Review: On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu
Nov. 16th, 2021 04:21 amOn Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu was published by Erewhon Books.
On Fragile Waves is a beautifully written book dealing with a very difficult subject. I think it succeeds, for the most part, at conveying the difficulties and complexities of people seeking asylum from a warzone, in spirit if not actuality (possibly in actuality too! I just can't assess that). Firuzeh and her family go through a lot in pursuit of hope, a dream, safety, and the reality of that dream isn't all they thought it would be. There are cultural differences and racists and the threat of deportation. They've all been scarred by their experiences, and have to deal with that.
I liked a lot of the storytelling element, and Nasirah's appearances, and the few chapters from other characters' perspectives (I didn't like Quentin's chapter but I appreciated it). I thought it worked well, in a book dealing with stories and the refugee experience, to have other characters' stories, especially those who were part of their own diaspora.
For all the lovely writing and the good job it does with the subject matter, it fell a little flat for me. I thought the storytelling-as-coping element would be a larger part of the book, and I would have appreciated more Nasirah. I was also surprised to see that it was categorized as an adult novel- not because the main character is a child; I've read adult novels with child protagonists just fine- but because it seemed juvenile in parts. "Juvenile" sounds derogatory, and I don't mean that, just that it seems like it was written for younger people. I'd guessed that it was a young adult book before I looked it up. Again, not a bad thing, that was just what I thought the intended audience was.
It looks like this is E. Lily Yu's debut novel, so maybe it's just growing pains. I do want to check out her short stories after this.
On Fragile Waves is a beautifully written book dealing with a very difficult subject. I think it succeeds, for the most part, at conveying the difficulties and complexities of people seeking asylum from a warzone, in spirit if not actuality (possibly in actuality too! I just can't assess that). Firuzeh and her family go through a lot in pursuit of hope, a dream, safety, and the reality of that dream isn't all they thought it would be. There are cultural differences and racists and the threat of deportation. They've all been scarred by their experiences, and have to deal with that.
I liked a lot of the storytelling element, and Nasirah's appearances, and the few chapters from other characters' perspectives (I didn't like Quentin's chapter but I appreciated it). I thought it worked well, in a book dealing with stories and the refugee experience, to have other characters' stories, especially those who were part of their own diaspora.
For all the lovely writing and the good job it does with the subject matter, it fell a little flat for me. I thought the storytelling-as-coping element would be a larger part of the book, and I would have appreciated more Nasirah. I was also surprised to see that it was categorized as an adult novel- not because the main character is a child; I've read adult novels with child protagonists just fine- but because it seemed juvenile in parts. "Juvenile" sounds derogatory, and I don't mean that, just that it seems like it was written for younger people. I'd guessed that it was a young adult book before I looked it up. Again, not a bad thing, that was just what I thought the intended audience was.
It looks like this is E. Lily Yu's debut novel, so maybe it's just growing pains. I do want to check out her short stories after this.