Pulp Reviews: Drowning in the Floating World

Maria Gil reviews a moving book of poems.

Drowning in the Floating World is a heart-wrenching book filled with a series of poems that follow the aftermath of Japan’s 2011 tsunami and Fukushima plant disaster. Each poem takes a new perspective of the individuals, buildings and animals who endured the fallout.

There are stories of mothers swallowed up by the sea, children wondering where their siblings went, toys missing their owners, buildings confused about their emptiness, animals desperately wanting to be reunited, and unforgiving waters that changed the lives of thousands of people.

The 2011 tsunami was the aftermath of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake 130 km east of Japan. The northeastern coast towns of Kamaishi, Sendai, Miyako, Ishinomaki, Kesennuma, Shiogama, Kitaibaraki and Hitachinaka were submerged due to the 10 meter wave that travelled more than 10km inland. The wave decimated towns and took away the bodies of thousands of victims when it retreated. The earthquake also affected the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which forced the nearby residents to flee the radiation zone, creating an eerie ghost town

Meg Eden used her experience and her connection to Japan to tell the stories of those who have no voice. Just like the debris-filled waters, Eden shows no mercy in displaying the agony through Western and Eastern poetic forms. She explores the complexity of grief while illustrating how communities responded to their new way of life. 

This book is not for the faint of heart; it is raw, powerful, and will make you cry, reminding you how easily everything can be lost to the hand of Mother Earth. This is not an ode to disasters but a memory of events that can be forgotten by those who did not suffer through its moments. This book creates a much needed sense of understanding for those who have never experienced a life-changing natural disaster.

Publisher: Press 53
ISBN: 1950413152
Pages: 80
Publication Date: 11th March 2020
RRP: $22.95 AUD
Personal Rating: 5/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.5/5