A. M. Afifi, There is a Tide Review

Overall Rating

The stories the grandfather told were actually quite good and I also loved it when the restaurant owner's wife finally fought back against her unfaithful husband.

None really.

A. M. Afifi's "There is a Tide" is the story of a boy and his grandfather in Portugal just before it got all commercialised. The boy just wants a scooter and thinks it's unfair his sister has everything (usual bickering), the grandfather knows lots of poetry and stories and is well known in the village for telling a story at the drop of a hat. Nothing much seems to happen, but it does and it's just a snapshot of a part of a village's life with the boy growing up, the carnival coming to town and the greedy local restaurant owner getting his come-uppance.