I am a total sucker for the design of a book. Just looking at this book, feeling the pages and the beautiful font and the generous margins, I was prepared to be blown away with a beautifully written novelette. The introduction was also very encouraging.

Buuuuttt...it didn't quite live up to my expectations. It's based on Siberian folklore about a woman, Nau, possibly "the first human" who comes into existence, no back story there, and wanders the coast. She developes a relationship with whale, Reu, who falls in love with her and becomes human to live with her. They birth the peoples of the coast. Reu dies of old age, but Nau, continues living as long as the people still revere the whales. Eventually they stop believing their origin story that Nau continues to recite and there comes a time when they stop respecting the whales or any of the natural resources they have been blessed with. 

I always felt that Russian writing was one of the languages that translated into English much better than other languages. It is why I love many of the Russian authors and their work. While the writing here was good, it wasn't quite lyrical enough IMO for this length of book and the subject matter.