Review: Cold and unforgiving
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 23, 2013
'Everybody Thinks This Is Nowhere' is an interestingly fast read given the difficult prose in which it is written. Doctors providing medical attention to those in an unnamed war-torn country via the Doctors Without Borders program is the backdrop for the story; the story is primarily based upon Dr. Jeff and his partial tour of duty in 'nowhere.' Being corrupt and playing the survival game of wits, the doctors interact with the local military occupying the land where Jeff does not speak the language, the United Nations funding the military, Russian warlords controlling the drugs, prostitutes spreading disease, and local nationals needing medical care due to wounds, drugs, and sexually transmitted diseases. The ones in charge are never as innocent or decent as they appear. With no care of living or dying, Jeff is a rogue who is biding his time in 'nowhere' until he can find a way out. A prescription drug addict who observes corruption from all angles, Jeff slyly steals his way back to freedom.The plot reads almost like a diary with no real purpose, character details, or timeline. It does give a snippet of life for doctors providing medical care in the war-ravaged countries. 'Everybody Thinks This Is Nowhere' is as chaotic as the organized chaos surrounding 'nowhere' and shows the doctor's plight is as cold and unforgiving as the winter setting in which the story is based.