We learn to tell stories
for the same reason we learn to swim.
To keep from drowning.

The Whale Library is a bittersweet and poetic story.
The artwork is quite simple, yet no less stunning. The handwritten style text was a perfect match to the illustrations.

Zidrou's name on a book has really become a pretty reliable sign of quality writing for me, and he doesn't disappoint here. There's some beautiful writing here, with its own striking imagery, besides the actual art.

People at sea get mail too, and someone needs to bring it to them - our main character is such a sea mailman, going out in a little row boat to deliver the mail.

At sea, he meets a whale, and it turns out she has swallowed one or more libraries, and now functions as a living, swimming library, regularly visited by sea creatures to borrow books. The whale lends the mailman a book, and off he goes, back to his pregnant wife. Soon he returns to the whale.

It's a lovely, tender story, and it ends beautifully.

The art looks like a children's picture book at times, although the story isn't directly for children (nothing here that children wouldn't enjoy, I think).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the story of a sea postman, who meets a 100,000 year old whale on his route one day. The two are kindred souls, in a sense. We also see his relationship with his wife, who is expecting.

This is a quiet, introspective book, and a quick read to boot. I enjoyed the the opening pages immensely, about the importance of telling stories, and how the sea has no one to tell her stories for her. I think this, above all, is the theme. Especially in the end where we see that the whale's story and legacy carries on in ways she could not have prepared for or predicted, yet the man can only suspect what has happened.

I enjoyed the intimacy of the artwork, and I think that part of the story, more than the words, affected me deeply.

Also, this is flipping sad. I was not prepared.

4 blue-tinted stars 🐋

'Moby Dick' alert! The whale as an emblem of wisdom seems thus imprinted in our imaginary. The questions posed by the Whale are silently haunting and thought-provoking; and yet, as collector and librarian, would you not think that she would be able to tell us more than we could tell her about the Mysteries of the World? But, you see, these are questions far out of the reach of the wise and creative; these are questions that colour the human mind blue:

'What happens to rivers that never make it to sea?'

This is a book that encapsulates the essence of simplicity; that captures the love of the sea, and the darkness of the sea. It is a parable that speaks of a moving friendship, of the many important truths that are lost along the way of the human's path, of the joys of reading and its power to connect the living.

And yet, my heart and soul, they're weeping! The jolting pang of loss and regret threatens to crush that sense of prevailing warmth the book attempts to summon as the redeeming force: a community gathered around a fire reading stories.

The story of 'The Whale Library', in its fleecy simplicity, is one that I recommend to those who like to read graphic story books. The illustrations complement the story beautifully! I found it refreshing and quietly powerful, so much so that you will not expect it to strike you so forcefully towards the end!

Thanks go to Netgalley and Europe Comics for this ARC. All thoughts expressed here are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review. This was a short read that flowed wonderfully and the handwritten style text alongside the illustrations was lovely, thoroughly enjoyed this book 📖

This is a story of a mailman that delivers mail on the high seas and befriends a whale with her belly full of books! The illustrations are beautiful and it was a fast read. I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Whale Library was a visually stunning tale and aptly called poetic and fable-like. A stylish book with much to enjoy.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

A bittersweet and heartwarming story.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my opinion.

A mailman who delivers mail by boat gets hit by a whale. The whale who wasn't paying attention to where she was going apologizes and immediately helps him. The whale also happens to be a librarian and lends the mailman a book, and a friendship if formed.

This graphic novel is absolutely beautiful. The graphic are mesmerizing and the story though wonderful is also bitter.

What a delightful little tale, amazingly written and stunning illustrations by Vanistendael.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I got this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The graphic illustrations were beautiful, but the story lacks real content. There isn't a catchy storyline in the book. That's why I will give this book a 4-star rating instead of 5.

What a beautiful concept.
Like to come up with this story, I'm so jealous.
It was such a nice read.
The illustrations where beautiful too.
I loved that whale!
We won't even talk about that horrible sad scene. Nope. Not going to go there. 😭
I will more then likely buy this book. It really was worth the read.

I was granted a copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

(I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

This graphic novel tells the story of a man who works as a sea postman. One day he meets a whale that has a library inside her belly. They begin a beautiful friendship based on their shared love for books. The language used is very poetic and the story itself is really sweet and captivating.

The art style is quite moody and "imperfect", but it really suits the narrative and I found it delightful!

Pretty watercolours, a mature story about a whale who contains a large library, a postman delivering sea mail, his wife and a smattering of sailors, pirates, fish, sea turtles, octopi and more…

I loved the parts with our narrator, the postman, and his pregnant wife. Lovely and humorous.

