Slim

Rating:
Summary: Behind an Epidemic
Review: Imagine a place where the truth is hidden behind lies, where the natives are kept in the dark regarding what's going on in their midst, and a place where there isn't much in terms of material possessions but the people still maintain a sense of pride and accomplishment in what they do. Having spent a couple of years in sub-Saharan Africa volunteering with her husband, author Ruth Linnea Whitney pulls from her experience to paint a vivid picture surrounding the AIDS epidemic, known as Slim, and the voices behind the statistics of a small fictional African country and presents it to us in her debut novel, SLIM.

Set in late October 1985, the AIDS virus slowly spreads over the tiny country of Kivwe Zandu, Africa. And though not a real country, it is one that could easily mirror those in real life: with dictatorships, a particular culture in which women don't have much say so, and westerners who have come to lend a hand; to make society better for those who live there. In addition is the ignorance of those in power and their inability to focus on the disease that claims the lives of their friends, family, and neighbors.

We are introduced to SLIM by a myriad of characters telling this story through their own viewpoint, with ages ranging from young to old, and hearing from the wise to unwise.
While SLIM focuses around the discovery and needed treatment of AIDS, Ms. Whitney has also touched on the power, love, and friendship and the sometimes bad turn of events we encounter in our relationships; whether intimate or not. Her portrayal of the different cultures coupled with the dialogue make this novel one which has to be read slowly, in silence, or one will risk the ability to grasp the tragic, yet loving tone surrounding SLIM. I found myself complaining about how slow the book was, but can now appreciate the need to read it slowly. The quirks of the people, the land, and the dialogue all combine for a powerful story...one I would recommend to others.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Rating:
Summary: Raves!
Review: What a refreshing, beautifully written book. I felt I was there, inside the mythical Central African country, knowing the people, what they eat, what occupies their minds, how their days are structured...the author's inclusion of authentic detail makes it all live. The gifted child Alinofe Banda and the fat Mamsahib missionary doctor Pia Macloed, will certainly go down as two of my all-time favorite characters in literature. Of course from the title I expected a story about the great plague AIDS, but it in the end is much more a story of people, personalizing the universal themes and questions regarding love, sex, faith, family, morality, death and meaning. It left me wanting to hear much more from this wonderful writer.

Rating:
Summary: A superb debut novel
Review: What a rich & textured read! Open up SLIM & be enticed into...another people...another way of life...another geography. Elegantly & flawlessly written, with a profound story to tell -- the beginning of AIDS in an African community.