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A review by maaryaam
The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss
4.0
I can't believe, I've finally finished a book lmao 2017 has nOt been a good reading year:)). Anyways, for me, The Tidal Zone was one of those books that I was intimidated to read because so much hype surrounds it. Every single reviewer that I follow had nothing but great things to say about it and I'm happy to report that it's worth aaallll the hype.
The perspective in this novel is what carries the story through. I loved Adam's passive aggressiveness, not only was it #relatable but it also added a dark twist of humour to the narrative. The contrast between what he was sharing with us and how his internal monologue was written to how he actually chose to act/or say created some of the strongest scenes. It was interesting to see the typical gender roles be flipped in their family and how it affected their family dynamics. Adam is the stay-at-home parent to two young girls whilst Emma, his wife, is the breadwinner who's barely home and it's this that opens the themes of gender roles, marriage, family, love, loss, and many more.
The beginning was what resonated with me the most and basically opENEd my eYEs to the blissfully ignorant life I have been living. The interweaving of war stories and all the time's people missed death by mere seconds with Miriam's incident and recovery in the hospital was exceptionally well done and impactful. Due to the nature of news I know I have become desensitised to a lot of things. Stories of hundreds and thousands of people dying in unstable countries - as much as I hate it - have just become a normal part of the news. You expect to see it when you decide to tune in. It's turned into a There and Here. Places where bombs go off and people die everyday and places where these things don't happen. So the comparison between those tragedies and the ones that occur in hospitals right where we live was confronting. I live right next to a hospital and never did it occur to me that inside that building that I walk past all the time there could be parents who don't know if they'll get to see their child's next birthday, whilst I get to go home to my completely healthy family and never know of their struggles.
I also really loved the discussion about what is a "normal" life. I loved the eventual answer that it's abnormal to not go through hardships in life, that the life with loss, pain, and hardship is the normal one. That everyone is balancing a life between tragedy and normalcy, just behind closed doors. The Tidal Zone is one of those books that just feels good to read, it collects thoughts/ideas that we may have already had but put it into words for us and clears our confusion. It answers questions without really answering them and gives an insight into life without trying to hide the ugly parts and fluffing up reality. It's from these kinds of novels that I can seek comfort in and so I'll definitely be returning to this sometime in the future.
The perspective in this novel is what carries the story through. I loved Adam's passive aggressiveness, not only was it #relatable but it also added a dark twist of humour to the narrative. The contrast between what he was sharing with us and how his internal monologue was written to how he actually chose to act/or say created some of the strongest scenes. It was interesting to see the typical gender roles be flipped in their family and how it affected their family dynamics. Adam is the stay-at-home parent to two young girls whilst Emma, his wife, is the breadwinner who's barely home and it's this that opens the themes of gender roles, marriage, family, love, loss, and many more.
The beginning was what resonated with me the most and basically opENEd my eYEs to the blissfully ignorant life I have been living. The interweaving of war stories and all the time's people missed death by mere seconds with Miriam's incident and recovery in the hospital was exceptionally well done and impactful. Due to the nature of news I know I have become desensitised to a lot of things. Stories of hundreds and thousands of people dying in unstable countries - as much as I hate it - have just become a normal part of the news. You expect to see it when you decide to tune in. It's turned into a There and Here. Places where bombs go off and people die everyday and places where these things don't happen. So the comparison between those tragedies and the ones that occur in hospitals right where we live was confronting. I live right next to a hospital and never did it occur to me that inside that building that I walk past all the time there could be parents who don't know if they'll get to see their child's next birthday, whilst I get to go home to my completely healthy family and never know of their struggles.
I also really loved the discussion about what is a "normal" life. I loved the eventual answer that it's abnormal to not go through hardships in life, that the life with loss, pain, and hardship is the normal one. That everyone is balancing a life between tragedy and normalcy, just behind closed doors. The Tidal Zone is one of those books that just feels good to read, it collects thoughts/ideas that we may have already had but put it into words for us and clears our confusion. It answers questions without really answering them and gives an insight into life without trying to hide the ugly parts and fluffing up reality. It's from these kinds of novels that I can seek comfort in and so I'll definitely be returning to this sometime in the future.