From Publishers Weekly
When infectious-disease specialist Verghese, the Ethiopian-born son of Indian schoolteachers, emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Johnson City, Tenn., in the mid-1980s, he finally felt at peace "in my own country" at last. But his work at the Johnson City Medical Center soon led him into a shadow world of Bible-belt AIDS, often without the support of his colleagues. Verghese discovered a local gay community that was then untested for the HIV virus. If revealed, these people's closeted relationships would have, writes Verghese, made them stand out "like Martians." The author tells the stories of several patients, including the gay man who must reconcile with his father and the "innocent" man who has contracted AIDS through a contaminated blood transfusion but who, concerned about society's response to his plight, keeps his disease a secret even though he believes that "this thing, this virus, is from hell, from the devil himself." Verghese reveals his own confusions about homosexuality, immigrant identity and his wife's fears about his health. Writing with an outsider's empathy and insight, casting his chronicle in graceful prose, he offers a memorable tale that both captures and transcends time and place. Paperback rights to Vintage; author tour.

This is a memoir about 5 years in the life of an infectious diseases physician, who practices in a small town in Tennessee and sees the onset and rise of AIDS cases in the area.

Abraham Verghese is a very intelligent, human, thoughtful, compassionate, ethical, and passionate doctor ministering as the only infectious diseases expert to Johnson City, Tennessee and the VA hospital there. He is also a husband and father of two infant boys, which commands and demands its own priorities. He becomes a man torn between the many perceived priorities in his life.

As the sister of two AIDS suffers, I appreciated that Verghese put such full human faces on his patients, especially Vicki, Will, Bette, Norman, Raleigh, and Bobby, and that he obviously cared so deeply about each and every one of his patients. Verghese is obviously a tremendously sensitive person, and he allows that sensitive side to show to his patients, which I suspect they really appreciate, as I would.

Because I've never traveled or lived in the Great Smoky Mountain region, I loved that Verghese was so careful to describe the area and the people. It gave the reader an insider's view of everything, and offered the reader a complete standpoint of the times, the disease, and the populace.

I have Verghese's fiction book waiting in the wings, and have ordered his other non-fiction book because I so enjoyed this one. It's always wonderful to discover another terrific author, especially one who handles both fiction and non-fiction so wonderfully. ( )

I'm disappointed to find that the tags lead me to believe this book is primarily about AIDS. Rather, Verghese writes profoundly about community and prejudice in all of its facets. Particularly interesting look at the medical community through the eyes of an Indian doctor.

This is a very good story of how a doctor in a small rural community deals with the AIDS epidemic. ( )

A beautiful and poignant story of a doctor treating patients with AIDS in the South ( )