🌊🌀🌏 "Breathe" (2021) 🌏🌀🌊 - Book Review

 

MY REVIEW

 

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd (April 28, 2021)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1800463065
ISBN-13: 978-1800463065
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information

“He has to look back to see tomorrow. 

 

December 26, 2004: The Indian Ocean tsunami has flooded great swathes of western Thailand. 

 

Carl's best friend and his wife are missing. He travels from London to Thailand to discover what has happened to them, only to learn there is nothing one man can do in the devastation the wave left behind. What started as an impulsive quest ends up with him examining the very essence of his being. 

 

A unique combination of an action-packed quest for truth and a philosophical exploration of life's deeper meaning, Breathe is a poignant, tense and intelligently written story that will have you contemplating its meaning and message long after you have reached the final page..”

 

Thank you in advance to the author, Elena Kravchenko, for providing a complimentary copy of the book through Prism Book Tours program. A positive review was definitely not required or requested in any way; all words are my own.

 

This is the debut novel of the author and to be very honest – I wasn’t sure where to go with this one. And, thankfully it is a standalone read.

 

Most of the time a reader reads books inside their preferred genre(s). Sometimes they step outside and find something they like. This isn’t a stunning, edge-of-the seat page-turner. Not a “must-read” by the topic, but a “should read” due to the human interest.

 

I liked and disliked this book all at the same time. I think that is normal when the book surrounds a natural disaster. It’s hard to LIKE the natural disaster or tragedy, so there is a certain macabre moment when deciding to open a book that you know most of the ending to due to certain events. Yet, even inside a tragedy there are stories to be told and found. Take James Cameron’s “Titanic” for example. We know the whole story, yet he created this Rose and Jack story to entertain us until the end.

 

Kravchenko crafts this tale with such care and descriptive writing that it is, at times, deeply disturbing. Even the descriptive pose of the drowning of one victim is enough to make one shudder in terror. Worse when you know there is nothing you can do, or could be done.

 

The reflective cover was definitely a draw, yet there was something about it and the title that seemed amiss. It didn’t “match” up.

 

Despite this, Breathe alternates between emotional, engaging, captivating, and disturbing. There are also multiple dynamics of the story going on as well – each character with their own stories shortly before, and after the tsunami.

 

Kravchenko writes this in three parts:

 

#1 – “The Wave” (told in “Before” and apparently current though it isn’t stated)

#2 – “The Island” (present day)

#3 – “Breathe” (present day)

 

It is in “The Wave” (part 1) where we meet the characters – some will live, others will die. It is told from the following POVs:

 

Carl (different stages of coping – anger, denial, etc)

Liv (a major support character and someone Carl knows)

Kristoffer/Eva (Carl’s friend and wife)

Nora (resort guest)

Julia (resort guest)

Linda (resort guest)

Carmen (resort guest)

 

It is both horrifying and captivating to read the accounts as they unfold from the different perspectives – what they were doing, final thoughts.

 

While the author’s writing is engaging, breath-taking (almost literally), descriptive, and visceral – there are several typos in this book. While they’re not enough to really impact the story, this story deserves a bit more care in the editing phase. There are also “transition” issues with regard to “flashback” scenes. This is a bit confusing when they merged in with present scenes.

 

This is by no ways a “clean” read either. There are moments of foul language (“f”-bomb; b@&t@rd, etc.); description of intimate female parts; mention of casual intimacy; description of “intimate” act; and some racial epithets. These do not proliferate the book, and are used sparingly, but readers should be cautioned of the content.

 

Other disturbing content: death of pregnant woman, graphic depiction of drowning, and the natural disaster itself.

 

Carl is in London and learns about the earthquake and following tsunami. His first concern is Kristoffer and his pregnant wife Eva. The two are in Thailand for a honeymoon.

 

Despite everything he is able to find out, Carl still thinks he should travel there to help locate his friend. Realistically? Should he have? I wouldn’t, then again, we don’t know what we would do when faced with that situation. He makes up his mind after learning the resort the couple was staying at was obliterated. Getting news is near to impossible.

 

His boss thinks he is insane, still Carl feels a need to do something.

 

On his way there, some passengers don’t think it is a big deal. Carl talks with one guy who mentions he never thought of the quake or a tsunami. A talk about racist attitudes ensues. What is interesting is the man insists that racism no longer exists in America. Carl isn’t so sure. It was deeply interesting to see these different stances. Kristoffer and Carl are from Sweden but they’re of Asian descent. I don’t know what role that conversation played in this story, but it was interesting.

