Under Water Shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2026

'A novel of remarkable delicacy and power, Under Water is about grief, friendship, home, and longing. Menon writes exquisite sentences, sensual and particular, each containing an entire world.' Katie Kitamura, author of Audition and Intimacies
'Reading Under Water is like being under water: immersive and stirring, pellucid and mysterious, shot through with light and with shades, overwhelming and exquisite-in a word, sublime.' Namwali Serpell, author of The Old Drift and The Furrows
'A quietly beautiful novel, Under Water is a remarkable achievement. With admirable restraint, Tara Menon has written something extraordinary: intimate, sublime, stirring. Reading Menon's book is itself like being under water, submerged in the longing and the grief of a friendship torn apart. Hers is a singular voice. I can't wait to see where she'll go next.' Kasim Ali, author of Good Intentions and Who Will Remain
'Tara Menon beautifully evokes the intensity of a young woman's lost friendship, and the extraordinary natural world - on land and in the ocean - in which that friendship was forged. Under Water, in equal measure compelling and heart wrenching, is a remarkable debut.' Claire Messud, author of This Strange Eventful History and The Emperor's Children
'The underlying themes of this debut novel could hardly be more relevant' Guardian
'Meditative' Daily Mail
'A moving story about friendship and grief' Closer/Heat
'Her descriptions of the infinite, complex beauty of life beneath the waves and the ocean's fragile ecosystem crash brutally against the horrors of the days and weeks following the tsunami, and Marissa's own fragile hold on her sense of self and purpose since underscore both. A deftly told and wonderfully heartfelt debut.' Marie Claire
'Two disasters shape this haunting debut novel. The first is the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, when two children, Marissa and her best friend Arielle, are engulfed by the waters and swept apart. Picking up years later in New York, as the country awaits Hurricane Sandy's arrival, the novel depicts Marissa as a lost soul. An emotionally visceral story, from an Indian-born novelist, it brings together a story of personal trauma and grief, Under Water shows human tragedy mirroring environmental disaster, as the natural world, especially our oceans and forests, comes under intolerable strain.' Herald Scotland
'Menon's dynamic debut...is sure to pull at the reader's heartstrings.' Publishers Weekly
'A remarkable study of grief, set against the backdrop of ecological disaster.' The New World 'Books to Look Out for in 2026'
'A beautifully written novel of grief, friendship and the natural world' Mail on Sunday 'Books to Look Out for in 2026'
'A powerful read about friendship and loss' Good Housekeeping
'We count this as one of the most impressive debuts of 2026 . . . expertly realised, like the ocean this tale of friendship and loss is as profound as it is powerful . . . magnificent' Sunday Post