Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Book Review: On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu

 


Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on February 2, 2021 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.  

On Fragile Waves is the debut novel of Astounding Award winner E Lily Yu, known previously for her short fiction work.  It's a short novel that is based upon substantial research done by Yu on a real world topic: the plight of refugees fleeing war torn countries, in this case from the Middle East and Afghanistan to Australia.  I've actually not read Yu's work previously, although I've seen it cited with high praise, so I was excited to get a prerelease copy of this one from the publisher.

And On Fragile Waves is a powerful book, devastatingly powerful, in its portrayal of the real world horrors that wait those fleeing as refugees on the risky journey to Australia, with its story mostly told from the perspective of a young girl fleeing with her parents and younger brother - from war zone to dangerous ship crossing to refugee camp to living in the country itself on foreign sufferance.  It's a tough as hell book to read, with me having to put it down after nearly every chapter, and I wouldn't recommend trying to binge it, short as it is.  But again, it's pretty damn powerful in how it portrays a real face of our world today and I highly recommend it for those in comfortable situations to understand what is actually happening out there.

Note: This is listed in some places as being fantasy or magical realism, although I'm not sure I can agree with that genre classification.  That does not change its worthiness of being read or how powerfully devastating it is, just....don't expect anything clearly fantastical to occur.  

TRIGGER WARNING:  Self-Harm, Suicide, Harm to Children, and lots of Suffering.  This book does not hold back from the experience it means to portray (for good reason) so be warned.


------------------------------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------------------------
Firuzeh was born to well meaning parents in war-torn Afghanistan.  Her younger brother Nour was born 2 years later.  She grew up a loved child, enjoying her parents' fantasy stories, always raising her hand at school (even if the teacher would always call on someone else for the answers).  But her parents were afraid of what might happen if they stayed in the Country and so they saved their money for a plan: to run away to a smuggler in Peshawar, who has promised to smuggle them into Australia, where they know others have been able to make a new home, free of war.  And so Firuzeh and her brother embark on a journey into the unknown.  

On that harsh journey, Firuzeh meets another girl, Nasima, of similar age, who vows to stay with her forever....and so when Nasima does not survive the desperate journey over harsh sees, Firuzeh continues to see her ghostly image.  And even when Firuzeh and her family make it to Australian waters they find not the welcome they expect, but the harsh refugee policy of the Australian government, who holds no warm hand out to those seeking shelter, but a welcome that will change Firuzeh and her family forever as they struggle to survive it.....
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On Fragile Waves is a story built out from its author's research and it is tremendously powerful and devastating, making each chapter land with a brutal punch.  The book is mostly told from Firuzeh's point of view, even if she doesn't necessarily understand everything, with occasional asides to others who wind up in Firuzeh's orbit for a moment: from a family member who remained, to one of the prison guards at the refugee camp, who thinks of himself as doing good as he instead inflicts cruelty, to a tutor for refugees who comes from persecution herself, etc. etc.  Firuzeh's chapters only beocme more and more tragic in their portrayal of the loss of innocence, and the other chapters don't pull any punches either.  

And so we see Firuzeh and her family change as they survive the brutal boat ride to Australian waters, where they find themselves temporarily rescued from certain death only to wind up in a refugee camp where they treated as subhuman, bribed to accept deportation, or instead to wait for a seemingly-random chance at getting admitted on a temporary basis to the country.  We see her have to act as her parents' translators once they get in, forced to be more than just a happy child, as her parents cannot handle the cruel realities they are forced into and don't manage to realize how those same harsh realities are affecting both of their children.  We see other children and other families - on the trip, in the camp, and in Australia in refugee communities, and how they also suffer and try desperately to hang on to some form of life.  

It's all done with tremendous craft, really bringing home the atrocity that is the whole situation, as you see from Firuzeh's eyes, which understand more and more as she grows older, the whole thing happen and the horrifying devastation it all wreaks on her whole family.  The book contains only one minor misstep, a chapter in which the author quite clearly shows up (unnamed but still) for a second which is a bit disorienting, but other than that, its power and devastation never lets up, and readers will find themselves gasping for breath constantly, unwilling to go on, but knowing they need to know more, in hopes that there might be some happiness at the end.  And it's not really a spoiler to say this, but there isn't, because this portrayal is based upon real people in this world and real experiences, real people who are currently not being permitted the opportunity for a happy ending, only more and different kinds of misery.  

I'm kind of tearing up trying to write this review honestly, so yeah, this is a hell of a book that will make you tear up reading it if you have anything like a heart in your body.  It may not be genre for real, but it is worth taking a break from genre to read, to confront reality and to drive you to do something to bring awareness to it all.
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