Wave (Deraniyagala book)

Last updated
Wave
The Wave 2013 book.jpg
The cover of the book
Author Sonali Deraniyagala
Country Sri Lanka
LanguageEnglish
Subject 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Genre Memoir
Published Alfred A. Knopf
Media typePrint
Pages240
ISBN 9780345804310

Wave: Life and Memories after the Tsunami is a memoir by the Sri Lankan educator Sonali Deraniyagala about the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. [1] [2] It was first published in 2013 by Alfred A. Knopf. [3] The book recounts the story of Deraniyagala's life before the tsunami struck the coast, and how it changed dramatically after the disaster, primarily focusing on life without her five most important family members, including her parents, her husband, and her two sons. [4] It is written in the first-person narrative style and opens on December 26, 2004. [5] The book received several awards and positive reviews from critics. [6]

Contents

Storyline

The book starts with Deraniyagala at a beach-side hotel on the Sri Lankan coast with her family. [7] [8] She gives the first hint at the impending disaster in the second line of the book, "The ocean looked a little closer to our hotel than usual". [9] Deraniyagala describes how, within minutes, things changed before her eyes, and her family was lost when they were washed away somewhere "far away". She frequently writes frankly about her loss throughout the book. Deraniyagala is nostalgic of days before the tidal wave. She yearns for those days to be back, but fate does not allow it. Critics have called it a book with a lot of grief. [8]

A number of years after the disaster, Deraniyagala lives in her husband's flat in London, and she is suicidal. [10] [11] She writes that "an army of family and friends" watched over her, day and night. [8] She wishes to forget her haunted memories of the day, but is unable to do so. [11] [12] [13] [14]

Reception

The book received positive reviews from critics. In a new for The New York Times, Cheryl Strayed, wrote "I didn't feel as if I was going to cry while reading Wave. I felt as if my heart might stop." [8] Barnes & Noble described the book as "poignant, yet spare and unsentimental". [15] Marcia Kaye, an author and journalist, in her review for the Colombo Telegraph wrote,

"Wave is somehow both jaggedly raw and beautifully crafted at the same time. Above all, it speaks to the power of the human spirit to survive, to love, to remember. It reminds us that these often mundane lives of ours and our families' must be cherished, because we never know when an extraordinary event may come along to change it all." [16]

The New York Times rated it as one of the top ten best books of 2013. [17] It was an "Amazon Best Book of the Month (March 2013)". [18] [19] Donna Seaman from Booklist called the story "indelible and unique". [18] [20] The Christian Science Monitor ranked it number 14 i "15 best nonfiction books of 2013". [21] Therese Purcell Nielsen and Erin Shea of Library Journal rated it one of 11 best memoirs of 2013. [22] Kirkus Reviews called it one of the "Best Books of 2013 for Vicarious Experiences You'll Never Forget", one of the lists of "Best Books of 2013 (Nonfiction)". [18] [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Bechdel</span> American cartoonist

Alison Bechdel is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir Fun Home, which was subsequently adapted as a musical that won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2015. In 2012, she released her second graphic memoir Are You My Mother? She was a 2014 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award. She is also known for originating the Bechdel test.

Mary Ruefle is an American poet, essayist, and professor. She has published many collections of poetry, the most recent of which, Dunce, was longlisted for the National Book Award in Poetry and was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. Ruefle's debut collection of prose, The Most Of It, appeared in 2008 and her collected lectures, Madness, Rack, and Honey, was published in August 2012, both published by Wave Books. She has also published a book of erasures, A Little White Shadow (2006).

Deborah Hopkinson is an American writer of over seventy children's books, primarily historical fiction, nonfiction and picture books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Solnit</span> American writer

Rebecca Solnit is an American writer. She has written on a variety of subjects, including feminism, the environment, politics, place, and art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dara Horn</span> American writer, novelist and professor (born 1977)

Dara Horn is a Jewish American novelist, essayist, and professor of literature. She has written five novels and in 2021, released a nonfiction essay collection titled People Love Dead Jews, which was a finalist for the 2021 Kirkus Prize in nonfiction. She won the Edward Lewis Wallant Award in 2002, the National Jewish Book Award in 2003 and 2006, and the Harold U. Ribalow Prize in 2007.

<i>The Impossible</i> (2012 film) 2012 English-language Spanish film

The Impossible is a 2012 English-language Spanish disaster drama film directed by J. A. Bayona and written by Sergio G. Sánchez. It is based on the experience of María Belón and her family in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It features an international cast including Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland in his film debut.

Brenda Wineapple is an American nonfiction writer, literary critic, and essayist who has written several books on nineteenth-century American writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candace Fleming</span> American childrens writer

Candace Groth Fleming is an American writer of children's books, both fiction and non-fiction. She is the author of more than twenty books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize-honored The Family Romanov and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns, among others.

Darcy S. Pattison is an American writer of fiction and nonfiction children’s literature, a blogger, writing teacher, and indie publisher. Her books have been translated into nine languages. Although she is best known for her work in children’s literature, she is also a writing teacher traveling across the nation presenting her Novel Revision Retreat. She has been featured as a writer and writing teacher in prestigious publications such as Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies, and 2012 Writer's Market. Pattison is also an independent publisher of ebooks for adults in the educational market.

