ARC Copy...that was absolutely beautiful, bitter sweet and depressing in both illustrations and themes. The concept of a library within a whale is beautiful and also...the theme of preserving + recognizing the wonderful and small (yet big) things in life is very important.

A beautiful artistic comic book about the unlikely friendship between a mail carrier and a whale. So artfully drawn that I wish everyone could look at it. I will say that this book is leaning more toward an older audience and I myself wouldn't recommend it for small children. But obviously that is up to the individual parent. There is some blood that appears in the story once tragedy befalls but not too gruesome.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. The cover may look like its for children but this is an adult book. I have never really read anything like this. Wow. This book is dramatic, beautifully illustrated, but is not a happy book. It does have happy elements. I did find it sort of confusing as well, it jumps around. Its like snapshots with many blanks so it feels disconnected. I am very happy to have read this. I will talk about this book to others and encourage them to read it. 4 stars

3.8 🌟

This graphic art book is a masterpiece in every single page.

I would love to print this as an artwork and save this in my cards collection.
Gladly a physical book will be released.
I could say that this is not for kids. Quite ironic as how child-like and beautiful the watercolor art is.
But as an adult, you can feel and see emotions that the characters are depicted into.

A whale like no other, Carrying the world's largest undersea library within.

First thing that attracted me to read this book was it's title and the cover art. It was a story of a whale and a mailman about books and other things. They shared Such beautiful bond. It was heartbreaking & meaningful story book. And how beautifully Zidrou has written the prorogue.

i felt so attached to the artworks and with the whale.
You can read this book in seashore, watching the ocean. I liked it.

The Whale Library is not a typical graphic novel concerning the story and design. Colored illustrations are in aquarelle style and are not very detailed. It is a story of a postal delivery officer who delivers mail by the sea. On his journey, he meets a whale that has an entire library inside it. It’s a beautiful, dreamy, poetic, but also a sad fairy tale for grownups.

4 stars, instead of 5. The sex-related scene seems completely redundant and doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the story. Otherwise, I liked this graphic novel, it’s refreshing and something new.

Content warnings: animal cruelty, nudity, and sex

Thanks to Europe Comics for the ARC and the opportunity to read this! All opinions are my own.

Please don’t get confused and believe that this is a children’s book. It certainly is not. There’s a sex scene is all I’m saying.

The story didn’t do much for me, mostly because I didn’t see any point in it. Nothing really happened and I also didn’t feel like there was any message it conveyed.

The art style is incredible though, and I’m rating the book 2 stars simply because of that.

This just wasn’t the book for me. I didn’t enjoy the art style nor the characters or inevitably the entire storyline and plot. I just found it to be confusing and nothing was as fleshed out as it could’ve been. I really did not enjoy the ending either so that sucked away any bit of enjoyment I had gotten out of this. But if you’re interested in it, don’t let my review stop you! You might love it!

I absolutely adore books like this. That remind us as adults that picture books still have a certain magic and aren't just for children.

The whale library is a beautiful, melancholic fairy tale, that is bittersweet and heart-warming at the same time.
The illustrations were absolutely stunning and full of colour. How the artist played with the water refracting and reflecting the light in these drawings were stunning. While still maintaining that simple and innocent style akin to children's fables and stories.

Beautifully poetic and lyrical, I'd almost consider the entire book a poem, there's a subtle rhythm or cadence to the telling of this story.

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

The Whale Library is an adult folktale with beautifully poetic writing. Whimsical, tender, and incredibly bittersweet, this is a story of a sea postman who comes across the Whale Library and befriends her. This book is simultaneously a fairy tale and a love letter to the postman's family.
It reminded me a bit of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (who is actually mentioned briefly in this book) or The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy.

The artwork is reminiscent of a child's storybook (though The Whale Library definitely contains some adult content) and I adored the depictions of the underwater library. I only wish I could have spent more time with this incredible book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the PDF of this beautiful book.

