4.0
On Fragile Waves
ByPublisher Description
NPR Books We Love 2021 | Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2021 | Booklist Best of 2021 | Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Titles | NYT Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2021 | Washington Independent Review of Books 51 Favorite Books of 2021
“On Fragile Waves is a tremendous and almost unbearable work of witness. It is devastating and perfect.” — New York Times Book Review
The haunting story of a family of dreamers and tale-tellers looking for home in an unwelcoming world. 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, home to home.
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 fairy 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, what seemed like a 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.
“On Fragile Waves is a tremendous and almost unbearable work of witness. It is devastating and perfect.” — New York Times Book Review
The haunting story of a family of dreamers and tale-tellers looking for home in an unwelcoming world. 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, home to home.
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 fairy 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, what seemed like a 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.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesOn Fragile Waves Reviews
4.0
Kelsi K
Created 3 months agoShare
Report
Imani
Created 4 months agoShare
Report
Tina
Created 4 months agoShare
Report
BelievableDiverse representationLikeableMemorableMinor characters stand outStrong relationshipsPredictable but satisfyingSlow-pacedSuspensefulWell-structuredAtmosphericRealisticSetting fits the storyVivid descriptionsDescriptiveChild lossDeathDomestic violenceGriefRacismReligious intoleranceWar violence
joannemiro1948
Created 5 months agoShare
Report
Sarah Salveson
Created 7 months agoShare
Report
“This book is very very depressing. It's hard to say I liked it or enjoyed it, but it was a good book. The writing is beautiful. I don't mind the lack of quotation marks but at times it made it a bit confusing to figure out who was doing what. The second part of the book started out kind of slow and stayed that way for a while.
There are parts of this book that will stick with me though.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/23089829-on-fragile-waves”
About E. Lily Yu
E. Lily Yu is the Washington State Book Award and Artist Trust LaSalle Storyteller Award-winning author of On Fragile Waves, Jewel Box: Stories, and Break, Blow, Burn & Make. A recipient of the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, she was a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize, the World Fantasy Award, and the Washington State Book Award. Her stories have appeared in venues from McSweeney's to Tor.com, as well as thirteen best-of-the-year anthologies, and have been finalists for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Sturgeon, and World Fantasy Awards. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and can be found online at elilyyu.com.
Other books by E. Lily Yu
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Books Similar to On Fragile Waves
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List