On Fragile Waves

By: E. Lily Yu

Narrated by: Jeed Saddy

The haunting story of a family of dreamers and tale-tellers looking for home in an unwelcoming world.

Firuzeh and her brother Nour are children of fire, born in an Afghanistan fractured by war. When their parents, their Atay and Abay, decide to leave, they spin tales of their destination, the mythical land and opportunities of Australia. As the family journeys from Pakistan to Indonesia to Nauru, heading toward a hope of home, they must rely on fragile and temporary shelters, strangers both mercenary and kind, and friends who vanish as quickly as they’re found.

When they arrive in Australia, a seemingly stable shore gives way to treacherous currents. Neighbors, classmates, and the government seek their own ends, indifferent to the family’s fate. For Firuzeh, her fantasy worlds provide some relief, but as her family and home splinter, she must surface from these imaginings and find a new way.

This exquisite and unusual magic realist debut, told in intensely lyrical prose by an award-winning author, traces one girl’s migration from war to peace, loss to loss, hope to home.

©2021 E. Lily Yu (P)2023 Recorded Books

The prose, patience and realness of Yu's writing. The story covers people who are often forgotten.

Love Lily Yu; love this book. Read Jewel Box next. She's an expert at ar craft and you can trust the product.