Samanta Schweblin
2/5 stars
Amanda is dying in a small rural clinic, carrying on a conversation with an unrelated child named David. Together they tell the story of the events leading up to Amanda's situation.
This short book has a good premise, and I liked the style of Schweblin's storytelling. However, there are no surprises in the book; the reader knows what is happening because the title gives it away, and there is never any suspense or build up. The lack of details and character building make it impossible to connect with the characters or the action. The unusual plot point*of the book was great, and if it had been expounded upon and used as the focus of the book, this could have been a gem. As it was, it's a simple, mostly uninteresting story with a rushed ending. It had promise, but didn't deliver.
*I don't want to post a spoiler so I'll merely say the "swapping" part of the book.
