Wave (Deraniyagala book)

Wave: Life and Memories after the Tsunami is a memoir by the Sri Lankan educator Sonali Deraniyagala. The memoir is based on 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]

Wave
The cover of the book
AuthorSonali Deraniyagala
CountrySri Lanka
LanguageEnglish
Subject2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
GenreMemoir
PublishedAlfred A. Knopf
Media typePrint
Pages240
ISBN9780345804310

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 in "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]

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. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  4. "Wave, by Sonali Deraniyagala". The Spectator. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  5. "Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala review". The Guardian. 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. Cheryl Strayed. "'Wave' by Sonali Deraniyagala". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  9. Wave:Life and Memories after the Tsunami. Vintage Books.
  10. "'Wave', a family vacation turns into the worst kind of nightmare". Salon.
  11. "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. "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. "Wave (Vintage) [Paperback]". Amazon.com. 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". Booklist. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  21. "15 best nonfiction books of 2013: 14. Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala". The Christian Science Monitor. 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.
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