Scan barcode
A review by trisha_thomas
The Alarming Palsy of James Orr by Tom Lee
2.0
"This did not dismay James, it was just part of the natural cycle after all."
This was such an incredibly sad story. His life seems.....average. He has natural stresses of job and family, friends and home. James doesn't seem overly-stressed nor really 100% present in his life. It isn't until he wakes one morning to half his face no longer responds to his brain. His eye doesn't blink, his lips don't move up - it's as if he not longer controls half of it. He's quickly diagnosed with Bells Palsy and give time off work, told to rest and it should all work out and he should get feeling in the paralyzed part of his face in just a few weeks to around a month.
But this just the beginning of the story. From there, James struggles to find his new place in the world. I didn't find this horror - like a haunting or a crazy clown killer - but more a sad story about the value we place on ourselves and the stress to be who we think we should and how that shapes us. I had wished the story would turn to horror (I'm okay with paranormal or even a gory killer story) but instead this was just an unraveling of one man and his life and it's so hard to watch it. Not even 'train wreck I can't help but watch' but....just cringe-worth moments that were deeply saddening. I wish I'd liked it more.
This was such an incredibly sad story. His life seems.....average. He has natural stresses of job and family, friends and home. James doesn't seem overly-stressed nor really 100% present in his life. It isn't until he wakes one morning to half his face no longer responds to his brain. His eye doesn't blink, his lips don't move up - it's as if he not longer controls half of it. He's quickly diagnosed with Bells Palsy and give time off work, told to rest and it should all work out and he should get feeling in the paralyzed part of his face in just a few weeks to around a month.
But this just the beginning of the story. From there, James struggles to find his new place in the world. I didn't find this horror - like a haunting or a crazy clown killer - but more a sad story about the value we place on ourselves and the stress to be who we think we should and how that shapes us. I had wished the story would turn to horror (I'm okay with paranormal or even a gory killer story) but instead this was just an unraveling of one man and his life and it's so hard to watch it. Not even 'train wreck I can't help but watch' but....just cringe-worth moments that were deeply saddening. I wish I'd liked it more.