I plan to give to my seven-year old daughter — is both a folkloric cosmogony and a morality tale imploring us to live in harmony with the natural world rather than exploiting it.
Central to the theme is the idea that whales are our brothers, and we are descended from the union of common ancestors: Nau and Reu. As sweet and naïve as that sounds, it’s worth pointing out that, over geological time, it’s kind of biologically true. This union is inspired by a great love that transcends selfishness, and it is blindness to this love that will bring our destitution.
Much of the book is a pleasing attempt to find different ways to describe sunlight over snow, seawater thickening with cold, and seal anatomy. There is also a section that resonates with me and some of my other reading on the emergence of thought and word, and the way we have become isolated within our minds from the world ‘outside’, rather than true participants in it:
“When I was young, I dashed about the springy tundra hillocks, cold and soft with groundwater, like a doe. I had no inkling of what I was — a sable, a wolf, a wolverine — and it made no difference to me. Not until Reu came and gave me the gift of Great Love. And Great Love was a mystery, too, because we knew not whence it had sprung, to come to us. This mystery gave birth to thought; while there is mystery humans will always try to use reason to solve it”…
“Things, you understand, have a life of their own, regardless of people naming and measuring them,” Nau continued. “But of all the living creatures, only humans have words. And speech is what makes us human”…
“There aren’t any gods,” Nau snapped. “People just made them up, because they feared mystery. When you can’t be bothered to use reason to understand mystery, that’s when you make up gods. As many gods as there are mysteries in the world. You can blame everything on gods. Whenever a person shows weakness, some strange powers must be involved. These days people even say their own powers are gods-given. Disgraceful!”
May 8, 2024
I first learned of this origin story of the indigenous Chukchi people when reading A Dream in Polar Fog (same author). This is a short, enjoyable tale of man’s descent from Great Love to selfishness and greed.
Content Considerations: the two main characters have sex but it’s so metaphorical you could miss it; the man later takes this woman as his wife, the woman breastfeeds two whale babies she birthed, the word “piss” is used for urine, a man ponders the idea that women are only good for ensuring that the human race will continue and to give pleasure to men, this man rapes a woman and later takes her as his wife.
Content Considerations: the two main characters have sex but it’s so metaphorical you could miss it; the man later takes this woman as his wife, the woman breastfeeds two whale babies she birthed, the word “piss” is used for urine, a man ponders the idea that women are only good for ensuring that the human race will continue and to give pleasure to men, this man rapes a woman and later takes her as his wife.
July 2, 2023
Теперь это назвали бы этническим фэнтези. Откуда у этой книги появился тэг "реализм" - загадка загадок. Реализмом тут и не пахло (ну, разве что, в каких-то деталях чукотского традиционного быта).
Авторский (возможно, основанный на народных преданиях) миф о происхождении человека (от китов!), о его изначальном единстве с природой, и об отпадении от природы: из любопытства, из жадности, из похоти, из властолюбия. Этакий чукотский "Потерянный рай".
Немного напомнило книги Александра Григоренко (Рытхэу, естественно, писал значительно раньше, но прочитал я его только сейчас).
Авторский (возможно, основанный на народных преданиях) миф о происхождении человека (от китов!), о его изначальном единстве с природой, и об отпадении от природы: из любопытства, из жадности, из похоти, из властолюбия. Этакий чукотский "Потерянный рай".
Немного напомнило книги Александра Григоренко (Рытхэу, естественно, писал значительно раньше, но прочитал я его только сейчас).
Read
August 10, 2025I've been picking this up off and on for a year or so, and it's made me feel the expanse of time in the story even more. A short work, but immersive, and it provides an interesting insight into the Chukchi people's origins, who I knew nothing about prior to reading this work. A mythology can say a lot about the types of story a people tell, yanno? The ending also leaves a definite impact.
September 17, 2021
A gorgeous retelling of a Chukchi origin story that carries a stark warning about humanity's destructive ego and attitude towards the natural world.
I've been exploring more translated fiction this year and am really interested in exploring more works from minority language groups. The very title tells you how it will end, yet the journey from innocent oneness and harmony to the inevitable fall was gorgeously and simply executed. Philosophical, mythological, contemplative - an author to explore further!
I've been exploring more translated fiction this year and am really interested in exploring more works from minority language groups. The very title tells you how it will end, yet the journey from innocent oneness and harmony to the inevitable fall was gorgeously and simply executed. Philosophical, mythological, contemplative - an author to explore further!
January 22, 2022
An origin myth and an ecology lesson all in one tiny book. This was good.
February 23, 2022
Wild story
December 27, 2024
this story speaks volumes. so much to learn from wise nau, her Great Love with Reu & the family/world they built. we desperately need to love to be human.
February 8, 2025
An interesting exploration of human greed but a bit dry at times.
