Under water

by Tara Menon

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

When five-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.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Friendship, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Adult, Novels

272 pages, Paperback

Expected publication March 17, 2026

Reviews

[Tala🦈 (mrs.skywalker.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

bardzo cicha, ale baaardzo mocna lektura

Menon pisze o stracie tak, jak się o niej myśli – powracająco, nielinearnie, z każdej strony naraz. ale to nie tylko historia straty

to też o tym, jak żyje się dalej, kiedy nic już nie jest takie samo. o żałobie, która nie mija, i o przyjaźni, której nikt nie nauczył nas opłakiwać („wciąż ci źle? To była TYLKO jakaś koleżanka, nie wypada jej opłakiwać tyle czasu”), o tym, że przyjaźń może być TĄ relacją w życiu

o naturze, wobec której autorka ma ogromny respekt – cudownie opisuje jej piękno, ale też nie romantyzuje jej, nie robi z niej metafory — to siła, która rządzi światem i nami, daje życie, ale i odbiera

o tsunami, huraganie, żywiole, martwych, pięknych, złożonych mantach, śmieciach na plaży i Nowym Jorku, który w końcu też tonie, ale też o wdzięczności i ciągłej miłości do tego, co wokół nas, nawet po katastrofie

o tym, jak piękno i przemoc mogą istnieć obok siebie

[Julia - my.endless.library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book grabbed my attention from the very first page! The prologue is absolutely crazy but amazing at the same time. The story that follows is beautiful and definitely worth the read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

[lys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never once read a novel twice before it’s even published, but I love this book so much that I cannot even put it into words. Took my breath away on the first read, and somehow did even more so on the second. Spectacular, wonderful, genius, etc. etc.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story told in two different times lines about Marissa who is living with the devastating loss of her best friend Arielle.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[miller]

ich hab das gefühl die englische originalfassung hätte mir sprachlich besser gefallen, war manchmal etwas holprig und irgendwie zu gestochen, aber die geschichte hat mich sehr berührt und ich bin großer fan davon trauer verlust etc in freundschaftsdynamiken zu erörtern

[Andreia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I nicked a proof of this book out of a friend's hand at a Five Guys in Germany. I read the first paragraph and I knew. Serendipity. There were so many little things about this book that tied in with my life (past and present). I even remember listening to a song while reading it and one of the lyrics singing in parallel to the words on the page. "When I close my eyes". There is something so special about this novel. It's not just the writing, the kind of writing that makes you taste and feel and hear and see. It's not just the way it feels like you're reaching into someone's most precious and darkest memories. It's the way it sucks you in like riptide. It forces you to hold your breath as if you're under water. Your eyes sting, you can taste the salt on your tongue. It is both a wonder and petrifying. I loved every sentence, every word and only wish there were more of them.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and haunting little book


⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I would recommend this book to just about anyone. This book offers some combination of enthralling plot, good writing, and lasting imagery, emotional impact and/or educational value.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to anyone with interest in the topic matter or genre.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I recognized something of value in this book, and would maybe recommend it to select people, but ultimately it missed the mark for me.

⭐️ ⭐️ I finished this, but would not recommend it.

⭐️ DNF

[Julia Fiedler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating, beautiful depiction of the kind of grief that follows you forever. The kind that no one will ever understand unless they experienced it right next to you. Totally couldn’t put it down.

[Sophia Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under Water by Tera Menon is a deeply emotional and evocative novel that explores love, pain, and the turbulent journey of healing after loss. The story centers on a woman who has suffered a profound heartbreak and chooses to disappear from her familiar life in an effort to start over. What unfolds is not just a physical relocation, but an emotional plunge into vulnerability, grief, and the search for meaning in the quietest and most unexpected places. Menon’s prose beautifully captures the tension between the desire to escape and the quiet strength it takes to face one’s own emotions.

What makes this book particularly compelling is how it portrays the inner life of someone trying to rebuild after heartbreak. The protagonist’s experience feels raw and unfiltered — her doubts, fears, and moments of clarity are all drawn with sensitivity and nuance. Menon doesn’t rush her character’s transformation; instead, she allows the emotions to simmer and unfold naturally, giving readers space to feel alongside the narrator. There’s a meditative quality to the storytelling that mirrors the ebb and flow of the sea — comforting, reflective, and persistently honest.

