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pipparature's review against another edition
5.0
I picked this book up as an Amazon Kindle bargain and I'm very glad I did as I devoured it in one morning stuck on the sofa with my unwell daughter.
A volcano is about to erupt in La Palma which will create a huge tsunami that is heading direct for the West Coast of England, with Cornwall being directly in the line of fire. Government resources are directed elsewhere, to more populated areas, so the inhabitants of the peninsula are left to flee to higher ground with little help.
Poppy realises very quickly that she is unlikely to escape and so decides to embrace her fate, putting out a post on Facebook inviting similarly minded people to join her at her favourite beach to await their fate. Immediately another local joins her surfing and they are gradually joined by five more people, some reluctantly, to share their last few hours together.
What follows is a compelling story with a narrative structure that many won't, I suspect, enjoy, as we have seven POV characters whose stories overlap and we bounce around the beach seeing the story play out through each character's eyes. I found the author's ability to give each character a strong narrative voice meant that the repetition of some elements kept the story moving on quickly.
This is a book that will make you think about what you would do in a similar position. Who would you long to be with? Who would you contact and what would you say to them? Would you be able to try to right past wrongs? What I found really refreshing was the flaws in the characters and that, even when faced with certain death, they weren't surrounded by people who were prepared to offer them a blank slate.
This is a very human story, with typical reactions, with a lot to say about how events unfold against the backdrop of social media and grief, the people who can't forgive, and the people who make a connection to a tragedy all about them. It left me breathless at times and I couldn't put my Kindle down until I'd finished it. Highly recommended.
A volcano is about to erupt in La Palma which will create a huge tsunami that is heading direct for the West Coast of England, with Cornwall being directly in the line of fire. Government resources are directed elsewhere, to more populated areas, so the inhabitants of the peninsula are left to flee to higher ground with little help.
Poppy realises very quickly that she is unlikely to escape and so decides to embrace her fate, putting out a post on Facebook inviting similarly minded people to join her at her favourite beach to await their fate. Immediately another local joins her surfing and they are gradually joined by five more people, some reluctantly, to share their last few hours together.
What follows is a compelling story with a narrative structure that many won't, I suspect, enjoy, as we have seven POV characters whose stories overlap and we bounce around the beach seeing the story play out through each character's eyes. I found the author's ability to give each character a strong narrative voice meant that the repetition of some elements kept the story moving on quickly.
This is a book that will make you think about what you would do in a similar position. Who would you long to be with? Who would you contact and what would you say to them? Would you be able to try to right past wrongs? What I found really refreshing was the flaws in the characters and that, even when faced with certain death, they weren't surrounded by people who were prepared to offer them a blank slate.
This is a very human story, with typical reactions, with a lot to say about how events unfold against the backdrop of social media and grief, the people who can't forgive, and the people who make a connection to a tragedy all about them. It left me breathless at times and I couldn't put my Kindle down until I'd finished it. Highly recommended.
emck96_'s review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dustfeather's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mandylovestoread's review against another edition
2.0
Not really sure what to say about The Wave by Virginia Moffatt. I was sucked in by the blurb, the plot sounded unique and like something that I was really going to love. For me, this book did not live up to expectations at all. The story was slow and repetitive and did not hold my interest. There were also things that felt unrealistic in the story that I could not get past.. one being that their phones never ran out of battery despite being on them all the time Andy having no way to charge them on a beach.
A tsunami is headed for the Cornish coast, with very little warning. The roads are gridlocked, the trains have stopped and people are trapped with no way to escape. Poppy posts on Facebook that she is going to spend the time she has left on the beach. She is soon joined by a few other people who feel the same way that she does. Strangers connect and share their stories and secrets. I found it very hard to believe that there wasn't more panic.
Thanks to Harper Impulse and Killer Reads via NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are no way biased.
A tsunami is headed for the Cornish coast, with very little warning. The roads are gridlocked, the trains have stopped and people are trapped with no way to escape. Poppy posts on Facebook that she is going to spend the time she has left on the beach. She is soon joined by a few other people who feel the same way that she does. Strangers connect and share their stories and secrets. I found it very hard to believe that there wasn't more panic.
Thanks to Harper Impulse and Killer Reads via NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are no way biased.
bookanonjeff's review against another edition
5.0
Simply Amazing. This book takes a couple of different narrative structure stylings that I'd never seen used before and makes them work very well. For one, the progression is based on the Catholic Night Prayers. For two, rather than just a couple of narrators, we get seven separate yet linked narrators. As each person tells their own story, we see the various intersections with each of the other characters, sometimes jumping back and forth time wise a bit to show what one character was doing when the other character saw them at a given location. Even better for this reader personally was finishing the book at sunrise on Summer Solstice 2019 at the beach at Jacksonville Beach, FL - one of the regions that would have faced the same wave that the people in this book face were it real. Excellent book, very much looking forward to more from this author. Very much recommended.
carlyalynnsia's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
candireads's review
3.0
The Wave was one of those very polarising three-star books, whereby there were some absolute five-star elements and then there were some disappointing and frustrating one-star elements.
Let's start with what I loved:
The concept - I absolutely love a wild concept where you can really imagine what people would do in that specific situation. What you would do in that situation. And I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Moffatt explored and thought of a lot of different ideas. I had a few, 'but what about...?' moments and I think all of them were addressed, which was cool.