3 stars
3 stars
March 30, 2022
I was not expecting this little book to take my breath away the way it did. This is a beautifully told and beautifully translated novel. It's a fable, but such an emotional one. I was deeply invested in the characters and read it one sitting. The descriptions of the Arctic landscape are stunning. Everything about this novel is stunning, really: its simplicity and elegance and heart, the way it's both a creation myth and a story about climate change and ecological destruction, the musicality of the language, the way it plays with time. Loved it with my whole heart. Read my full review here: https://booksandbakes.substack.com/p/...
CW for rape and animal cruelty.
CW for rape and animal cruelty.
February 24, 2025
When the Whales Leave is a Chukchi creation story retold by author Yuri Rytkheu who was born in the Chukotka region of Siberia.
It’s one of the most beautiful novels I have read!
From the cover description:
“Nau cannot remember a time when she was not one with the world around her. Until one day, she encounters Rue, a whale who has changed form out of his Great Love for her. Together these first people become parents to two whales, and then to Mankind”
The first part of the novel is mythical and describes the harmony with nature that the first peoples of Chukotka, whales and other animals experience living together.
Both Rue and Nau grow old. Before Rue dies he imparts his wisdom on his descendants:
“Whales and humans are one people!
We are kin that spans sea and land
We are born in eternal friendship “
“The most important wisdom I leave you with is to never forget you have mighty kindred. You are descended from the giants of the sea, and every whale is your brother”
And
“We came to live upon the earth because of the greatest expression life can have: the Great Love. It made us into humans, made me into a human. And as long as you love your brothers, you will remain human beings.”
Without being preachy or pretentious, the spiritually and wisdom in this book is universal and speaks to everyone regardless if they are religious or not:
In the second part of the novel Rue is an old woman living on the charity of her descendants. While some believe her stories about their origins, others start to doubt her. However her people still to continue to live in harmony with their natural surroundings.
As time goes on the people grow old and die, but Nau lives on. The new generations start to regard Nau’s stories as those of a babbling senile woman. They doubt what she says about them being descended from whales and they should regard them as brothers and live in harmony with them.
A new leader emerges who is disdainful of Nau, the whales and all the other animals around them. He starts to question why he cant hunt whales.
The sea creatures start to hide from them. There are food shortages
This book was written in the 1970s but so relevant today. In one section the new leader is described:
“All his actions were accompanied by bellowing words and booming laughter. People liked to be near him, because everyone felt free to say whatever they wished, do whatever they felt like, and satisfy any of their desires as unceremoniously as eating or sleeping”
Sound familiar?
I loved this book so much because although it is a creation story from a people I knew little about it, the themes, of mankind’s disbelief and greed are so universal.
It took me into another world but felt like home.
Trigger warning: there is a rape scene, which is fortunately not described in detail and a horrible scene of animal cruelty
It’s one of the most beautiful novels I have read!
From the cover description:
“Nau cannot remember a time when she was not one with the world around her. Until one day, she encounters Rue, a whale who has changed form out of his Great Love for her. Together these first people become parents to two whales, and then to Mankind”
The first part of the novel is mythical and describes the harmony with nature that the first peoples of Chukotka, whales and other animals experience living together.
Both Rue and Nau grow old. Before Rue dies he imparts his wisdom on his descendants:
“Whales and humans are one people!
We are kin that spans sea and land
We are born in eternal friendship “
“The most important wisdom I leave you with is to never forget you have mighty kindred. You are descended from the giants of the sea, and every whale is your brother”
And
“We came to live upon the earth because of the greatest expression life can have: the Great Love. It made us into humans, made me into a human. And as long as you love your brothers, you will remain human beings.”
Without being preachy or pretentious, the spiritually and wisdom in this book is universal and speaks to everyone regardless if they are religious or not:
In the second part of the novel Rue is an old woman living on the charity of her descendants. While some believe her stories about their origins, others start to doubt her. However her people still to continue to live in harmony with their natural surroundings.
As time goes on the people grow old and die, but Nau lives on. The new generations start to regard Nau’s stories as those of a babbling senile woman. They doubt what she says about them being descended from whales and they should regard them as brothers and live in harmony with them.
A new leader emerges who is disdainful of Nau, the whales and all the other animals around them. He starts to question why he cant hunt whales.
The sea creatures start to hide from them. There are food shortages
This book was written in the 1970s but so relevant today. In one section the new leader is described:
“All his actions were accompanied by bellowing words and booming laughter. People liked to be near him, because everyone felt free to say whatever they wished, do whatever they felt like, and satisfy any of their desires as unceremoniously as eating or sleeping”
Sound familiar?
I loved this book so much because although it is a creation story from a people I knew little about it, the themes, of mankind’s disbelief and greed are so universal.
