{"product_id":"under-water-9781398559264","title":"Under Water","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA stunning and deeply moving literary debut of grief, loss and female friendship, set against the backdrop of two cataclysmic natural events.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen six-year-old Marissa loses her mother, she is taken by her father to live on a small Thai island in the Andaman Sea. There, she forms a deep friendship with Arielle and together they explore the fragile wonders of its forests, reefs, and beaches. Holding their breath for minutes at a time, they learn to dive into the deep, as effortlessly synchronized as the manta rays they come to know by name. Then, on Boxing Day 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami makes landfall, they are swept up by the first wave and separated.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEight years later, Marissa is living in New York. She spends her days wandering through the city and her nights seeking solace in the beds of strangers. As the city prepares for a devastating storm, Marissa reflects on her past and learns how to sustain herself in a precarious world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eUnder Water \u003c\/i\u003eis a story about friendship and grief, but also ecological change and natural disasters. It is a meditation on loss, a tribute to our dying oceans and forests, and a love letter to the disappearing coral reefs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A novel of remarkable delicacy and power, \u003ci\u003eUnder Water\u003c\/i\u003e is about grief, friendship, home, and longing. Menon writes exquisite sentences, sensual and particular, each containing an entire world.”—\u003cb\u003eKatie Kitamura, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAudition\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntimacies\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Tara Menon beautifully evokes the intensity of a young woman's lost friendship, and the extraordinary natural world - on land and in the ocean - in which that friendship was forged. \u003ci\u003eUnder Water\u003c\/i\u003e, in equal measure compelling and heart wrenching, is a remarkable debut. \" —\u003cb\u003eClaire Messud, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis Strange Eventful History\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Emperor’s Children\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Reading \u003ci\u003eUnder Water\u003c\/i\u003e is like being under water: immersive and stirring, pellucid and mysterious, shot through with light and with shades, overwhelming and exquisite–in a word, sublime.” —\u003cb\u003eNamwali Serpell, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Old Drift\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Furrows\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781398559264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: ANZ Only\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 31 Mar 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Simon \u0026amp; Schuster Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eTara Menon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Harvard University. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Nation, Paris Review and Public Books, where she co-edits the Literary Fiction section. Tara was born in India, grew up in Singapore, spent a decade in New York, and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  \u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e‘Tara Menon beautifully evokes the intensity of a young woman's lost friendship, and the extraordinary natural world - on land and in the ocean - in which that friendship was forged. \u003ci\u003eUnder Water\u003c\/i\u003e, in equal measure compelling and heart wrenching, is a remarkable debut.’  -- Claire Messud, author of \u003ci\u003eThis Strange Eventful History\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Emperor’s Children\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A novel of remarkable delicacy and power, \u003ci\u003eUnder Water\u003c\/i\u003e is about grief, friendship, home, and longing. Menon writes exquisite sentences, sensual and particular, each containing an entire world.' -- Katie Kitamura, author of \u003ci\u003eAudition\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eIntimacies\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'Reading \u003ci\u003eUnder Water\u003c\/i\u003e is like being under water: immersive and stirring, pellucid and mysterious, shot through with light and with shades, overwhelming and exquisite–in a word, sublime.' -- Namwali Serpell, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Old Drift\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Furrows\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Tara Menon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48506081083609,"sku":"9781398559264","price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781398559264.jpg?v=1775742404","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/under-water-9781398559264","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}