What I didn't love:
The simple proofreading errors - My goodness there were soooooo many spelling, grammar, punctuation and formatting errors in this book and it ate at my soul. I cannot understand how it was able to be published in the state it was in. I paid money for this! It's quite embarrassing on the part of the publisher really. They did a disservice to the book, because by having so many mistakes, I was constantly taken out of the book and as a result, my immersion was broken.
The political commentary - Ugh, something about the political commentary in this just didn't sit right. It felt really shoehorned in, as a way to show the author's wokeness or something. I honestly don't believe I would waste my last night on earth spending any more of my time discussing bloody Brexit. And on that note, I really can't believe some of the things they, as a group, ended up talking about. It felt so bizarre to me. Maybe these are the kind of things some people would spend their last nights talking about, but nah, not me.
So overall, I'm not sure if I recommend it. If the publisher got it proofread, I think I would. But I wouldn't advise people to spend money on a book that has so many mistakes in it, when there are plenty of authors without any publisher backing who manage to publish cleaner final copies than this.
Let's start with what I loved:
The concept - I absolutely love a wild concept where you can really imagine what people would do in that specific situation. What you would do in that situation. And I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Moffatt explored and thought of a lot of different ideas. I had a few, 'but what about...?' moments and I think all of them were addressed, which was cool.
Spoiler
The final conversations - Honestly, these last conversations with family and friends and exes pierced into my heart and left me a blubbering mess. I think the story I related to the most was that of Margaret and her daughter. I could just empathise so much with both of the characters, especially the daughter, imagining my mum being stuck in an area where she'll definitely die, and having to say goodbye. I actually called my mum about three times during this book just to make sure she was okay, because these scenes got to me so much. The conversation with Nikki and her parents, when she tells them where she is, how strong they stay for her, yet how obviously heartbroken they are. The last conversation Yan has with his Mum. The chat between Kate and Margaret. These felt so real to me, and so completely heart-wrenching that my eyes were raw from crying after I finished the book.What I didn't love:
The simple proofreading errors - My goodness there were soooooo many spelling, grammar, punctuation and formatting errors in this book and it ate at my soul. I cannot understand how it was able to be published in the state it was in. I paid money for this! It's quite embarrassing on the part of the publisher really. They did a disservice to the book, because by having so many mistakes, I was constantly taken out of the book and as a result, my immersion was broken.
The political commentary - Ugh, something about the political commentary in this just didn't sit right. It felt really shoehorned in, as a way to show the author's wokeness or something. I honestly don't believe I would waste my last night on earth spending any more of my time discussing bloody Brexit. And on that note, I really can't believe some of the things they, as a group, ended up talking about. It felt so bizarre to me. Maybe these are the kind of things some people would spend their last nights talking about, but nah, not me.
Spoiler
The fact they went to sleep - This really shouldn't have annoyed me as much as it did, but who, WHO, would waste precious final hours, in the knowledge that they are surely going to die IN THE MORNING, sleeping?!?!?! I can't understand it. And I know most of the characters didn't actually spend much time sleeping, but the fact that they all attempted to bothered me so much. Nope. I am knocking back energy drinks that last night and spending it reflecting, talking to my loved ones as much as possible and enjoying this sweet world we live in. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge lover of sleep, but on the last night of my life? Nope. There is plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead as far as I'm concerned.So overall, I'm not sure if I recommend it. If the publisher got it proofread, I think I would. But I wouldn't advise people to spend money on a book that has so many mistakes in it, when there are plenty of authors without any publisher backing who manage to publish cleaner final copies than this.
toofondofbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I was really drawn to the premise of this book – the idea of a tsunami heading towards the Cornish coast leaving the people there with no real chance of escaping it is chilling but also an intriguing set up for a novel. I found this book really hard to put down. I really liked most of the characters and there were some really moving moments within the story. I did find it a little jarring at times though as I didn’t believe that people who have chosen to spend their final hours on the beach enjoying their last moments of life would then end up debating politics. It seems to me that in that situation people would be more likely to be either in quiet reflection or bonding with others as they talked about their lives – their happiest moments and their regrets. As I said before though I still found this a compelling book that I didn’t want to put down and even though we know how the story is going to end for these characters, I still spent the whole book hoping it would be different for them. I’ll definitely look out for more from this author in the future.
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
honestlyholly's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
EDIT jan 2023 - i'm going through and reclassifying some reviews now that i've read more and sat on the books for a while.
it was a good story but wasn't executed well enough to give it the rating i originally gave it.
originally 4 stars
---
Quite a lot of typos. A large amount of repitition as you see things from various perspectives, which I think could have been tweaked.
Otherwise, a heartwarming and heartwrenching story. Sad and happy. Hopeful and hopeless. Beautiful and haunting.
it was a good story but wasn't executed well enough to give it the rating i originally gave it.
originally 4 stars
---
Quite a lot of typos. A large amount of repitition as you see things from various perspectives, which I think could have been tweaked.
Otherwise, a heartwarming and heartwrenching story. Sad and happy. Hopeful and hopeless. Beautiful and haunting.