Reviews
"The most powerful and haunting book I have read in years." --Michael Ondaatje "Unforgettable. . . . The most exceptional book about grief I've ever read. . . . [Deraniyagala] has fearlessly delivered on memoir's greatest promise: to tell it like it is, no matter the cost. . . . As unsparing as they come, but also defiantly flooded with light. . . . Extraordinary." --Cheryl Strayed, The New York Times Book Review "Unforgettable . . . It is a miracle Deraniyagala lived. The fact that she could write such a memoir, bringing those she loved to life so completely that they breathe on the page, is itself a miracle." -- Vanity Fair "Out of unimaginable loss comes an unimaginably powerful book. . . . I urge you to read Wave . You will not be the same person after you've finished." --Will Schwalbe "Vivid. . . . What emerges from this wizardry most clearly is, of course, Deraniyagala herself--carrying within her present life another gorgeously remembered one." -- San Francisco Chronicle "An amazing, beautiful book." --Joan Didion "Stories of grief, like stories of love, are of permanent literary interest when done well. . . . Greatness reverberates from [Deraniyagala's] simple and supple prose." -- The New York Times "Turns revealing into art as powerful as a planetary vibration." -- The Plain Dealer "Both heartbreaking and astonishingly beautiful." -- New York Post "[Deraniyagala's family] spring from these pages with an exuberance and dimensionality that lifts Wave from memoir into some virtual realm of documentation." -- The Boston Globe "[A] quiet memoir of torturous loss. . . . Deraniyagala tours memories of her young family's history with artistry." -- The New Yorker "A haunting chronicle of love and horrifying loss. . . . Memory, sorrow, and undying love." --Abraham Verghese "Radiant. . . . The extremity of Deraniyagala's story seizes the attention, but it's the beauty of how she expresses it that makes it indelible. . . . [She is] a writer of such extraordinary gifts. . . . Wave is a small, slender book, but it is enormous on the inside." -- Salon "Chillingly real. . . . Wave captures the elusive, shape-shifting nature of grief." -- Newsday "Beautiful and ravaging . . . faultless prose." -- Daily Herald "Immeasurably potent. . . . Relentless in its explication of grief, this massively courageous, tenaciously unsentimental chronicle of unthinkable loss and incremental recovery explodes--and then expands--our notion of what love really means." -- More magazine, One of The New York Times 's 10 Best Books of the Year, a Christian Science Monitor Best Nonfiction Book, a Newsday Top 10 Books pick, a People m agazine Top 10 pick, a Good Reads Best Book of the Year, and a Kirkus Best Nonfiction Book A National Book Critics Circle Award finalist "The most powerful and haunting book I have read in years." --Michael Ondaatje "Unforgettable. . . . The most exceptional book about grief I've ever read. . . . [Deraniyagala] has fearlessly delivered on memoir's greatest promise: to tell it like it is, no matter the cost. . . . As unsparing as they come, but also defiantly flooded with light. . . . Extraordinary." --Cheryl Strayed, The New York Times Book Review "Unforgettable . . . It is a miracle Deraniyagala lived. The fact that she could write such a memoir, bringing those she loved to life so completely that they breathe on the page, is itself a miracle." -- Vanity Fair "Out of unimaginable loss comes an unimaginably powerful book. . . . I urge you to read Wave . You will not be the same person after you've finished." --Will Schwalbe "Vivid. . . . What emerges from this wizardry most clearly is, of course, Deraniyagala herself--carrying within her present life another gorgeously remembered one." -- San Francisco Chronicle "An amazing, beautiful book." --Joan Didion "Stories of grief, like stories of love, are of permanent literary interest when done well. . . . Greatness reverberates from [Deraniyagala's] simple and supple prose." -- The New York Times "Turns revealing into art as powerful as a planetary vibration." -- The Plain Dealer "Both heartbreaking and astonishingly beautiful." -- New York Post "[Deraniyagala's family] spring from these pages with an exuberance and dimensionality that lifts Wave from memoir into some virtual realm of documentation." -- The Boston Globe "[A] quiet memoir of torturous loss. . . . Deraniyagala tours memories of her young family's history with artistry." -- The New Yorker "A haunting chronicle of love and horrifying loss. . . . Memory, sorrow, and undying love." --Abraham Verghese "Radiant. . . . The extremity of Deraniyagala's story seizes the attention, but it's the beauty of how she expresses it that makes it indelible. . . . [She is] a writer of such extraordinary gifts. . . . Wave is a small, slender book, but it is enormous on the inside." -- Salon "Chillingly real. . . . Wave captures the elusive, shape-shifting nature of grief." -- Newsday "Beautiful and ravaging . . . faultless prose." -- Daily Herald "Immeasurably potent. . . . Relentless in its explication of grief, this massively courageous, tenaciously unsentimental chronicle of unthinkable loss and incremental recovery explodes--and then expands--our notion of what love really