Sea Change: A Novel

Written by Gina Chung

Narrated by Jeena Yi

A NEW YORK TIMES MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • An enchanting novel about Ro, a woman tossed overboard by heartbreak and loss, who has to find her way back to stable shores with the help of a giant Pacific octopus at the mall aquarium where she works.

“Immersively beautiful.... A kaleidoscope of originality." —Weike Wang, acclaimed author of Joan is Okay

Ro is stuck. She's just entered her thirties, she's estranged from her mother, and her boyfriend has just left her to join a mission to Mars. Her days are spent dragging herself to her menial job at the aquarium, and her nights are spent drinking sharktinis (Mountain Dew and copious amounts of gin, plus a hint of jalapeño). With her best friend pulling away to focus on her upcoming wedding, Ro's only companion is Dolores, a giant Pacific octopus who also happens to be Ro's last remaining link to her father, a marine biologist who disappeared while on an expedition when Ro was a teenager.

When Dolores is sold to a wealthy investor intent on moving her to a private aquarium, Ro finds herself on the precipice of self-destruction. Wading through memories of her youth, Ro realizes she can either lose herself in the undertow of reminiscence, or finally come to terms with her childhood trauma, recommit to those around her, and find her place in an ever-changing world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9780593668474

Gina Chung

Gina Chung is a Korean American writer from New Jersey currently living in Brooklyn, New York. She is a 2021-2022 Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellow and holds an MFA in fiction from The New School. Her work appears or is forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, Catapult, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review and Idaho Review among others. She is also the author of the story collection Green Frog. Sea Change is her first novel.

Reviews for Sea Change

[greeniezona · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this, but I actually expected a lot more octopus content? (The cover is so absolutely lovely, of course.) Not that I had a firm idea of what to expect from this story, but it was less speculative and more second generation Korean immigrant issues, but luckily, I am into both of those things.

[srms.reads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*Publication Day - March 28, 2023*

“I’ve often wished that human bodies were as clever as those of octopuses. If we could divvy up the work of one heart among three, if we could have a semiautonomous brain in each of our appendages, perhaps we’d be more efficient with our time, less likely to waste it on grudges and hurts and all the things we feel we can’t say to one another.”

It has been fifteen years since Ro’s (Aurora) father, a marine biologist employed with a local aquarium disappeared, on a research trip. Her father’s love for marine life is something he shared with Ro ever since she was a child. Ro’s fascination with sea animals prompted her to take up a job in the same aquarium in the field of animal husbandry. Ro, now in her thirties and employed with the aquarium for over eight years, feels a special connection to Dolores a giant Pacific octopus that was one of her father’s finds and feels that Dolores can understand her and vice versa. Ro misses her Apa and harbors hope that one day he will return. Her relationship with her mother is strained and her best friend Yoonhee, who is also employed with the aquarium is busy planning her wedding and seems to be distancing herself from Ro. Ro, heartbroken after her recent breakup with her boyfriend Tae who was selected for a mission to Mars, is struggling with her loneliness, memories of her father and tension-filled exchanges with her mother. As the narrative moves back and forth between the past and present we get to more about Ro’s Korean immigrant parents, and their troubled marriage which has impacted how she perceives commitment and relationships. Adding to Ro’s unhappiness is the fact that the aquarium, hard-pressed for funds, is negotiating the sale of Dolores to a private buyer who wants to add Dolores to his private collection. The narrative follows RO as she navigates through all these changes occurring in her life, deals with past trauma and disappointments and rethinks her priorities, finding a way to accept all that has happened and make plans for her future.

Sea Change by Gina Chung is a moving story that touches upon themes of family dynamics, loss and grief, love and friendship and self-acceptance. Ro is flawed and in that she is real and relatable. Her struggles mostly stem from her past trauma and her inability to be kind to herself, which holds her back from investing in her personal relationships and prompts her to drown her sorrows in alcohol. I was particularly moved by how the author addresses the complicated relationship between Ro and her Umma and the factors that contributed to their strained relationship. I loved the descriptions of the animals in the aquarium and the information on sea animals and cephalopods in particular. The author draws our attention to the state of animals in captivity and how kindness and compassion are imperative in not only nurturing human relationships but also our relationships with all living creatures and the environment in general. The author also touches upon how the increase in environmental pollution and climate change is adversely impacting the living conditions of marine animals. I would have enjoyed more scenes with Dolores and maybe I was expecting more of those interactions. But ultimately this story is about Ro. The author balances the melancholic and depressing tone of the novel with splashes of humor and I’m glad that the story ends on a hopeful note. This is an impressive debut novel and I’ll be looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[kalliegrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How are there so many books with octopuses and disaster girls out there? This was a great character study on change and grief. I love these books that are focusing on the millennial conundrum of still feeling like you're "coming of age" in your thirties.

[bevfuller · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a wonderful and magical book!!! I savored every word.