Waiting for the Electricity

Slims Achmed Makashvili is a maritime lawyer living in post-Soviet Georgia who wants more than anything to go to America and get away from complacency, being above the law, questionable business practices, and finicky electricity. At first he thinks that Anthony, an Englishman hired to work on an oil pipeline project, will be able to help him, but Slims’ real chance comes to him in the form of a fax: a contest for “small business proposals for former soviet republics to ensure democracy and security throughout the post 9/11 world”. Inspired by this and its sponsor, Hillary Clinton, Slims composes a letter to Hillary in English, where the novel begins.

The writing was good, funny, and the main characters were all well developed. Slims was a very likeable character as was his best friend and literary foil, Malkhazi. The personalities are all very distinct from one another while still highlighting an interesting look into Georgian culture and mythology. Waiting for Electricity is Slims’ journey as a disenchanted Georgian who dreams of a better standard of living and electricity that isn’t controlled by the government, entwined with some romance and politics from back home in Georgia.