means." -- More magazine, One of The New York Times 's 10 Best Books of the Year, a Christian Science Monitor Best Nonfiction Book, a Newsday Top 10 Books pick, a People m agazine Top 10 pick, a Good Reads Best Book of the Year, and a Kirkus Best Nonfiction Book "The most powerful and haunting book I have read in years." --Michael Ondaatje "Unforgettable. . . . The most exceptional book about grief I've ever read. . . . [Deraniyagala] has fearlessly delivered on memoir's greatest promise: to tell it like it is, no matter the cost. . . . As unsparing as they come, but also defiantly flooded with light. . . . Extraordinary." --Cheryl Strayed, The New York Times Book Review "Unforgettable . . . It is a miracle Deraniyagala lived. The fact that she could write such a memoir, bringing those she loved to life so completely that they breathe on the page, is itself a miracle." -- Vanity Fair "Out of unimaginable loss comes an unimaginably powerful book. . . . I urge you to read Wave . You will not be the same person after you've finished." --Will Schwalbe "Vivid. . . . What emerges from this wizardry most clearly is, of course, Deraniyagala herself--carrying within her present life another gorgeously remembered one." -- San Francisco Chronicle "An amazing, beautiful book." --Joan Didion "Stories of grief, like stories of love, are of permanent literary interest when done well. . . . Greatness reverberates from [Deraniyagala's] simple and supple prose." -- The New York Times "Turns revealing into art as powerful as a planetary vibration." -- The Plain Dealer "Both heartbreaking and astonishingly beautiful." -- New York Post "[Deraniyagala's family] spring from these pages with an exuberance and dimensionality that lifts Wave from memoir into some virtual realm of documentation." -- The Boston Globe "[A] quiet memoir of torturous loss. . . . Deraniyagala tours memories of her young family's history with artistry." -- The New Yorker "A haunting chronicle of love and horrifying loss. . . . Memory, sorrow, and undying love." --Abraham Verghese "Radiant. . . . The extremity of Deraniyagala's story seizes the attention, but it's the beauty of how she expresses it that makes it indelible. . . . [She is] a writer of such extraordinary gifts. . . . Wave is a small, slender book, but it is enormous on the inside." -- Salon "Chillingly real. . . . Wave captures the elusive, shape-shifting nature of grief." -- Newsday "Beautiful and ravaging . . . faultless prose." -- Daily Herald "Immeasurably potent. . . . Relentless in its explication of grief, this massively courageous, tenaciously unsentimental chronicle of unthinkable loss and incremental recovery explodes--and then expands--our notion of what love really means." -- More magazine, "The most powerful and haunting book I have read in years." --Michael Ondaatje "Unforgettable. . . . The most exceptional book about grief I've ever read. . . . [Deraniyagala] has fearlessly delivered on memoir's greatest promise: to tell it like it is, no matter the cost. . . . As unsparing as they come, but also defiantly flooded with light. . . . Extraordinary." --Cheryl Strayed, The New York Times Book Review "Unforgettable . . . It is a miracle Deraniyagala lived. The fact that she could write such a memoir, bringing those she loved to life so completely that they breathe on the page, is itself a miracle." -- Vanity Fair "Out of unimaginable loss comes an unimaginably powerful book. . . . I urge you to read Wave . You will not be the same person after you've finished." --Will Schwalbe "Vivid. . . . What emerges from this wizardry most clearly is, of course, Deraniyagala herself--carrying within her present life another gorgeously remembered one." -- San Francisco Chronicle "An amazing, beautiful book." --Joan Didion "Stories of grief, like stories of love, are of permanent literary interest when done well. . . . Greatness reverberates from [Deraniyagala's] simple and supple prose." -- The New York Times "Turns revealing into art as powerful as a planetary vibration." -- The Plain Dealer "Both heartbreaking and astonishingly beautiful." -- New York Post "[Deraniyagala's family] spring from these pages with an exuberance and dimensionality that lifts Wave from memoir into some virtual realm of documentation." -- The Boston Globe "[A] quiet memoir of torturous loss. . . . Deraniyagala tours memories of her young family's history with artistry." -- The New Yorker "A haunting chronicle of love and horrifying loss. . . . Memory, sorrow, and undying love." --Abraham Verghese "Radiant. . . . The extremity of Deraniyagala's story seizes the attention, but it's the beauty of how she expresses it that makes it indelible. . . . [She is] a writer of such extraordinary gifts. . . . Wave is a small, slender book, but it is enormous on the inside." -- Salon "Chillingly real. . . . Wave captures the elusive, shape-shifting nature of grief." -- Newsday "Beautiful and ravaging . . . faultless prose." -- Daily Herald "Immeasurably potent. . . . Relentless in its explication of grief, this massively courageous, tenaciously unsentimental chronicle of unthinkable loss and incremental recovery explodes--and then expands--our notion of what love really means." -- More magazine