Gibb, Camilla. Sweetness in the belly.

GIBB, Camilla. Sweetness in the belly. Read by Kate Reading. 8 cds. 10 hrs. Penguin Audio. 2006. 0-14-305860-6. $39.95. Cardboard; plot, author, reader notes. SA

English by birth and orphaned at the age of eight when her parents were murdered in Tangier, Lilly grows up in a Sufi shrine in Morocco, raised as a Muslim by the Great Abdul, a saint and holy man. As political unrest grows, the Great Abdul sends Lilly with her companion, Hussein, to Harar, Ethiopia. Hussein enters the household of Sheik Jami, but Lilly (the foreigner), must live with Nouria, one of the Sheik's ex-concubines. Initially, Lilly helps Nouria with her business of laundering clothes, but then she opens a school to teach the Koran to poorer children and contributes to Nouria's meager income. In this way, the women of Harar learn to accept Lilly in spite of her white skin. Chapters alternate between Lilly's early life in Ethiopia under Emperor Halle Selassi and her later life in London as a nurse at Southwest Hospital and a member of the Ethiopian refugee community there.

Kate Reading's fully voiced narration skillfully represents the uniqueness of each character. The large number of characters challenges the range and variety of the human voice, a challenge Reading's experience as an actress and narrator helps her to meet with great success. This novel allows readers to experience not only the religious discipline and hardships of daily life in Ethiopia, but also North African traditions related to courtship, marriage, and the brutal ritual of female circumcision. Susan Allison, Libn. (retired), Lewiston, ME

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.