Wave

A Memoir

By: Sonali Deraniyagala

Narrated by: Hannah Curtis

Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

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 the need to keep her family, somehow, still alive within her.

©2013 Sonali Deraniyagala (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Out of unimaginable loss comes an unimaginably powerful book. Wave is unflinching as it charts the depths of grief, but it's also, miraculously, a beautifully detailed meditation on the essence of happiness. I came away from this stunning book with a new appreciation of life’s daily gifts. I urge you to read Wave. You will not be the same person after you've finished." (Will Schwalbe)

" Wave is a haunting chronicle of love and horrifying loss. The heartfelt writing manages to render the absence of the loved ones - the void, and the pain of it - in such a beautiful way that what was lost emerges as a new life form, one whose flesh and sinew are memory, sorrow, and undying love." (Abraham Verghese)

Wave review

very depressing but informative and well told. great example of mental health care needs after a trauma. well read as well.

Gut wrenching must listen book

I read this book years ago and wanted to revisit it as I remembered how it was heart breaking but so beautifully written and wanted to hear her prose again. This was the first audiobook I ever listened to and the narration by Hannah Curtis is so perfect that the many books I’ve listened to after has never measured up. This is the type of book that will stay with you long after you’ve read it .

Outstanding

A brilliantly told story of heart wrenching loss. Expertly weaving back and forth between the present and the past

Disappointed

This book was very well written and narrated. However for me personally I was somewhat disappointed. I have been through a similar experience of losing my only child and was looking for some words of wisdom to help me deal with my own excruciating pain. If there was a message I could take away it would be the cliche that the pain is "softened" over time.

Depressing and hard to listen to.

What would have made Wave better?

I can't imagine this story being made any easier to write or listen to, so I don't know how to answer the question. The sense of overwhelming despair was just too much.

Not a successful work

Any additional comments?

A personal account of devastating set of events, but not a well-conceived book. The author's grief is overwhelming but not a cathartic reading experience. There's no story, and not much of a compelling emotional arc.

Depressing, hopeless, negative droning!

Would you try another book from Sonali Deraniyagala and/or Hannah Curtis?

Probably not.

What could Sonali Deraniyagala have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

True story-- can't change the heroines mindset! Maybe break up the whining a bit with facts about the event.

Which scene was your favorite?

The beginning of the story as the wave was described approaching and hitting the island.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Wave?

Some of the constant whining!

Any additional comments?

Not for me. --