Mother Nile

By: Warren Adler

Narrated by: Colin Fluxman

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Mother Nile is the story of Si, the American-born son of an Irish father and Egyptian mother, who goes on a journey through the winding streets of the City of the Dead to solve a half-century-old mystery. When his mother makes an urgent plea on her deathbed, Si knows that he must make the journey to Egypt to find out the truth about his long-lost half-sister, conceived during his mother's affair with King Farouk. Hunted by those who would do anything to keep the past in the past, Si finds help from a young woman who captures his heart. He leaves the City of the Dead a changed man. This work of historical fiction takes listeners on an adventure brimming with suspense, intrigue, and romance.

Warning: This book is meant for listeners who are 18+ due to mature content.

©2016 Warren Adler (P)2016 Warren Adler

Mother Nile by Warren Adler

I'm really torn on this book I have never read anything by Warren Adler that I was not crazy about until reading this book. Mr. Adler is one of my favorite authors and I am very interested in anything that involves Egypt., But for some reason this book just didn't do it for me. If I'm being completely honest I would recommend skipping this book. I was voluntarily provided I review copy by the author publisher or narrator

Story doesn't make sense

This is a very compelling story, but confusing. It's not clear why Si MUST find his half-sister, or even that his mother asks him to find her. It's never made clear just what Si is supposed to do if/when he finds her. The ending of the story is even more confusing. It truly doesn't make sense. The pacing of the story is a bit erratic also. It's not always clear where we are in the timeline and there's a significant hole in the story. Nevertheless, the characters are well drawn and the descriptions are almost lyrical.

Colin Fluxman is not a good match for narrator. His British accent has no place in this story. He does not make nearly enough distinction between his character voices. It's often very difficult to tell which character is speaking during dialog. Perhaps this story would have made more sense with a more appropriate narrator.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook by the author and have voluntarily left this review.

Another Amazing Novel!!!

This story is very suspenseful and mysterious. While the subject matter is a bit dark, the characters are very well developed and the story kept me guessing. I love a good mystery, and these books did not disappoint!“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Sort of a downer

The story was ok, included a number of horrible acts showing how inhumane people can be to each other, culminating in each of the protagonists determining their quests were not worthwhile. In one case that is good because lives are saved. I am not sure about the other case, lives were lost in the process of helping him in his search, innocent lives, and at the end he decided it was not worth it.

Great story.

Any additional comments?

I was real Leary about whether or not I was going to like this book. I liked it very much. Wonderful surprise. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

A very meaning filled story!

I enjoyed the historical aspects of this book. I have read other books about Egypt and find it a fascinating place. This book brings Egypt into contemporary times. The story circles around the ideas of what we see as modern, superior life and then shows us the alternative life's with its values. He book starts out at a fast pace, and I ended up going back and listening a second time, as I felt I had missed things. I did that in another part of the book where my attention was adrift. I enjoyed this book. It was well written and had a satisfying ending.

Mother Nile

The writing was promising.The characters were 2 dimensional, for the most part.Things fell into place too easily.A man goes to Cairo to find out what happened to his sister that his mother had before he was born.He runs into trouble right off.People die and no one seems to stop and care.A few rather disturbing bits dealing with children, but realistic.I really don't know what to give this book.The narrator,Colin Fluxman is really good.I was provided this book free by the author, narrator or publisher.

Egyptian Family Heritage Revealed

When a poor Egyptian girl is taught to dance to earn money for her father’s hashish habit, little does she suspect it will take her on a journey of lifelong sorrow and heartbreak. From being the king’s mistress to the mother of his unwanted child to an American immigrant and mother to a son that is all she has left in the world. Si is told on his mother’s deathbed that he has a sister. He then becomes obsessed with finding his sister and understanding why his mother would leave his sister.

This was an interesting listen and the narration was top notch. However, I found myself listening to get through it rather than from enjoyment. From the cruelty of Farah’s mother to the indifference of king Farouk and on to the never ending search for vengeance of Zakki, it is a tale of horror and abuse. The theme throughout underlines the mistreatment of women, girls, and children in the streets of Egypt. It is accepted and perpetuated and this breaks your heart. There is good in the story but it is far between and muted by the overwhelming number of atrocities described.

I received this audiobook free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

A Brother's Search

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend it! Its adventurous, with rich characters and an intriquing setting.

What did you like best about this story?

The descriptive aspects of Cairo's teeming life, exploring the City of the Dead. Often, for me, it takes longer to empathize with not only the characters but story and action. Mother Nile, I felt pulled in from the first paragraph

Have you listened to any of Colin Fluxman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not. I liked the "mellow" British accent. An easy voice to listen to. Skill at narrative flow. He evokes emotions well, excitement, fear, etc. Very good with this effort. Though I'm not an expert, I thought he did a fantastic job with pronunciations.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Searching for lost family in Egypt

Any additional comments?

I've listened to a half dozen or so of Warren Adler's works. This is the best one... so far. Thanks for the opportunity to review it!This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost. Which I can only assume was voluntary on their part. I am happy to give my honest review of it. I think I'm suppose to mention how reviewing this was voluntary on my part too.

"... the affinity of greed and lust."

Any additional comments?

Mr.Adler is a masterful storyteller of many genres, from spies to laugh out loud humour. But all of his books have three things in common: immaculate writing, excellently observed character and an urgency which makes the reader unable to stop turning the pages until the last word. Mother Nile is a thriller with all of this combined with the heady, exotic scenes, sounds and scents of Egypt.

The book is easy to listen to but not always comfortable, encompassing obsession, cruelty, betrayal and greed, as it follows the progress of a young American in his quest to find the half sister he didn't know he had until the last moments of his Egyptian born mother's life. His search starts in Cairo in the latter part of the twentieth century. He has almost no information to work with other than the girl's name, Isis, and the place she was left as a baby. The whole remarkable story is told mostly from the points of view of Osiris the American, his mother Farrah.and a twisted and damaged man named Zakki. It reaches back into the 1950's, the time of King Farouk before he was deposed, and forward almost three decades to when the search began. Heavily shrouded in the mystery, too, of why Farrah left her daughter behind and never mentioned her child to anyone until her death, the action starts tumbling in almost as soon as Osiris (known as Si) arrives in the population packed city of Cairo realising that he didn't really have a plan - or even a map!

Colin Fluxman's educated English voice might seem a strange choice given that the main protagonist is an American. But yet it works superbly, his accent providing a neutral background on which the whole richness of Egypt herself, and this drama being enacted, can take place. His reading is well paced, slightly clipped and able to cope with less familiar names. And it is a reading, rather than a multi voiced performance, which makes it almost more intimate, as if being read a bedtime story.

For pure adventure and the chance to be immersed in a culture very different from our own, this is the perfect book, though, please note, some of the scenes are disturbing.
I was fortunate in that I received Mother Nile as a gift from the rights holder, via Audiobook Boom.. Thank you so much - I loved it