Ghosts of the Tsunami

Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone

By: Richard Lloyd Parry

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

"In an understated performance, Simon Vance details one of the stunning tragedies arising from the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011...Vance's steady pacing, crisp enunciation, and careful inflection enhance the weight of the story, which moves between reportage and interviews, and ultimately reveals unsettling truths about this particular disaster." — AudioFile Magazine

Masterfully narrated by Simon Vance, winner of 14 Audie Awards and 61 Earphone Awards, comes the heartbreaking true story of a natural disaster and the resilience of Japan.

the definitive account of what happened, why, and above all how it felt, when catastrophe hit Japan—by the Japan correspondent of The Times (London) and author of People Who Eat Darkness

On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake sent a 120-foot-high tsunami smashing into the coast of northeast Japan. By the time the sea retreated, more than eighteen thousand people had been crushed, burned to death, or drowned.

It was Japan’s greatest single loss of life since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It set off a national crisis and the meltdown of a nuclear power plant. And even after the immediate emergency had abated, the trauma of the disaster continued to express itself in bizarre and mysterious ways.

Richard Lloyd Parry, an award-winning foreign correspondent, lived through the earthquake in Tokyo and spent six years reporting from the disaster zone. There he encountered stories of ghosts and hauntings, and met a priest who exorcised the spirits of the dead. And he found himself drawn back again and again to a village that had suffered the greatest loss of all, a community tormented by unbearable mysteries of its own.

What really happened to the local children as they waited in the schoolyard in the moments before the tsunami? Why did their teachers not evacuate them to safety? And why was the unbearable truth being so stubbornly covered up?

Ghosts of the Tsunami is a soon-to-be classic intimate account of an epic tragedy, told through the accounts of those who lived through it. It tells the story of how a nation faced a catastrophe, and the struggle to find consolation in the ruins.

©2017 Richard Lloyd Parry (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"In an understated performance, Simon Vance details one of the stunning tragedies arising from the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. He expertly balances the details of the author's heavily researched investigation and the emotionally charged survivors' stories. ...Vance's steady pacing, crisp enunciation, and careful inflection enhance the weight of the story, which moves between reportage and interviews, and ultimately reveals unsettling truths about this particular disaster." -AudioFile

"A lively and nuanced narrative by the British journalist Richard Lloyd Parry, the longtime and widely respected correspondent in Tokyo for the London Times. Though in part he presents vivid accounts of what was a very complex event, with this book he wisely stands back . . . to consider the essence of the story . . . Heartbreaking." —Simon Winchester, The New York Review of Books

"A wrenching chronicle of a disaster that, six years later, still seems incomprehensible . . . Any writer could compile a laundry list of the horrors that come in the wake of a disaster; Lloyd Parry's book is not that . . . Lloyd Parry writes about the survivors with sensitivity and a rare kind of empathy; he resists the urge to distance himself from the pain in an attempt at emotional self-preservation." –Michael Schaub, NPR.org

Tragic but beautifully told.

Great cultural insights, haunting stories, and a little justice for grieving parents balance out the sadness.

Goosebumps

Superb. Chilling. Poignant. Perfect. Unbelievably tragic story told with so much empathy. This book deserves more than 5 stars.

Important story written with deep respect

It’s hard to describe a story on a tragedy “beautiful”, but that was my impression upon finishing it. The level of respect the author has for all the victims is felt, and his anger at the injustices helps lift the voices of those who have suffered. It’s an honor being able to hear the strength in the survivors, from children, to parents, to priests.
It’s also an important lesson. NEVER think “this will never happen to me” and ignore common sense. It is always better being safe than sorry and being prepared to face an emergency. Especially if you are supposed to be keeping children safe.

He details the physical things that happened regarding the tragedy, how people reacted, and the emotions people have/had in regards to it. The reader is thrown into the water that day, into the yellow hat of an elementary school child, or into the mud covered shoes of a mother desperately looking for any sign of her child. You are there in the moment desperately hoping they are able to succeed.

It’s not someone “spooky story” you might hear on YouTube with dramatized voice and music. The ghosts aren’t a Halloween attraction. They are the real grief and pain left over from the tragedy. It’s hard not to cry for these people doing whatever they can to live another day with the guilt of being alive.

Moving

So very moving. Bravo. That is how to relate such a massive story. I could hear the individuals.

Not many ghosts

Not what I expected from the title. Still interesting and a must read, just expected actually experiences of the tsunami.

Excellent and sad

The book was a story of humanity ensconced in politics, nature, grief, love, and spirituality...in the end we have a choice to heal or stay in trauma. May those lost rest in peace as those left behind be in peace.

Could have been longer

I enjoyed the book. The author did a wonderful job at giving an emotional and vivid account of the tragedy in Japan. The narrator did a very nice job. I appreciated the fact that while he didn’t speak Japanese his pronunciation in no way detracted from the story (not often the case). My small gripe with the story is I wish there’d been more finality or an epilogue to conclude the story.

Sad, but great cultural insight.

I loved this book. The narrator was great. A story that needed to be told. Also an interesting delve into the culture and politics of Japan.

A great recount

Well narrated, and tear jerking accounts of living through sheer senseless horror that need remembered.

Heartbreaking account of the 2011 Tsunami in Japan

Beautifully written and performed. Lloyd Perry paints a detailed and devastating picture of loss and survival from interviews with survivors of the Tsunami.

He is a gifted author and storyteller and I look forward to reading and listening to his other works.