Right of Thirst – Book Review

Right of Thirst by Frank Huyler

When Dr. Charles Anderson’s wife dies, he is not entirely sure what to do with himself.  Their marriage wasn’t always happy, but he barely remembers what life was like before his marriage.  He isn’t particularly close – emotionally or geographically – to their only son, so he essentially drifts through life, only his work to interest him.  That is, until he heard Scott Cole speak about a humanitarian crisis, an earthquake in a far off country whose name is never mentioned but which we are to assume is Pakistan.  Charles decides to go with Cole’s organization to a refugee camp to provide medical care to refugees, he time there is the majority of the story.

Okay, let me just warn you right now that this section of my review will contain spoilers.  The writing was good and most of the characters, including Dr. Anderson, were well drawn.  I was disappointed with the depth of Ellie, who was basically the only female character, she seemed very flat.  I also just expected that something more would happen, I kept expecting that something would happen that would have the possibility of a resolution.  The end of the book just seemed anti-climactic to me.

All that said, I mostly enjoyed “Right of Thirst.”  In addition to the good writing, this book had some very interesting things to say about the relationship of East and West, particularly the way in which Westerners react to disasters in the East.  If you’re interested in this interaction, I would definitely recommend this book, just be aware that it is a quiet, introspective book, without much of a climax.

I’m definitely interested in seeing what Huyler has up his sleeve next.

If you want to buy this book, do it here and support this blog:
Powells.
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.
Amazon.

Thank you to Frank Huyler for sending me a copy of his book to review.