It took me into another world but felt like home.
Trigger warning: there is a rape scene, which is fortunately not described in detail and a horrible scene of animal cruelty
July 7, 2023
It was entirely a fluke that I read this! I spotted it on my local library's new items list a few months ago and added it to my TBR because one of my personal reading challenges included reading a book from the eastern regions of Russia. I had no expectations going in. Honestly, it kind of knocked my socks off.
When The Whales Leave is a sort of fable based in the origin story of the Chukchi people. It tells the story of Nau, a woman who is alone in the world until a whale turns into a man so that they may be together in love. Nau and her husband Reu have whale children together, and then human children, populating the earth with their descendants of both species. Reu grows old and passes away, but Nau lives a seemingly immortal lives, staying part of the community through many many generations of their descendants. Over the years, things change, and Nau's story is considered to be more myth than reality. Eventually her descendants turn their backs on her teachings, becoming overpowered by cruelty and greed while forgetting their traditions, ultimately leading to their own downfall.
The story is profoundly moving, offering uplifting and hopeful ideas while also showing us the devastating ways we have gone wrong as a society. It may be a slim book, but it follows generations of lives in ways that are fascinating and unique, and presents big ideas in the midst of it all. I was deeply invested in this story.
The prose is beautifully written and translated, and it often flows like poetry or song, the way traditional stories feel most at home in. The introduction and the translator's note add to the experience as well.
When The Whales Leave was a surprising read for me, and is probably one of my favourite things I've read this year. I want my own copy to reread and refer back to. It's the kind of book that will be on my mind for a long time to come. Highly recommend.
CW: rape (not graphic), cruelty to animals (graphic, on page), violent thoughts described on page or spoken by characters
When The Whales Leave is a sort of fable based in the origin story of the Chukchi people. It tells the story of Nau, a woman who is alone in the world until a whale turns into a man so that they may be together in love. Nau and her husband Reu have whale children together, and then human children, populating the earth with their descendants of both species. Reu grows old and passes away, but Nau lives a seemingly immortal lives, staying part of the community through many many generations of their descendants. Over the years, things change, and Nau's story is considered to be more myth than reality. Eventually her descendants turn their backs on her teachings, becoming overpowered by cruelty and greed while forgetting their traditions, ultimately leading to their own downfall.
The story is profoundly moving, offering uplifting and hopeful ideas while also showing us the devastating ways we have gone wrong as a society. It may be a slim book, but it follows generations of lives in ways that are fascinating and unique, and presents big ideas in the midst of it all. I was deeply invested in this story.
The prose is beautifully written and translated, and it often flows like poetry or song, the way traditional stories feel most at home in. The introduction and the translator's note add to the experience as well.
When The Whales Leave was a surprising read for me, and is probably one of my favourite things I've read this year. I want my own copy to reread and refer back to. It's the kind of book that will be on my mind for a long time to come. Highly recommend.
CW: rape (not graphic), cruelty to animals (graphic, on page), violent thoughts described on page or spoken by characters
May 14, 2021
This book seems sort of metamythic because part 1 is a creation myth and then the rest of the book is about how people engage with that myth (while its subject is still living!) and eventually become myths themselves. It makes you wonder, in reading this, will it make you part of the story? Probably, because of how universally applicable this story is, and considering how this predates the “Tragedy of the Commons” by a few millennia. Instead of the typical Western hopelessness, When the Whales Leave is a cautionary tale that has hope for humanity even though the ending is quite bleak. That being said, it doesn’t feel like it was written for a white audience, it’ll meet you halfway but won’t spoon feed you or guide you through understanding.
Rytkeu talks a lot about the difference between ancestor worship and the gods, with Nau being the living embodiment humanity’s earliest ancestors (she’s a really old lady who lives through like at least 5 generations). The escalation from the first few generations doubting her story to the last guy who just totally starts fucking up everything seems really drastic, but maybe that slippery slope is realistic. At first the misogyny was bothering me but I dont think that depiction of something is necessarily an avowal of it, and that perhaps the patriarchal society that develops is just another symptom of human hubris. But that’s the thing, this book is so deceptively simple but it won’t give you a straight answer on anything and will linger with you for a lot longer than it takes to actually read it.
The translator's note and introduction are definitely interesting, but read them after you read the story because both spoil it and it's a lot better to go in with no idea of what's coming next. I thought the prose in this was so easy to read and yet so flowery, in the translator's note Rytkheu says, "Write it like a song. Like you could sing it if you wanted to." which is honestly the best way anyone could put it.
