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52-Hertz Whales

bySonoko Machida, Sam Bett (Translator)

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Your next read for fans of ALL THE LOVERS IN THE NIGHT and MY GLORY - the bestselling winner of the Japan Booksellers' Award: a deeply moving story of vulnerability and finding your voice as a woman fleeing hard times befriends a young boy who cannot speak.

HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD
THE BESTSELLING WINNER OF THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS' AWARD
MADE INTO AN AWARD-NOMINATED FILM

Emotional rescue is a two-way street

Kiko has run away from her Tokyo life to a rural village by the sea and rumours are flying among the locals about this mysterious newcomer. When she comes across an abandoned boy who is unable to speak, an unusual bond develops as she shares a tale of the lonely whale whose voice is too high-pitched for others to hear. As she unpicks the boy's story, and he unravels hers, a gripping and powerful history of strength, survival and finding your voice begins to unfold.

© Sonoko Machida 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

About Sonoko Machida

SONOKO MACHIDA won the influential Japan Booksellers’ Award in 2021 with her much-loved novel 52-Hertz Whales, which went on to sell over 400,000 copies. This translation into English by Sam Bett is long awaited. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1980, Sonoko Machida left school to become a hairdresser. While in her twenties, she realized she had a strong wish to write stories. She brought up her children as a single parent and continues to write bestselling fiction in Japan. Her most recent book to be translated into English is The Convenience Store by the Sea.
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