RaveThe Chicago Review of Books... has been compared to the work of Carmen Maria Machado and Kathryn Davis, writers who also create worlds whose rules are shrouded in mystery. But whereas Davis triggers uncertainty at almost every turn, Kheir lulls us into a false sense of understanding before dropping a sentence that calls into question all our previous assumptions...The rules quickly change, and we must reorganize the narrative in our minds to make it all hold together ... Connecting the fragmentary and seemingly contradictory details of the novel’s architecture makes for a thrilling read. It would take many passes to join every last piece of the puzzle, but as any puzzler knows, part of the fun comes from those small epiphanies that get us a tiny step closer to illumination ... If ultimately our quest for the answers proves futile, that may be an answer all its own. Bahr rails constantly against fighting one’s fate ... may not offer solutions, but it at least identifies some darkly hilarious problems with the status quo ... While the novel’s darkness can’t be denied, black humor cuts through the narrative at every turn ... Enough bizarre elements have been thrown in to please almost everyone, even if some readers won’t find them all as funny as I did. The absurd touches elevate the novel, forcing us to reconsider the mundane elements of our reality—roofs, flowers, bread—we take for granted ... You don’t need to have been drenched by Alexandria whitewater as its lajab drowns out your thoughts to be mesmerized by Slipping. One of Egypt’s most accomplished novelists operates at the height of his powers, and he’s more than capable of raising the dead. We can only hope other translations of Kheir’s work come our way, preferably arriving on our shelves while we’re still more alive than not.
