Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Firuzeh and her brother Nour are children of war. Born in Afghanistan, they have seen fire fall from the sky for most of their lives. In the hope of escaping the endless cycle of violence, their parents--their Atay, Omid, and their Abay, Bahar--decide to leave the land of their ancestors in search of a safe place to call home.
As the family undertakes its dangerous journey--first by land, then by sea, through Indonesia and Nauru and finally Australia--they must rely on strangers, kind, tired, and mercenary; find friends and lose them; and stumble through travel and living circumstances ranging from barely survivable to just good enough. Tragedy will strike and strike again.
When they reach their final destination, it is far from a stable shore. Financial and emotional travails continue and Firuzeh must navigate the treacherous currents of a culture uncomprehending of her or her family. Sometimes the temptation to let go of reality for a minute is too strong to resist; but somewhere in these murky spaces, a brave young girl will find the strength to forge a new way of life.
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
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.
Content notice: On Fragile Waves contains references to violence, abuse, and racism.
Synopsis
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. 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.
Content notice: On Fragile Waves contains references to violence, abuse, and racism.