Once Upon A Virus Book

This was a required text for my Folk Narrative course. The subject is intriguing; I read Paul Farmer's "AIDs and Accusation" and loved it so I was hoping that this text by Goldstein would fall along the same lines for me and it did.

While the subject is the same, the locations are very different. Once Upon a Virus (UPV) is set in Newfoundland for the majority, but also back in the United States, as Goldstein gives examples from both areas in her text. The way that we see specific things in our culture and the way that our culture affects and changes ideas or perceptions is amazing. This book only made that more clear; what we know or come to believe about the AID's virus is what we have heard about it from [urban] legends and rumor, in fact, the legends and rumors around the virus are actually what shapes what it is to us culturally. This idea was hard for me to get at first, but once explained to me, it made so much sense.

I don't want to give anything away with this review, but this is a pretty good read. It's not boring or a slow read and is filled with interesting legend examples that are pretty fun to read.