‘The River Is Waiting’ review: A messy dad spends time behind bars

Lamb’s first novel, nine years ago, “The River is waiting”, opens with a devastating scene in which my father is turbulent, but he is devoted to the house his coffee with two spots of Captain Morgan and Malbala Pops Atfan before entering a car to drive his children in two years, Niko and Messi, to his grandfather. Corby’s plan is to use the day that pretends to be in Tabouboub, although he has actually resigned from the unemployed after his demobilization in the previous year of his position as a commercial artist in an advertising agency. His wife Emily, a teacher, has already left to work, so he is wearing children’s clothes and brings them out before he realizes that he forgot their diaper bag.

He wears Messi in the seat of her car while Niko is studying a swarm of ants that devoured the crumbs of cookies on her path. Corby recalls the bag and starts the car. It is only when seeing his neighbor indicates violently, then hearing her screams and the horrific sound under his tires, realizes with the horror of what he neglected.

He also proved with his amazing first novel, “She ComE Undone” (1992) and “I know this is true” (1996), in addition to four subsequent books that were well received, LAMB has a unique ability to disintegrate the job imbalance and successive juniors. Lamb was forced for 20 years, where it was conducted to return the favor after his success outside the gate, in workshops for writing at the New York Correctional Foundation in the state of Contecticut, and he clearly benefited from this experience here: “The river is waiting” in prison almost after Corby’s conviction of his inappropriate presence and was sentenced to three years old.

In the days before the judge’s decision, Corby is attending AA meetings, advice sessions and firm clinging to his reckless marriage. Emily’s grief is completely consumed, and the tragedy was exacerbated by the disclosure of her secret husband’s addiction to drugs and alcohol. Through all this, she fights to protect her daughter from more harm, although Messi, too, is increasingly stunned.

All of this should make a convincing epic, but the fly in the ointment is that Corby is a narcissistic figure less interested in huge in his transgression than how everything is returned to normal. It weighs whether he admits that he was under the effect when the accident occurred, until the blood test makes this reduction. He addresses his dead son, contemplating whether he admits guilt on the charges against him: “O young man, do you hear me?” It lies. “Niko, what will happen if you tell the truth? Will your mother leave me? Will I go to prison?” Corby’s credit, he ultimately chooses to be clean in the name of accountability.

Throughout the novel, Corby says he is consumed by guilt and remorse, and those feelings are present, but he feels performance. We were told that he suffers from repeated crying factors and insomnia, but we do not feel despair. In his few conversations with Emily, he is often mysterious, as he focused more on the life harassment life or whether Messi will remember him more than what his wife and daughter must deal with. In one of these reactions, Emily is trying to reassure Corby by keeping his memory alive while serving his mandate: “We look at pictures of you on the iPad and my phone, I remind you of her prayers before bed. And those drawings that you send to her? You can use the Scotch tape. It is smuggled here. “

I have no doubt that Lambe worked hard to reflect with sincerity what he got about prison life, and he has great sympathy for the ordeal of his personality. However, much of what happens feels that he is a clich, as he does a lot of language and dialogue. Corby suffers from a difficult time expected with his first colleague in the cell, PUG, until the heart of gold is detected inside the solid criminal. Enter Mane, who becomes the Corby protector, and over time, the crunchy. When Corby is exposed to sexual abuse by a pair of guards, Mani doubts what happened and tries to open. In the end, the investigation is started, and large -scale violations are detected. The librarian takes the residents of Corby under its wing, and invites him to put the skills of his artist at work by drawing a mural, which proves to be healing. However, Corby is still haunted by the accident with the guards, and Emily failed in his nails.

The length of the “river awaits” is more than 400 pages, however the end looks like a later idea, and the conclusion of loose ends without satisfying the reader. The disclosure of the fate of Corby will be spoiler, but what was disappointed by my hope was the absence of the original diving day; I left I felt that I had spent years with a man who never counted with his regret or learned from his mistakes. Perhaps this is the most realistic scenario. However, I was yearning for the protagonist who hits the bottom, then finds a way to develop and override. Lamb wrote a serious, good -intentioned novel, although one with a promise much more.

Haber is a writer, editor and publishing specialist. She was the director of the Books Club in Oprah and a written editor in the Oprah magazine.