The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher by Ahn Do-hyun

I don't often do this on Speculiction. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever done it. I'm going to in essence write two reviews. The reason is, I'm not sure if Ahn Do-hyun's The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher (2024) is a book for children or for adults. The distinction is critical, and I'll start with the positive.

If The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher is a book for children, then I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Though it is (awkwardly) framed by an adult trying to deal with feedback to something they have created, it quickly switches into the life cycle story of a salmon. It tells of a young, unnamed silver salmon who is learning about life in the ocean. He meets other salmon in his shoal, falls in love, and eventually makes the freshwater trek upriver to the shoal's spawning grounds. This journey is peppered with metaphors and allegories that link the salmon's circumstances to the basics of human life—growing up, starting a family, making difficult decisions, trying to find your way in a group, etc. It's presented with a strong degree of simplicity so that even the 'birds and the bees' have an aura of innocence. Though the title is a spoiler for the climactic moment, most kids won't connect the dots. <smile> In terms of delivering perennial philosophy on the basic building blocks of human existence, social to biological, this short book covers it in sweet, charming fashion for kids.

If The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher is intended for adults, however, I have a pile of bones to pick. Let's start with technicalities. The framing device is never framed. Do-hyun opens in one world, switches to another for the body of the text, then never returns. There is no law which requires Do-hyun to return, but the adult reader looks to connect the dots, especially given how simplistic said body is. Secondly, Do-hyun attempts to eat their cake and have it to. The salmon follow the biological routine of salmon being salmon, but behave anthropomorphically when convenient, up to and including philosophizing on the different types of humans they encounter (those with cameras and those with fishing poles—no seeming mention of those with fishing vessels or farms...) It's all too loosey-goosey. It undermines the strength of a metaphor when it is aside regularly. Next stop on the critique train is content. If it's indeed for adults, it does not hold a high opinion of their intelligence and ability to distinguish metaphor. Like a flaming pink tuxedo, there is nothing subtle about the narrative. I kept waiting for the profound shoe to drop—for the author to do away with the pretension and pull the curtain back on some rarely explored area of human wisdom. The shoe never dropped... And then there are the intratextual inconsistencies. Soothsayer Salmon is the salmon who gives names, yet none of the salmon have names... But I digress.

In the end, regardless for children or adults, The Salmon Who Dared to Leap Higher is like that motivational poster of a cat: “Hang in there!”. It's overt, it's obvious, it hides nothing. Children can find something to appreciate in such cute simplicity, but discerning adults should be wary. They may appreciate the sentiment, but will likely balk at the presentation. Thus, if you want to read a nice little book with your 8-10 year old, check this one out. Want to read it as a teen or older, look for more sophisticated material elsewhere—ignore those champagne reviews calling this a 'heartwarming fable'. That, my friend, is called hyperbole.