Gibbons jag continues . . .
I've been reading more Kaye Gibbons lately. This week, I delved into Ellen Foster and The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster.
Of the two, I liked Ellen Foster best. It's a slim volume, Gibbon's first novel. It's told from the searingly honest perspective of eleven-year-old Ellen, whose mother passes away. After her mother's death, Ellen manages to escape her abusive, alcoholic father. She moves in with a controlling, vindictive grandmother. After the grandmother, too, dies (by which time her father is also deceased), Ellen stays for a short time with her aunt (also a difficult situation) before joining a foster family that finally provides her with a real home.
Ellen is a fascinating character. Her voice is simple, but clearly intelligent and bent on self-preservation. Her eventual epiphany and acceptance of her "colored friend" Starletta is also a strong theme. The book reads quickly, and though Ellen endures considerable hardship, she does not wallow in self-pity. I recommend this novel.
The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster is less satisfying, unfortunately. This novel revisits Ellen several years later, after she has grown up a bit, become more educated, and enjoyed the love of a strong parent figure. This novel tends to drag, and I had to force myself to keep reading a few times. Ellen's external problems are neatly solved here, though she clearly will have residual phsychological issues regarding her family for the rest of her life. Looking back, I wouldn't have missed much should I have skipped this read.
Of the two, I liked Ellen Foster best. It's a slim volume, Gibbon's first novel. It's told from the searingly honest perspective of eleven-year-old Ellen, whose mother passes away. After her mother's death, Ellen manages to escape her abusive, alcoholic father. She moves in with a controlling, vindictive grandmother. After the grandmother, too, dies (by which time her father is also deceased), Ellen stays for a short time with her aunt (also a difficult situation) before joining a foster family that finally provides her with a real home.
Ellen is a fascinating character. Her voice is simple, but clearly intelligent and bent on self-preservation. Her eventual epiphany and acceptance of her "colored friend" Starletta is also a strong theme. The book reads quickly, and though Ellen endures considerable hardship, she does not wallow in self-pity. I recommend this novel.
The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster is less satisfying, unfortunately. This novel revisits Ellen several years later, after she has grown up a bit, become more educated, and enjoyed the love of a strong parent figure. This novel tends to drag, and I had to force myself to keep reading a few times. Ellen's external problems are neatly solved here, though she clearly will have residual phsychological issues regarding her family for the rest of her life. Looking back, I wouldn't have missed much should I have skipped this read.
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