BOOK DESCRIPTION
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.
Written in three parts, this is the story of Carl's desperate and determined quest to find his best friend Kristoffer and his new wife Eva who had been in honeymoon at the Golden Buddha resort on Koh Phra Thong island. A search during which he would encounter both the good and bad sides of human nature, it would open his eyes to the vast differences in the cultural divides of various countries and will change the course of his forever.
The first part of the story alternates between the perspectives of Carl and some of the people who were staying at the resort including Kristoffer and Eva. In the style of the good old classic disaster movies of the 70s and 80s we are introduced to the various realistic individuals as they went about their activities in the days leading up to their possible deaths. Their interactions and developing friendships made more poignant by the metaphorical clock that was ticking down the time to their impending doom. In Carl's chapters we witnessed his fear and confusion as it dawned on him that Kristofferson was actually on honeymoon in Thailand, his frantic journey to the country and the gradual realisation of the true extent of the devastation and loss of life finally dawning on him. The shocking lack of help and support for the people who were searching for their loved ones or trying to sort out the proper paperwork so their bodies could be repatriated and returned home. The understaffed hospitals that lacked the resources to deal with the large numbers of injured patients and were shockingly having to use the small amounts of resources that they did have treating the foreigners before they could even attempt to treat Thai residents. The shameful sense of entitlement that is very often displayed by many members of various societies when they are not in their own country of residence. Something that really irritates me is people who go on holiday, something goes wrong and all they do is whinge and whine about the fact that their holiday has been ruined and they are going to use the travel company for the compensation that they deserve. All they do is demand to go home, they are so selfish that they don't stop and think about the people who's country they have been staying in and who have been taking care of the them during their holiday and the effects that the tragedy has had on their lives.
The second and third parts of the story follow Carl as he continues his search and encounters both the beautiful and dark sides of mother nature, life threatening danger, red tape and bureaucracy. Throughout the book I had mixed feelings about Carl, he did have some redeemable qualities but there was also times when he was rather unlikable. As the story unfolded, we gradually learnt the fates of the people who had been staying at the resort but what had happened to Krisoffer and Eva? Would Carl see either of them again? Where they dead or destined to remain amongst the numerous lost souls?
Breathe is a extremely well written, thought provoking, addictive tale of courage and determination that opens with a terrifying and shocking prologue. I thought it was a beautifully written, eye opening,very informative and at times heart breaking read had me captivated and frantically turning the pages. For me, the fact that this emotionally charged book was inspired by true events added poignancy to the story. A breath taking, mesmerising read and very very highly recommended.
AUTHOR BIO
I grew up in Kiev, Ukraine at the end of Soviet era, small enough not to fully understand the changes which swept all over my country but big enough to remember before and after. I remember my father asking me, what is the capital of your country? Moscow, I said. His eyes filled with bitterness. ‘It’s Kiev. Kiev!’ he shouted at me. That was not true, I thought, that is not what they taught us at school, but I felt too small to argue with him.
After Lenin’s portrait was taken down in our classroom, my years in school I mostly remember for being self-conscious about being tall, very tall in fact, the tallest girl in the school. Hiding, spending a lot of time at home, I read books that took me to the worlds I thought I could only dream of going to. And then the coin flipped and being tall and skinny was appreciated. I changed from studying at university to distance learning, and left for Paris on a one-way ticket to become a model.
There were highs and lows, but mostly there was a lot of travelling, I lived a peripatetic life in many capitals in all the continents, some cities became home for a while and some I just passed through.
The modelling years finished and I completed my Masters degree in Art and Business and I worked for a while at Sotheby’s, the auction house, in London – a cosmopolitan hub where every one of my friends came from different corner of the world, with vastly different backgrounds, stories, pursuits and visions of tomorrow. I felt that I fitted right in with this motely band of gypsies.
Every year, I went to my husband’s summer house in the North of Sweden. The pine trees and birches, soft bright green moss, the smell of dry grass, hare bells and red clover in the meadow reminded me of my grandparents’ home where as a child I was sent for long summer months. But it was only when my first son was born, I finally felt the true meaning of home – it’s where my heart was, it was in front of me. Last year, we left London and settled in the Chilterns, where I began a new chapter of my life, planting my dream garden and working on my next book.
Writing Breathe was a long journey – challenging and at times rewarding and yet sad.
In December 2004, I was in Thailand, planning to spend Christmas and New Year at a friend’s house in Phuket, but at the last moment, I changed my mind and left. So I never met ‘Kristoffer’ and ‘Eva’. I wish I did, because I heard so much about them from ‘Carl’ – the book is inspired by his story.
In 2012, I went to remote Koh Prah Thong and by pure accident met Kimina and JP, tsunami survivors and owners of one of bungalows at the resort, returning for the first time to the island since the wave devasted it. They met Kristoffer and Eva, and they remembered meeting Carl in Kurabury. Together, we kayaked into an endless maze of the mangrove creek until somehow my kayak turned upside down and I fell into the murky waters. As I tried to get into a canoe, I scratched my shoulders on the thorns of a plant, but at that time the wound looked minor. Back in London, in a matter of days it swelled to a size of an orange and because it didn’t respond to any antibiotic treatments, I had surgery on my shoulder. The samples of my tissues were tested and studied and almost five months later my doctor finally admit they were unable to match it with any known infection. I felt all these events were like beads that lay in my hand waiting to be threaded into a story – the story of Breathe.
PUBLICATION DATE: 13th April 2021
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