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A Novel
by Tara Menon
Book Reviewed by:An intense, atmospheric novel about the devastating power of friendship, set against the backdrop of two cataclysmic events.
After Marissa loses her mother at five, the most intimate relationship of her life begins. Her marine biologist father, determined to channel his grief into completing his wife's research, whisks her across the globe to Thailand. There she meets Arielle, and a fairytale friendship takes hold. During the week, the girls live at the resort owned by Arielle's parents; on the weekends they join the tight-knit community of researchers on a nearby island. Together the girls discover the fragile wonders of its reefs, forests, and beaches. Together they learn to dive into the deep, holding their breath for minutes at a time, as effortlessly synchronized as the manta rays they come to know by name. Together they learn to swim their way out of danger. But then comes a wave Arielle can't outpace, leaving Marissa gutted with loss.
Years later, Marissa is back in New York, adrift and haunted by the memory of her friend. Over the course of two fateful days, as another cataclysm approaches the city and the past comes flooding back, she discovers how to sustain herself in a precarious world.
While the impact of major events like tsunamis and hurricanes can be felt immediately, Menon is keen to emphasize that the slow-burn influence of climate change can be just as devastating. In one example, Marissa laments the damage being done to the islands' reefs. For all the fear and loss brought about by the natural world, Menon also celebrates its beauty and wonder. Marissa and Arielle's childhood passion for Thailand's splendor is clear, and though it becomes too painful to face in the aftermath of the tsunami, Marissa continues to find solace in nature, even in the urban surroundings of New York. But if Under Water is successful in looking outward at the large-scale impact of climate change and natural disaster, it is even more assured in its exploration of deeply personal grief...continued
Full Review
(815 words)
(Reviewed by Callum McLaughlin).
Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History and The Emperor's Children
Tara Menon beautifully evokes the intensity of a young woman's lost friendship, and the extraordinary natural world - on land and in the ocean - in which that friendship was forged. Under Water, in equal measure compelling and heart wrenching, is a remarkable debut. Katie Kitamura, author of Audition and Intimacies
A novel of remarkable delicacy and power, Under Water is about grief, friendship, home, and longing. Menon writes exquisite sentences, sensual and particular, each containing an entire world. Namwali Serpell, author of The Old Drift and The Furrows
Reading Under Water is like being under water: immersive and stirring, pellucid and mysterious, shot through with light and with shades, overwhelming and exquisite–in a word, sublime._(min).jpg "Phuket, Thailand, after the 2004 tsunami")
On December 26th 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck 31 miles beneath the floor of the Indian Ocean. The force generated was so vast it triggered a devastating tsunami, with waves as high as 100 feet traveling as fast as 500 miles per hour towards land. At least 13 countries suffered casualties, with the death toll estimated at around 230,000. This makes it one of the deadliest disasters in recorded history.
In Thailand alone, at least 5,400 people were killed, and a further 3,000 remained missing, presumed dead. In some instances, entire communities were all but wiped out through death and displacement, with surviving residents continuing to relocate after the tsunami. In the villages of Khao Lak and Nam Khem, despite ...
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