Carried Away is a visceral, highly cinematic survival novel set in the Mentawai Islands off the coast of Sumatra. What begins as a carefree surf trip among friends takes a sudden, harrowing turn when a tsunami strikes, leaving the group stranded and fighting to stay alive. Told through the introspective and often darkly funny voice of Cole, the story explores what remains when modern life is stripped away and nature reasserts itself as the ultimate force.

Written with a filmmaker’s eye, Carried Away often reads like a motion picture—immersive, visual, and emotionally unflinching. The novel opens with humor and sharp banter, capturing the absurdities of travel, friendship, and fleeting modern romance. But as the journey spirals into survival, those comedic notes give way to something deeper: a meditation on masculinity, meaning, and the strange clarity that emerges when everything collapses. Brutal, tender, and disarmingly human.