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April 1, 2026
Under Water by Tara Menon review
This debut about female friendship and environmental fragility set after the 2004 tsunami in Thailand is strong on grief, but the storytelling remains uneven
TL;DR
- The novel centers on Marissa, a travel writer haunted by the 2004 tsunami in Thailand and the loss of her friend Arielle.
- Themes include grief, female friendship, environmental fragility, and the impact of tourism and climate change.
- The storytelling is described as uneven, with a deliberately fragmented style that can be both engaging and distancing.
- The character of Arielle is presented as 'perfect' but sometimes becomes repetitive, and her fate is heavily foreshadowed.
- Menon's writing effectively captures the emotional weight of loss and the physical destruction of the tsunami.
- The connection between the characters and nature is a key element, though sometimes it feels performative.
- The ending suggests nature offers consolation, but this moment is deemed too neat to be fully convincing.