Higher Ground
by Anuj Goyal (editor)
It's is impossible to review this book as literature. What other collection would have all the stories following exactly the same pattern? There is a child established in his or her family setting, then the premonitary signs of the tsunami - water withdrawing, stranded fish etc - then the great wave and its second inrush. The difference is in who survives and who dies. If a child is mentioned as wearing a pink plastic sandal in the preliminary passage, you can be sure that a pink plastic sandal will later float by in the wreckage.
So why should we buy this book and read these sixteen stories? It is not a book to read through in one sitting, as a reviewer does. It is one to dip into, one that will provide at least one tsunami story that will have a resonance for every reader.The stories of real-life children, some with their names changed, are movingly told by many of our top writers, including Bernard Ashley, Gillian Cross, Eoin Colfer and Malachy Doyle. Michael Morpurgo contributed an introduction and Michael Foreman the cover picture.
The stories are set in nine countries affected by the tsunami, including the lesser known ones like the Nicobar and Andaman Islands and the Maldives. After each one is a follow-up paragraph describing what relief and rebuilding work is going on in the area and what might have happened to these or similar children. It is an altogether admirable project, brought to fruition by the energy of writer and filmaker Anuj Goyal.
Proceeds from the book are going to five different relief charities so an awful lot of copies will need to be sold in order to give a substantial sum. There is a website www.highergroundproject.org.uk with further fundraising ideas.
So you know what you have to do.
Buy this book from Amazon UK