This is a heartbreaking and captivating tale for readers who have endlessly sentimental hearts, a special care for all of earth's creatures, and who get emotional over small details and poetic moments. That's me, and this is going to be with me for a long time. (Also, absolutely wonderful artwork and designs.)

"We learn to tell stories for the same reason we learn to swim. To keep from drowning." This gorgeous fable with an absolutely devastating conclusion gripped me from beginning to end. The art is profoundly beautiful and the writing deceptively simple: like the ocean in which it takes place, it is deeper than it looks. In 80 short pages, Zidrou and Judith Vanistendael accomplish something magnificent. I strongly recommend this title.

Review to come next week on blog/goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I spotted this book yesterday (Nov 5th) on Netgalley and when I saw it was Zidrou (fav writer/artist) and Judith Vanistendael (great artist), I just knew I had to get it. And then I thought I would read a few pages.. well I can tell you that I ended up reading the whole book, much to the hilarity of my husband who was wondering why I wasn't responding. XD 

In this gorgeous book we learn of a mailman, but not just any mailman, a guy who rows in his boat to deliver mail to boats and other places on sea. We also learn of a big big whale, a beautiful whale who is something very special, she is a library! Yep. Fish (and later the mailman) all get to read books there. These two have a chance encounter at night and that is how they become fast friends. I just loved reading about the mailman and the mail he brought and I loved the conversations between the whale and the man. The blushes. The books. The talks about books. But also the talk about how afraid she is for the whalers (bah, stupid whalers). I just loved how they bonded. 

I would have loved to hop into the library myself. Look up a book, ask the librarian octopus for the book, then snuggle up and read it. It is such a magical place. 

Next to mail and a bit of history about that and also the whale we also see the mailman's wife. Who is very pregnant. We don't see a lot of her, but there are parts with her, mostly with her waiting. Waiting. Hoping that her husband comes back safe again. I was a bit angry that the guy left when his wife was super-pregnant, I get he needed to deliver the mail, but why couldn't he ask someone else? 

The ending though, OMG, I think I could have expected it, but it just came like a slap. It was painful and I was crying. It was horrible. Horrific. WTF. NOPE. But after that event we also see hope. We see a community get together. Work together. Save things. That is all I want to tell. But really, it was so painful I just had to look away. Read. Look Away. :(

The art is just absolutely stunning and fits so well with this gorgeous and beautiful graphic novel/book. Wonderful use of colours. Love it all.

I could probably talk more, but I will just end it here. I would highly recommend this beautiful, heartbreaking, gorgeous, special book to all.

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

The Whale Library by Zidrou and Judith Vanistendael is a fantastic graphic novel about the meeting of a whale and a whale hunter. According to the description, The Whale Library is "a poetic fable for grown-ups full of wisdom and beauty, by two Belgian masters of graphic storytelling... But not every story can have a happy ending…"

Overall, The Whale Library is an interesting tale of fantasy. One highlight of this book is the amazing art. It reminded me of fairy tale art in European children's books. I took off 2 stars, because of a sex scene in the middle with male and female nudity, which I thought was unnecessary. This is definitely a book for adults. If you're intrigued by the description, or if you're a fan of fantasy graphic novels, you can check out this book, which is available now!

Beautifully illustrated and narrated throughout. Interesting story. Some nudity so I’d recommend a slightly older reader. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This was so poetic and beautiful.
It's like a sweet and sad fairytale, it's very touching and heartwarming. And I adored the pictures so much, it's gorgeous and dreamy and it makes the story all the more beautiful.

trigger warning
<spoiler> cruelty towards animals </spoiler>

A sea mailman meets a whale, not any whale, she has a library inside of her!

Incredibly beautiful aquarell pictures, that felt very calm and fitted the story nicely. The whole thing brought tears to my eyes, which is not an easy thing to do.

I am sure this book will pop up now and again in my mind and I will ponder it for a while, which always is a great experience to have.

The arc was provided by the publisher.