The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami was the earliest global event I can remember ... The Harvard professor Tara Menon was a teenager in Singapore when it hit. In a normal year her family would have been on holiday in Thailand over Christmas; that year they were not. Fuelled by this lingering 'What if?', she has tackled the subject with confidence and style ... The novel is at its best when it describes the eerie quiet of the hours before the tsunami hits ... As the wave smashes into the shore, the writing seems to waver in its confidence, with oversimplified, staccato sentences ... This attempt is a valiant one, and the emotional story that thrums beneath the tumultuous events is completely plausible — Under Water is, at its heart, about the deep and lasting grief you can feel for a true friend, and that’s a sentiment that extends far beyond the particular terrors of the 2004 tsunami.
Menon’s first novel builds slowly, switching back and forth between 2004 and 2012, before and after devastating events unfurl. At times, the pacing feels forced, and the nuances of the girls’ friendship remain underexplored. Nevertheless, the atmospheric descriptions, including of sea creatures, and a soulful sadness permeate, making this a touching story and a promising debut.
A brilliant, limpid, emotionally devastating story ... There is something truly special about this novel ... I loved every sentence, every word, and only wished there were more of them.
