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Sonali Deraniyagala: Wave (2013)

273 pages

English language

Published Nov. 8, 2013

ISBN:
978-1-4104-6045-5
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OCLC Number:
841212301

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5 stars (1 review)

"On the morning of December 26, 2004, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, Sonali Deraniyagala lost her parents, her husband, and her two young sons in the tsunami she miraculously survived. In this brave and searingly frank memoir, she describes those first horrifying moments and her long journey since. She has written an engrossing, unsentimental, beautifully poised account: as she struggles through the first months following the tragedy, furiously clenched against a reality that she cannot face and cannot deny; and then, over the ensuing years, as she emerges reluctantly, slowly allowing her memory to take her back through the rich and joyous life she’s mourning, from her family’s home in London, to the birth of her children, to the year she met her English husband at Cambridge, to her childhood in Colombo; all the while learning the difficult balance between the almost unbearable reminders of her loss and …

2 editions

Review of 'Wave' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Wave is a beautiful, melancholic uprise of the soul, one that takes the reader through trajectory of loss and healing through the context of a massive natural disaster. I found it hard to read and yet I loved it and continue to think of it long after reading. I changed my rating from 4 to 5 when I decided to write a brief review here - I think it is a 5 to be sure. I wonder what will this writer continue to produce... I wonder if there will be more joy... yes, I am sure. This is a snapshot of part of her soul's particular path in time and her attempt make sense of it in words.

Subjects

  • Death
  • Disaster victims
  • Family
  • Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2004
  • Bereavement
  • Parents
  • Widows
  • Children
  • Biography

Places

  • Sri Lanka