Sonali Deraniyagala is a Sri Lankan memoirist and economist. She currently serves as a lecturer in Economics at the SOAS South Asia Institute. She considers Joan Didion and Michael Ondaatje her favourite literary heroes.

<i>Locomotive</i> (book) Verse nonfiction picture book by Brian Floca

Locomotive is a 2013 children's book written and illustrated by Brian Floca. A non-fiction book written primarily in free verse, the book follows a family as they ride a transcontinental steam engine train in summer of 1869. The book details the workers, passengers, landscape, and effects of building and operating the first transcontinental railroad. The book also contains prose about the earlier and later history of locomotives. The book took Floca four years to create, which included a change in perspective from following the crew of the train to following a family. Floca conducted extensive research including his own train ride and consultation with experts to ensure he had the details all correct.

<i>Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice</i> 2009 young adult nonfiction book by Phillip Hoose

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice is a 2009 young adult nonfiction book by Phillip Hoose, recounting the experiences of Claudette Colvin in Montgomery, Alabama, during the Civil Rights Movement.

Kyle Boelte is an American essayist and author. He was born in a small town in Western Kansas and grew up near Denver, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angie Thomas</span> American author (born 1988)

Angie Thomas is an American young adult author, best known for writing The Hate U Give (2017). Her second young adult novel, On the Come Up, was released on February 25, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonya Bolden</span> American writer

Tonya K. Bolden is an American writer best known for her works of children's literature, especially children's nonfiction.

<i>We Are Water Protectors</i> 2020 picture book

We Are Water Protectors is a 2020 picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. Written in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, the book tells the story of an Ojibwe girl who fights against an oil pipeline in an effort to protect the water supply of her people. It was published by Roaring Brook Press on March 17, 2020. The book was well received. Critics praised its message of environmental justice, its depiction of diversity, and the watercolor illustrations, for which Goade won the 2021 Caldecott Medal, becoming the first Indigenous recipient of the award. The book also received the 2021 Jane Addams Children's Book Award winner in the Books for Younger Children category.

<i>Minor Feelings</i> 2020 autobiographical book by Cathy Park Hong

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning is a 2020 autobiographical book of essays written by the Korean American author Cathy Park Hong. It was published by Penguin Random House in the United States and Profile Books in the United Kingdom and is composed of seven essays about growing up as an Asian-American in a Western capitalist society, more specifically in the United States of America. This book won the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography in 2020.

<i>Beyond Magenta</i> 2014 book edited by American author Susan Kuklin

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out is a 2014 book written by American author Susan Kuklin. For the book, Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults, describing their sense of identity before, during, and after transitioning.

<i>The Third Rainbow Girl</i> 2020 book by Emma Copley Eisenberg

The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia is a nonfiction book by Emma Copley Eisenberg, published January 21, 2020 by Hachette Books. The book follows the investigation of the murders of Vicki Durian and Nancy Santomero and provides commentary on how people in Appalachia are viewed.

<i>Courage Has No Color</i> 2013 nonfiction book by Tanya Lee Stone

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers is a nonfiction book geared toward children, written by Tanya Lee Stone and published January 22, 2013 by Candlewick Press. The book tells the story of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed The Triple Nickles, an all-Black airborne unit of the United States Army during World War II.

References

  1. "Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala". Goodreads. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  2. Jan Stuart. "Book review: Wave by Sonali Deriniyagala". Boston Globe . Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  3. "'Wave' by Sonali Deraniyagala". SFGate. 15 March 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  4. "Wave, by Sonali Deraniyagala". The Spectator . Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  5. "Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala review". The Guardian . 3 April 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  6. "Sonali Deraniyagala's "Wave" makes NYTimes "Best Books of 2013 list". The Republic Square. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  7. "30 Books 2013: Tom Beer on Sonali Deraniyagala's 'Wave'". BookCritics.org. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Cheryl Strayed (22 March 2013). "'Wave' by Sonali Deraniyagala". The New York Times . Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  9. Wave:Life and Memories after the Tsunami. Vintage Books. 12 March 2013. ISBN   9781405520652.
  10. "'Wave', a family vacation turns into the worst kind of nightmare". Salon.
  11. 1 2 "Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala review". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  12. "Outliving Death - Wave". The Hindu . Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  13. "A Better Quality of Agony". The New Yorker . March 28, 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  14. Kerry Clare (September 11, 2013). "Some thoughts about Sonali Deraniyagala's Wave". Pickle Me This. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  15. "Wave". Barnes & Noble . Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  16. Kaye, Marcia (8 March 2013). "Book Review: Wave By Sonali Deraniyagala". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  17. "The 10 Best Books of 2013- NYTimes". The New York Times . December 4, 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  18. 1 2 3 "Wave (Vintage) [Paperback]". Amazon. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  19. Thompson, Neal (March 2, 2013). "A review of the heartbreaking Wave, by Sonali Deraniyagala". WordPress . Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  20. Wave . Retrieved January 22, 2014 via Booklist.
  21. "15 best nonfiction books of 2013: 14. Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala". The Christian Science Monitor . 25 November 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  22. Nielsen, Therese Purcell; Shea, Erin. "Best Books 2013: Memoir". Library Journal . Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  23. "Best Books of 2013 for Vicarious Experiences You'll Never Forget". Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved January 22, 2014.