About the love of books and other things. Poetic, funny, mellow, tragic and sad. No, it‘s not a sad ending per se. I was smiling, while I was fighting some tears…

I guess some people have written love letters to whales, and there are certainly love letters to books out there. This is out there, too, in more ways than one, for it combines both those things into one brief, highly visual effort. Our narrator leaves his pregnant wife behind to deliver not land-mail, or airmail, but sea-mail, rowing across the deep blue to remote islands, lighthouses and so on. All the while, deep below him, is an ancient whale, who has a library of stories shelved in its belly. Forget the awkward wetness of any such a book, and I guess aroma now I think about it, the sailor falls in love with the idea of receiving books in such a fashion – until something prevents him from returning.

On the whole, there's something appealingly enigmatic here, and I want to say the book has a whimsy but 'whimsy' doesn't fully gel with the leisurely, languid feel this has. I mean, it can probably be read in five minutes – the script is not the be-all-and-end-all here – but we are supposed to lull with the waves for this piece, and absorb both its shaggy-doggedness and its nautical romance. I would say the book makes all the characters – the postman, his wife and the whale – attractive characters, but the sea here is a character in itself. While this remains a little too enigmatic for me to be sure what the reader will get from this, the right reader will get a four-star charm.

This is a poignant graphic novel that tells the story of a beautiful friendship. And a lot more.

In the high seas, there lived an old whale who had a vast library in her belly. She spent her days reading to any fish who was interested. One day, the whale bumps into a sea postman and this accident results in an extraordinary camaraderie between the two book lovers. However, not all beginnings lead to happy endings… 😢

The main content of this book is not literal, of course. The story is quite allegorical, though I feel that the takeaways will depend on each of us individually. It’s a story that will make you pause and ponder during as well as after.

The bittersweet ending didn’t really make me happy. But I let it go as the rest of the book is so memorable. The idea of a huge whale carrying an undersea library is so fantastical yet attractive. I loved the way the bond developed between the whale and the sea postman. I loved learning about sea mail. I loved the sweet connection between the sea postman and his wife. I loved seeing the curiosity of the whale about all things connected to land. I loved the whale’s belly library (and its octopus assistant!) But I say again. I hated the end (or to be very specific, the part a little before the end.) I really wasn’t prepared for that!
(Now that I think about it, I don’t know why I wasn’t prepared for that. I have read Zidrou’s “The Adoption” and that too twisted in a way that was totally unexpected!)

The artwork is quite simple yet it serves the story well as it doesn’t steal the limelight from the narrative but complements it wonderfully. The dominant blue colour of the whale-related narratives add to the melancholic feel towards the end. The font becomes a little tricky to read at times but this isn’t a major deterrent.
If you want a graphic novel that leaves you mesmerised and devastated at the same time, do pick this up.

My thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for the ARC of “The Whale Library”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

"The sea, like the human heart,
is full of secrets.

But when our human hearts overflow,
we can take up a pen
and let wash onto the shore of a page
those words that weigh too heavily on us.

We learn to tell stories
for the same reason we learn to swim.

To keep from drowning."

This is the story of a guy working as a postman for the sea mail service and a 100,000-year-old whale that holds hidden behind her smile the world’s largest undersea library, and of their unlikely friendship.

Or is it about the comparative obscurity of sea mail? Or the love for books? Or maybe about overfishing? Or relationships in general? Zidrou packs a lot of themes into not that many pages. It probably shouldn’t work, but it does. The story is strangely affecting.

I also like the artwork. It isn’t particularly detailed, nor is it pretty, in a traditional sense. But it fits the story’s mood very well and the colors are nice.

Recommended, if you are looking for something profound and quietly sad.

Won't sell in store as it's digital only at present!

A story, fable, about a whale with a library inside, and about a sea mail deliveryman who accidently encounters and gets to know the whale. A story about stories - the importance of books and of letters, contact, in communicating with each other and the world. A sad ending for the whale, though the stories live on. The artwork is good, with a strong individual style.

Age is a little unclear, a story which could be for all ages though with artwork in a couple of places (e.g. nudity from a bathtub) which is perhaps not for younger readers.

This graphic novel was so fantastic. The story of a mailman that delivers mail on the high seas and befriends a whale with her belly full of books. I would highly recommend that everyone check this book out. The story is sweet and the artwork is amazing.

What a charming little tale, beautifully written and stunning illustrations by Vanistendael. The script by Zidrou has gorgeous imagery and the theme of grief is reflected throughout, I adored the ideas of grief in nature who mourns the trees that fall from the tree? who weeps when the sun sets? I loved the writing so much so I have written this quote to savour again and again "We learn to tell stories for the same reason we learn to swim. To keep from drowning".