In "Positiv - Leben mit HIV und Aids", people with HIV talk about their everyday lives. The book also tells a lot about gay sex in 2010.
Almost 70,000 people in Germany are HIV-positive. That's 70,000 stories, 70,000 different answers to the questions: How did this happen? What do you think about it? How do you deal with your infection?
Every answer is different because every person is different. In their book "Positiv - Leben mit HIV und Aids", Phil C. Langer, Jochen Drewes and Angela Kühner introduce 15 people who answer these questions - from a 70-year-old housewife from a small Bavarian town to a 25-year-old gay man from a big city.
Kevin, for example, is 30 and "lives in a big city in southern Germany". He is relaxed about his infection: "I thought it would be like this," he says. And: "I'm not going to die from it, I have a feeling." Kevin's father is German, his mother Turkish. His family - as much as he loves them - don't know about his infection. "They had a hard enough time with it when they found out I was gay six years ago."
Lewis is 45, American-born and lives in West Germany. He most likely contracted the virus during his relationship with his ex-boyfriend, who is positive. "We just weren't strong enough to always use a condom and the whole circus. I was passive at times, which I don't usually do. But when your partner is unhappy, you try everything. I put myself in a position where I was very vulnerable. "
Kevin and Lewis both describe a phenomenon that occurs in many of the reports: suspecting the infection even before testing positive. Gay men know what is safe sex and what is not. There are many reasons why unprotected sex still occurs, which are described very openly and honestly in "Positiv". The book approaches the real (sex) life of gay men in 2010 like hardly any other publication before it.
You read the testimonials and then want more. This may simply be due to the fact that there are still far too few of these testimonies in all their ordinariness. The book is therefore not only interesting for readers who want to get an overview of life with HIV. It can also be given to any newly or previously infected person, family member or friend and you can be sure that there is at least one story in which they will find themselves.
Unfortunately, the book also has a weakness: where last spring Matthias Gerschwitz in "Finally something positive" the bright-eyed man with HIV, sometimes overshooting the mark, the three editors focus very strongly on the difficulties that living with HIV and Aids can cause. The powerful and joyful moments that the people portrayed tell of are too often pushed into the background. What's more, although the stories are very informative, they are unfortunately not told in a particularly captivating way.
While the personal reports are a little too dry and sad, the introduction to the topic is really successful. The article "Background: HIV and Aids in Germany" packs more information into just under 30 pages than many much thicker books. From page 180 onwards, there are also several shorter texts that deal with the psychological difficulties of infection and the discussions about HIV and Aids. Newcomers to the subject will find a lot of useful information here.
The editors also list recommended books for further reading in the appendix. The well-designed glossary will also help people who are familiarising themselves with the topic for the first time.
Together with the 15 personal stories, "Positiv - Leben mit HIV und Aids" is the most diverse book on the subject currently available in Germany.
(Paul Schulz)
Phil C. Langer, Jochen Drewes, Angela Kühner: "Positiv - Leben mit HIV und Aids", Balance, 232 pages, 15.95 euros
1 euro of the purchase price will be donated to Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe
