Wave

A$19.95

Hoa Pham

I remember how you were, 
not how you are. We were we 
until we became you and I.

Midori and Âu Cô are international 
university students tasting freedom 
from family for the first time. They 
discover Melbourne and each other. 
All is well until the tsunami that 
swamps their world... 

We were we until you made us me and you… .

Midori and Âu Cô are international university students in Melbourne. They play at being silver dragons birthing pearls from their mouths. They are united by loneliness. Midori’s parents are killed by the tsunami in Fukushima and soon after Midori and Âu Cô witness a university shooting. Midori ends up in a psychiatric hospital, not able to cope with the double blow.

Âu Cô is courted by a Vietnamese-Australian boy (Dzung) who has also survived the shooting. Dzung is unaware of Midori and Âu Cô’s relationship and pressured by his parents asks Au Co to marry him. Midori is silenced and unable to out herself and Âu Cô she understands too well the pressures of family. Âu Cô accepts since her own family wants to migrate to Australia. Midori absconds before the wedding to the Blue Mountains. She suicides close to the Three Sisters. Âu Cô is left to work through her guilt. She falls pregnant to Dzung and after she gives birth she looks closely at his skin. The little baby has silver dragon scales running down his neck.

2015 | ISBN 9781742199689 | Paperback | 198 x 128 mm | 192 pp

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Reviews

Covering death, suicide, self-harming, school shootings, earthquake and tsunamis, forbidden love, homosexuality, and family traditions. Overwhelmingly shocking, catching you unaware at times.

—Pauline Csuba, The Australian Writer

Pham has written a creative and moving story using the particularity of two women to address the universal dangers we face in today’s world. Her writing is powerful, spare, and beautiful. Her sense of the psychology of her characters brings them into our reality. This is a fine book that I recommend wholeheartedly.

—Me, You, and Books

Hoa Pham's achievement is to have created something moving and evocative out of two tragic real-life events. 

—Alison Broinowski, The Sydney Morning Herald

There are no heroes or villains  in this short novel. Wave’s message is both a fight for change, and a message of compassion and acceptance of an individuals choices, whatever they may be. External forces impact everyone’s lives and all anyone can be expected to do is make the best of the situation they find themselves in. Ultimately, we alone are responsible for our own happiness. 

—Joanne, Book Lover Book Reviews

Wave explores the alienation of being an international student in Australia with great pathos and depth, told with Hoa Pham's characteristic compassion and lyricism.

—Alice Pung