Sleeping Sickness by Fleming Mant Sandwith is a captivating and thought-provoking read that explores the devastating impacts of a mysterious illness on a community in Uganda. The author's vivid descriptions and emotive writing style bring the setting to life, allowing readers to feel the fear and despair that grips the villagers as they struggle to understand and combat the disease.

The characters are well-developed and engaging, with each one bringing their own unique perspective to the story. The protagonist, Dr. John Ackerley, is a compelling figure who grapples with his own sense of helplessness in the face of a seemingly unstoppable epidemic. The relationships he forms with the locals, particularly with a young boy named Moses, add depth and emotional resonance to the narrative.

Sandwith does a masterful job of weaving together themes of colonialism, healthcare disparities, and the ethics of medical intervention. He forces readers to confront uncomfortable truths about power dynamics and privilege, and the ways in which these factors can exacerbate already dire situations.

Overall, Sleeping Sickness is a powerful and haunting novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the final page. Sandwith's skillful storytelling and evocative prose make this a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of human nature and the impacts of global health crises.

Book Description:
In the twenty-first century sleeping sickness is still a life-threatening disease of adults and children and a hazard to tourists in East African game parks.The protozoan parasite is transmitted by the tsetse fly, a buzzing insect with reddish eyes and a large biting proboscis. In 1912, when this short monograph was written, physicians of the British Empire understood that trans-continental expeditions manned by infected African porters, had set off an epidemic of sleeping sickness that had claimed half a million lives. Dr. Sandwith, an eyewitness to the disaster, traces this legacy of imperialism, from the traders who learned to reject slaves with swollen glands, through Stanley's trypanosome-transporting treks in search of Dr. Livingstone and of Emin Pasha, to the clinical description of the tremulous patient, his head aching and his body painfully sensitive to touch, whose sufferings are at last ended by a stupor from which he cannot be roused.