Summary

A 33 year-old man, a little girl, an old stranded, dying whale, and a blind cat: Their fates are tied in this post-apocalyptic world where people have suddenly forgotten what it means to be human.

The once fisherman’s Island just across the river was transformed into the preferred living place for the neighboring city’s ruling class. Yunus (Jonas) just moved to the island. He is the new librarian and has been offered a room on the premises. He had just gotten accustomed to his new home when on the morning of the Winter solstice, everything started to go terribly wrong. No one came in that day, and when he went out for a walk, the shops were all closed, and there was no one to be seen. When he finally came across a man, he was eager to ask him what was going on. Except that the man was terrified, and incapable of uttering a single word. In his pajamas, barefoot, he looked like he had lost his mind. The man, Yunus realizes, is none but the city’s governor. He was expected to give a speech earlier that day, and never showed on the radio, leaving everyone at the station confused and worried. Yunus takes him in. Things don’t improve the next day, and Yunus finds a 10 year old girl who tells him that her parents had woken up dumb, and scared, before leaving the house. They have been missing since. Yunus takes her in as well, and starts thinking of a solution as food supplies will surely dry up soon.

The governor disappears, and Yunus sights other people in the island, the behavior of which is strange and worrisome. It is terribly cold, and the sky is grey and heavy, but it hasn’t rained in a long time. Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, people are worried. No one has crossed the bridges from or to the island in days. No one has opened the highly secured electric gates from inside island. Attempts from the military to force the gates have failed, and the bridges have been destroyed. Oula, Yunus’ former lover, is worried about him. She’s been having these dreams again, dreams she had during her seven years with Yunus: She was a blind cat, that was hearing a far away soft wailing. Inside the island, Yunus also thinks of Oula. He also, has been having these dreams again, those he used to have when they were together: He was a blind whale, who spoke a language no one understood. He was utterly lonely in the big dark ocean, and could only sing his song in the hope that someone would hear him.

At the same time, a whale gets stranded in the river between the island and the city. Why has it come here, so close to land, taking the risk of getting stranded in a river that looks like it’s drying up? What is this voice it has been hearing? A familiar voice, as if someone was finally understanding its song.

Yunus decides to take action. The water level is now low enough at the river mouth for them to attempt crossing it to get to the city. This is when he sees the stranded whale, like a reflection of himself. While he saves the little girl, his own fate seems tied to that of the whale. In this very original first work, Hosni succeeds in creating an unsettling novel. The reader follows Yunus and his attempts to save himself and the little girl with great interest and anxiety. The novel has mythical resonances, depicting a modern world which seems beyond salvation.