Under Water is more than a romance or a story of heartache — it’s a gentle exploration of resilience, acceptance, and the beauty that can emerge from life’s most difficult moments.

[abi slade · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

pros ✅
- reminiscent of ‘vicky angel’ (but for adults)
- a brilliant example of a book where in the present, not a lot is happening, but you’re engulfed in marissa and her senses and memories
- devastation and natural disasters are always looming, but when they finally happen it still feels like a horrifying shock
- some really poetic bits of prose: “She wanted the sun and the sky to express remorse on behalf of the ocean. But the earth, callously indifferent, refused to mourn with us.”
- it’s rare you get a book that focuses on a totally platonic female friendship, and celebrates the intensity and importance of love between friends without it every broaching something romantic
- had high expectations (this was edited by the same person who edited ‘a little life’) and these expectations were definitely met

cons ❌
- i wanted it to be longer: i wanted to see more of arielle and marissa’s friendship, i wanted more of arielle’s relationship with her parents

[Mikaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

pros: excellent descriptions of coral reefs and other such undersea beauties, made me want to learn how to dive... tons of fun facts about marine biology, etymology, literature, etc., made me highlight a bunch of stuff to wikipedia later.... visceral depiction of post-tsunami devastation and death, never read anything like it, made me cry quite a bit

cons: i am so tired of stories about mentally ill women wandering nyc and having sex with strange men!!! no matter how hard i try, they sneak in to everything i read!! ergo could've done without the second timeline entirely. also, and this feels very cold to admit, i was not compelled by the devastating loss at the book's core... arielle was soooo #manicpixieperfect and i don't think readers were invited "into" the friendship so much as we were repeatedly hit over the head with how ~special~ it was.

[Agatha Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew nothing about this book when I picked it up and I could not put this book down until I was finished. As a lover of the ocean and a New Yorker I was devoured by the duality, the timelines, her nightmares and flashbacks.

I was engulfed by the beautiful details of the ocean as much as I was I was taken fully into Marissa’s love and grief. I saw, felt, tasted every detail of her two days.

A lump formed in my throat as it did in hers. A beautiful novel and an early candidate for one of my favorites of 2026.

Thanks to Bel Canto Books with trusting me with this arc from and for the shop.

[Allyn Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! This wasn’t like anything I think I’ve ever read before. We are walking through New York City with our main character Marissa, on the day that Hurricane Sandy hits, as she remembers another horrific day eight years earlier. That’s all you need to know…

This is beautifully written and so well done! The author does a great job pulling you in and immersing you into Marissa’s childhood as she grows up with her best friend, Arielle, in Thailand. There were so many elements of this book that I loved and will keep an eye out for this author going forward!

Look for this new release on March 17, 2026.

Thank you to NetGalley and Riverhead books for this ARC.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Riverhead Books for this advance reader copy in exchange for a review.
I never thought I would want to revist this historical event having seared it into my soul many years ago, but I could not put this book down. I felt so connected to the main characters that I was turning page after page.
Its a dual storyline - before and many years later. You already know what happens so you can just relax and let the story wash over you.
Really a gorgeous story - I loved it.
4.5

[Patricia Baker]

loved this book. It took me a minute to figure out that Arielle, the best friend of Marissa, died in the 2004 Thailand tsunami. the story flips from 2004 and 2012, the year hurricane Sandy causes heavy damage to the United States. Marissa and Arielle met in Thailand where Arielle lived and Marissa and her dad, Isaiah, came to recover from the death of Marissa's mom, wife of Isaiah. this time period introduces her to Rosie, Matthew, and Anurak who run a research facility for sea creatures including the manta rays. loved the color description of the water, sky and water creatures. great book.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautifully written book about the power of friendships, the beauty of nature, the ever present grief and survivor's guilt. Told between two timelines between two devastating natural disasters, the Tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Marissa is haunted by the loss her best friend Arielle. Snapshots of their girlhood in Phuket, Thailand, has them communing with nature as they swim through the oceans and mangroves. This is one unforgettable read.

I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.

[Walker Iversen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A graceful, sensually rich, emotionally stirring debut.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a start to 2026.. wow, absolutely stunning