Rytkeu talks a lot about the difference between ancestor worship and the gods, with Nau being the living embodiment humanity’s earliest ancestors (she’s a really old lady who lives through like at least 5 generations). The escalation from the first few generations doubting her story to the last guy who just totally starts fucking up everything seems really drastic, but maybe that slippery slope is realistic. At first the misogyny was bothering me but I dont think that depiction of something is necessarily an avowal of it, and that perhaps the patriarchal society that develops is just another symptom of human hubris. But that’s the thing, this book is so deceptively simple but it won’t give you a straight answer on anything and will linger with you for a lot longer than it takes to actually read it.
The translator's note and introduction are definitely interesting, but read them after you read the story because both spoil it and it's a lot better to go in with no idea of what's coming next. I thought the prose in this was so easy to read and yet so flowery, in the translator's note Rytkheu says, "Write it like a song. Like you could sing it if you wanted to." which is honestly the best way anyone could put it.
November 18, 2025
What an AMAZING book. When the Whales Leave is a Chukchi creation story set in Uelen, Siberia that reflects the time period that the author, Yuri Rytkheu, lived through, when his people's traditions were being thrown aside and replaced. From the introduction, "He follows the downward spiral from respect for the power of the natural world, modesty in front of the weather, and group effort, to the general shift that produced, finally, a vain bully and gloating brute…" and "the novel stands as a renewal of faith in his Chukotka homeland. It is a song that celebrates, illuminates, warns, and finally exposes what were once the moral principles of village life that were traded down for the furious power-mongering and 'me-ism' of today." (Gretel Ehrlich)
Yuri's creation story is a multigenerational novel beginning with the woman, Nau, who lives during the "ancestor times," when "animal-human transformations were common; when time and lifespans were elastic…" She falls in love with a whale who becomes human. There are four points of view: the first follows Nau; the second is her son Enu, who eventually leaves to find a land without winter; the third is Kliau's, a hunter who goes with Enu; and the last follows Givu, Enu's grandson.
This small story is so thoughtful, so insightful, that I almost don't want to get into everything that's discussed to let people discover it for themselves. This story was decades and decades before it's time. It's written in a gorgeous folktale-like style that's captivating and spare in equal parts.
Absolutely stunning.
content warnings for rape (not shown), and EXTREME animal cruelty (with purpose)
Yuri's creation story is a multigenerational novel beginning with the woman, Nau, who lives during the "ancestor times," when "animal-human transformations were common; when time and lifespans were elastic…" She falls in love with a whale who becomes human. There are four points of view: the first follows Nau; the second is her son Enu, who eventually leaves to find a land without winter; the third is Kliau's, a hunter who goes with Enu; and the last follows Givu, Enu's grandson.
This small story is so thoughtful, so insightful, that I almost don't want to get into everything that's discussed to let people discover it for themselves. This story was decades and decades before it's time. It's written in a gorgeous folktale-like style that's captivating and spare in equal parts.
Absolutely stunning.
content warnings for rape (not shown), and EXTREME animal cruelty (with purpose)
October 19, 2020
**Please seek out own voices reviews**
This is a retelling of the native Chukchi origin story but also a timely ecologist parable about honoring the land and those we are connected with.
It starts out beautifully as Nau is the only one, no different than the wolf or wolverine. Then she experienced Great Love with Reu, a whale who takes human form because of his love for her.
Her first children are whales but the remaining children populate the area as human children.
Nau seems to be immortal; living on through generations, telling the stories of whale families and the Great Love. As time goes on, the stories are made fun of and you can see where things are headed. TW for graphic wild animal abuse by the last man featured in the story.
It’s a parable you can see unfolding from the beginning. It’s paints a beautiful picture of creation and the first Arctic villages.
It is also surprisingly patriarchal, as Nau is the First Mother and lives on to tell about the origins, she’s discarded pretty regularly in the story, even by the First Father, her true love. I found the degree to which women are passive to be startling and wonder if that is part of the origin story or the more modern interpretation. It was also more jarring since the story starts so beautifully featuring Nau.
This is a retelling of the native Chukchi origin story but also a timely ecologist parable about honoring the land and those we are connected with.
It starts out beautifully as Nau is the only one, no different than the wolf or wolverine. Then she experienced Great Love with Reu, a whale who takes human form because of his love for her.
Her first children are whales but the remaining children populate the area as human children.
Nau seems to be immortal; living on through generations, telling the stories of whale families and the Great Love. As time goes on, the stories are made fun of and you can see where things are headed. TW for graphic wild animal abuse by the last man featured in the story.
It’s a parable you can see unfolding from the beginning. It’s paints a beautiful picture of creation and the first Arctic villages.
It is also surprisingly patriarchal, as Nau is the First Mother and lives on to tell about the origins, she’s discarded pretty regularly in the story, even by the First Father, her true love. I found the degree to which women are passive to be startling and wonder if that is part of the origin story or the more modern interpretation. It was also more jarring since the story starts so beautifully featuring Nau.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews