Slake's Limbo
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
| Products | Books |
Slake's Limbo is a young adult book authored by Felice Holman, initially released in 1974. The narrative centers on Aremis Slake, a boy who escapes to reside within the IRT Lexington Avenue Line tunnels of the New York City Subway for a duration of 121 days. This novel received multiple accolades, including the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, an ALA Notable Book recognition in 1978, and the Horn Book Fanfare Best Book Award in 1975.
In 1989, the story was transformed into a television movie titled Runaway, featuring Jasmine Guy.
Plot
Aremis Slake inhabits the underground area of the Grand Central – 42nd Street subway station, where he earns money by selling secondhand newspapers gathered from trains. Among his steady clients are a cleaning woman and a man wearing a turban. Throughout the novel, themes of Slake’s diminished self-worth and his struggle with empathy are explored.
Using his income, he purchases meals at a nearby diner where he frequently visits. The employees show compassion towards him, providing him with a cleaning job compensated with food and permitting him to keep items he finds, which he uses to personalize his living space.
The book includes segments titled "On Another Track," which delve into the life of Willis Joe Whinny, a middle-class subway operator grappling with his own emotional turmoil. Willis Joe perceives passengers as lacking compassion, mirroring his own depressive state.
The story reaches its peak when Willis Joe and Slake encounter each other during a subway incident initially attributed to damaged walls. Slake, afflicted with pneumonia and threatened by the impending closure of his shelter for repairs, steps onto the tracks holding a STOP sign. Willis Joe stops the train, demonstrating unexpected resolve.
After regaining consciousness in the hospital, Slake chooses to flee to the rooftops, symbolized by observing his bird take flight—signifying the conclusion of his depression and the beginning of renewed optimism.