VUTO by A.J. Walkley, is finally here!
The highly anticipated title that led to a successful Kickstarter campaign just a few months ago is available today on PAPERBACK, KINDLE, NOOK and IBOOKS!
Vuto is only 17 when her third child dies, mere days after birth.
Malawian tradition prevents men from considering a child their own until it has survived for two weeks. Frustrated at not being able to speak to her husband, Solomon, about all three of the children she’s had to bury alone, Vuto forces him to acknowledge the dead baby. Her rejection of tradition causes Solomon and the village elders to banish Vuto from the only home she’s ever known. She seeks refuge in the hut of U.S. Peace Corps volunteer Samantha Brennan, where Solomon discovers his wife has not left as she was told.
When Solomon arrives in the night to attack Vuto, Samantha disregards her oath to remain uninvolved in village politics and interjects herself into the center of the conflict, defending Vuto and killing Solomon in the process.
The women go on the run from Vuto’s village and the Peace Corps, encountering physical, ethical and cultural struggles along the way.
Malawian tradition prevents men from considering a child their own until it has survived for two weeks. Frustrated at not being able to speak to her husband, Solomon, about all three of the children she’s had to bury alone, Vuto forces him to acknowledge the dead baby. Her rejection of tradition causes Solomon and the village elders to banish Vuto from the only home she’s ever known. She seeks refuge in the hut of U.S. Peace Corps volunteer Samantha Brennan, where Solomon discovers his wife has not left as she was told.
When Solomon arrives in the night to attack Vuto, Samantha disregards her oath to remain uninvolved in village politics and interjects herself into the center of the conflict, defending Vuto and killing Solomon in the process.
The women go on the run from Vuto’s village and the Peace Corps, encountering physical, ethical and cultural struggles along the way.
ENDORSEMENTS
"In Vuto, A.J. Walkley has vividly captured the idealism of First World volunteers, as well as the cultural differences they encounter in the countries where they are placed, giving readers a rare glimpse into the issues that aid organizations are fraught with, but which rarely make it into the news."
— Rex Pickett, author of Sideways and Sideways (the play)
"Vuto is that rare combination of creative genius and personal knowledge so necessary for a reader to not only thoroughly enjoy, but also learn. Well done, Ms. Walkley!"
— Jeff Mudgett, author of Bloodstains
"Walkley guides the reader along a path known only to a very few in the world. Her knowledge of the Malawian culture adds such depth to her words that it is hard to put this book down. Vuto is a truly gripping story—a real treasure of a read.”
— Van Heerling, author of Malaika.
"Vuto is a piece of work that takes you for a short time on a journey you would otherwise never dream about. Although it is a fictional work, it is also based on real experience and real facts, and true plights of people in societies foreign to our own. It is a book that tells you, you can take a stand and make a difference if you follow your heart no matter what the circumstances may be."
— Meghan Wolf, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Malawi
"The detail that Ms. Walkley captures in Vuto makes you feel you're inside Vuto's world, seeing everything unfold inside her head, and allowing you to experience the personal and moral dilemmas she faces."
— Tracy Lee, international correspondent
"Ms. Walkley's novel is your passport to a fascinating world of foreign lands, cultures and emotions. The writing is as captivating as it is spellbinding - once you start this journey, it is very hard to put the book down. You will turn each page quickly in anticipation of the vivid colors she paints with her words."
— Kim Estes, producer/actor/director/professor
