5/01/02

Widow, Virgin, Whore 
By Deanna Lynn Sletten
ISBN: 0738860123

Widow, Virgin, Whore is obviously the novel's title, but it is also how author Deanna Lynn Sletten describes the three main characters of her novel. Katherine (the widow) finds the house of her dreams, a Victorian that overlooks Puget Sound. Denise (the virgin) decides that she will move in with Katherine, her best friend since childhood. Denise asks Katherine to rent the space over the garage to Denise’s sister Darla (the whore) and Darla’s 12 year old daughter Chelsea. Katherine reluctantly agrees. She knows that she and Darla have always hated each other and yet she hears Denise’s plea for a stable home for Chelsea. Katherine knows that Chelsea has moved as often as Darla has and has had male companions and that seems to have been quite a few times. Katherine also feels that Chelsea will be a good companion for her own son Chris who is also 12 years old. Everyone moves into the new house and so the life of the novel begins.

Darla is painted as an uncaring, irresponsible mom who wears red lipstick, wild silver shoes, and parties in bars, sleeping with a different man nightly. Katherine and Denise spend a great deal of time pointing out Darla’s less-acceptable features and Darla continues to anger them uncaringly while they all share the same space. This cycle grows vicious until Darla falls victim to the AIDS virus.

From this point forward, the three unique women go through anger, frustration, and pain while finding peace and closeness within themselves and among each other.

About halfway through the book the reader gets a broadened view of the realities of living with AIDS and how it effects the lives of those who have the virus as well as all of the people who touch their lives in even the slightest way. This novel seeks to raise the consciousness and expand the awareness of the impact of the AIDS virus in our lives.