 

When Carl gets to Thailand, he sees and experiences first-hand how bad the situation is. As bad as it is there, the Swedish government takes a lackadaisical attitude towards the situation. They have representatives who know next to nothing, have no idea what the plan is, they have no idea where to go, they apparently don’t seem interested in helping either. This is evident later on when it comes to storing and repatriating the fatalities.

 

According to the BBC, “Many tsunami survivors and families of the dead accused the government of reacting too slowly after the tsunami struck, and for behaving arrogantly towards those in distress”.

 

A true fact that was mentioned in this, then Sweden’s Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds went to a theater the evening of December 26^th. She also came under criticism for saying she doesn’t listen to the news when she’s not working. Even Prime Minister Göran Persson was accused of not coming back from his holiday in a timely manner.

 

As a result, Carl is thrust into the search, post-wave, of Kristoffer and Eva. The author does a wonderful job of conveying the locals’ own frustrations. One such is a doctor who takes Carl to task for mentioning something he’d seen at other hospitals.

 

At the same time, another survivor sees the death and devastation around him and the lack of resources.

 

In part two (2), Carl’s search takes him through the hospitals and different villages heading to where the resort once was.

 

Even his “driver” gets exasperated. The man has lost his dad and sister. Even a girl he was flirting with is fighting for her life.

 

Nok relays another frustration – the locals being forgotten by their own government.

 

Kravchenko takes Carl and the reader into the putrid conditions of the post-tsunami country, as well as how it was an equalizer when it came to death.

 

Carl is also horrified as to the treatment of some of the bodies. He is sympathetic after being told the people are doing the best they can – they don’t have what they need to work with.

 

There is a “relief moment” when Carl finally meets up with the hotel manager. He asks if the food is safe to eat, and in a slight moment of levity, the man remarks he ate there all the time and was still alive.

 

Carl also disagrees with Nok about getting used to the conditions. Carl gets a lead and is shocked to learn Eva could’ve survived had a man helped her. He gets a false lead about her fate – and, knowing the content of the story, it isn’t too hard to know it isn’t going to be a good lead – it is a false lead.

 

Carl has one more place to search, but no one wants to help him. The danger is clear. Yet, he has to.

 

By part three (3) Carl is recovering from an accident, but it is clear that Carl’s search then turns into more of a humanitarian issue to get the remains of the Swedes, or those he knows of, home. A new rule takes effect, and this is where Kravchenko subtly points out the bureaucracy mishaps with the Swedish government. One man is lucky that the Australians helped with his wife. Carl is still, despite the amount of days since the disaster, being given the “runaround” from Sweden’s representatives.

 

The end of the story is anti-climactic and a bit abrupt. It felt there could’ve been less narrative to give the ending a better conclusion.

 

Given that this takes place in 2004 before a lot of awareness and “awokeness”, this was definitely authentic and reflective of the time. In addition, some non-White cultures engage in using such epithets even now.  

 

Kravchenko did a wonderful job at putting in the statistics and raising awareness of what differs in reality and what the media shows. She has some facts at the end of the book with regard to Sweden’s initial response to the disaster. In total, 534 Swedes were reported to have lost their lives in the disaster. By May 2006, 528 had been identified. Germany was second with 539 confirmed dead. The then Prime Minister’s cabinet suffered from vehement criticism over the years. At the best case, it was accused of mismanage. On the worse? Inaction.

 

While I didn’t remember much about the governmental responses to the disaster, I remember where I was when the earthquake and tsunami hit; and some of my co-workers were talking about it some five (5) to six (6) months later.

 

As of note, more than seven hours after the initial quake, the tsunami was observed in Mauritius and along the east coast of Africa. Nearly 300 people died when the tsunami hit Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa. It was 2800 miles from the epicenter. That wasn’t the only African country to suffer losses.

 I honestly waffled between three (3) and four (4) stars for this. I really didn’t OVERLY enjoy it. Then again, I didn’t hate it. Overall, I decided that it deserved four (4) stars for the author’s storytelling, attention to details, as well as being an overall “human interest” story.

 

This isn’t high on the re-read scale for me. Not because it isn’t written well, or a lengthy novel, it’s more or less because of the subject material.

 

Those who enjoy stories based on/off fictional disasters (9/11, the 2004 tsunami, Titantic, etc), might want to check this out.

 

 

 

 

RATING:

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads

 

Bookbub – NOT LISTED ON SITE

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)

 

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Elena grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine. She worked as a model and lived and travelled the world extensively. She has a degree in Art and Business and worked at Sotheby's for a while. She is passionate about regenerative agriculture and growing her own organic fruits and vegetables. She lives outside of London with her husband and two sons. Breathe is her first novel, it's based on true events.

 

 

You can also find her on the following social media accounts:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elenakravchenkoauthor

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenakravchenkoauthor

 

 

 

*This post contains affiliate links