Reviews

A River in Egypt by David Means

leaknezevic's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An exploration of what it feels like to be the parent of a sick child, the inner turmoil accompanied by the situation, the thoughts running in the parents head. Sad, and understandable, the grief and guilt puncturing through the illusion of ordinary, daily life. 

hades99's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

3.0

eunoiajasmin's review

inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

it was fine ig 

lorimiller's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

cristi_cirdei's review against another edition

5.0

"Woe to the man whose child is on the verge of a diagnosis"

The man in question is Cavanaugh. A father, standing with his son in a hospital room -- the sweat chamber as the nurse called it. As little Gunner is tested for cystic fibrosis, his father tries to distract him, minute by minute, until he breaks into "a true breaker on the scream scale" and Cavanaugh sees himself forced to cup his hand over the boy's mouth.

This is the scene unfolding as the nurse enters the room, leading to a beautifully penned act of contemplation and introspection by a man "suspended between two sides of life".

The few pages of this short story were enough to convince me of its value. I want more of what this story offered.

paolahenonin's review

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

parisreads_pc's review against another edition

2.0

The ideas in this focuses around terminal illness in children which was super emotionally confronting from the perspective we were given

shobnob's review

reflective sad medium-paced

2.75

callum_mclaughlin's review

2.0

This is the first of the Faber Stories range that sadly didn't work for me. It wasn't bad, per se, but a story about a father's anguish as he awaits a potentially life-changing diagnosis for his young son should have made me feel emotional or tense. Instead, I have to concede that I felt a little bored by its tangential style.

I suppose it's a snapshot of a moment. It explores the idea that illness affects a whole family, and that sometimes ignorance is bliss. It just never gets into the grit of the situation or the characters' mindsets enough to leave any lasting impression beyond the power of its concept.

literaryelephant's review

3.0

A 2010 piece about a father and his son awaiting a cystic fibrosis diagnosis. This story highlights the anxiety involved with confirming an unideal diagnosis, and the way that anxiety is complicated by the fact that there's also relief to be found in the moments of not-knowing. There's a wonderful nuance to the complication of emotion in such a situation.

But unfortunately, though I appreciate the concept, this story just wasn't for me. I had a bit of difficulty with the writing style, which tends toward interrupting itself and doubling back in ways that had me occasionally rereading passages to decipher what, exactly, was going on. Then there was the issue of the narration, which focuses entirely on the mind of the father, who projects the thoughts and feelings of other characters. I found it difficult to know whether to trust his assumptions.

But I did feel some of the anxiety described and was convinced to dread the next appointment along with the rest of this family by the story's end, so I cannot say it was entirely ineffectual.