Saturday, June 8, 2019

​Airport by Pauline Kaldas Review


The short story "Airport" by Pauline Kaldas described the time before the meeting of two people who were going to marry but they had never met before.


The first character, the young man Samir, went to an American airport to meet his fiancé who flew in from Egypt. A few years ago Samir came to the USA after he won a green card lottery. The second character, Hoda, was a girl who planned her future life in the US.


Thanks to the writer's skill readers can feel the atmosphere of expectation of uncertainty in the story. The main characters focused on their thoughts, doubts and they see life around them as a parallel reality. Let's look at the first paragraph as an example:


"He paced the airport waiting room, his steps marking a path in the carpet between the rows of seats. At first those sitting down looked up at this man who could not hold his feet still like the rest of them and curb his agitation. After a while, some returned to their own thoughts or families. A few kept their gaze on his coming and going, perhaps to ease their own turmoil. Even after he left, a few repeated his path with their eyes as if permanently held by the ghost of his movement."


The story is short. It doesn't have an outcome. The readers know that these two people are ready to overcome possible difficulties. The main characters suffered being alone at the beginning of the narration but they had a hope to find their happiness. The happy ending wasn't described by the author but it likely will come.


This a link for pdf-file where the text of the story can be found on page 116:



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