Under Water by Tara Menon [Paperback]

A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK

BBC CULTURE ‘BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2026

A VOGUE BEST DEBUT 2026

‘Compelling and heart wrenching, a remarkable debut’ Claire Messud

A stunning and deeply moving literary debut of grief, loss and female friendship, set against the backdrop of two cataclysmic natural events.

When 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. Eight 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. Under Water is 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.

Some really exciting news to round out this week — UNDER WATER has been selected as an April Indie Next Pick — HUGE congratulations! The Indie Next List is a monthly list of recommended new releases curated by ABA-affiliated independent booksellers across the US. Titles are selected when they receive the most "votes" or "nominations" from booksellers in the form of praise, and UNDER WATER has received over 30 nominations, which is beyond exceptional for any title, but especially for a debut. It just shows the groundswell of enthusiasm that has been growing for months, finally beginning to crest!