A postman for the sea mail service: what a great idea!

The Whale Library is a graphic novel narrated by a sea postman. His work is largely unrecognised. People forget that letters are delivered to and fro ships on the high seas. Sea postal workers face strange hazards: pirates, sharks, enemy submarines, dangerous weather, and whales. And it’s an encounter with the latter that shapes this story.

It’s not any old whale though, it’s a 100,000-year-old storytelling whale being pursued by whalers.

Airmail is famous too. Saint-Exupery flew over the Sahara and became a household name all over the world. (11)

Judith Vanistendael’s illustrations are luminous: the reds and blues against white are striking. Hues deepen to reflect differences in mood, weather, and subject. I love the port scenes, the boats on shore, the yellow wellies, fishing rigamarole, and lighthouses.

There’s some sexy stuff here too: bathtub nudity and frollicking, which made me wonder just who the target audience is. There are darker themes and images of Caesarean section.

Gorgeous to look at, with tender and fantastical scenes - but at 80 pages, the story was over before my coffee was.

The Whale Library was published by Europe Comics in 2021.

Many thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for my advanced review copy.

WHAT TO READ NEXT

If you like The Whale Library try the Shelley duet by David Vandermeulen & Daniel Casanave: Percy Shelley and its sequel Mary Shelley.