Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Ellen Foster
Book Review: ...and I still don't know.
Summary: 3 Stars
Kaye Gibbons, Ellen Foster (Vintage, 1987)So I finished this novel coming up on two weeks ago now, and I've been letting it marinate. I don't normally do that; I try to write reviews within a couple of days to keep everything fresh in my head. But when I finished Ellen Foster, all the voice in my head said was "...I don't know...", so I figured it's get clearer as I spent some time mulling the book over. But here we are two weeks later, and when it comes right down to it, I still don't know.
I wasn't aware this was an Oprah book until I just started doing research for this review (about ten minutes ago), but it's easy to see why. Another entry in the Dysfunction Junction genre, but then, when has Southern fiction not aspired to that great community? Faulkner and McCullers are looking proudly down from heaven at their figurative grandchildren who carry on the tradition. And if this book were nothing more than a study in dysfunction, I'd be able to say `great, it does its job, it's mercifully shorter than most of the tripe Oprah recommends, one of the few she's picked that can be recommended without reservation."
But therein lies the problem, Ellen Foster is not just a novel about familial dysfunction. Oh, don't get me wrong, all the good stuff is covered; alcoholic father with incestuous and pedophilic tendencies (and isn't it interesting how those features go together more and more in American dysfunction fiction?), teacher with a heart of gold who wants to save the kid but is enough of a maverick the school fires her, evil "stepmother" (not literally, in this case), redemption through the church, etc., etc. ad infinitum. And Gibbons handles it all with a deft enough touch that we can put aside the fact that we saw it all in the Brothers Grimm and sit back and enjoy the ride. But Gibbons wants to take us a couple of steps farther. And here, depending on your point of view, is likely where the book is going to either succeed or falter.
Gibbons has a strong subtextual level in this book about race, the main reason it gets so many nods In comparison with good old Huck Finn. Ellen (who describes herself as white)'s best friend, Starletta, is black, and Ellen is often making comparisons between her life and Starletta's. Mostly the usual stuff one would expect from an eleven-year-old girl, but every once in a while she shows more adult flashes of insight that resound powerfully within the novel (and it's hard to figure out what the actual timeframe is, but I got the distinct feeling it was after the activists were killed in Mississippi in 1964). She does all this, however, with a different delivery method than most of the rest of the novel. She's not too shy about calling her father and his behavior onto the carpet, or taking about the antics of the characters who represent the archetypes of the evil stepmother and stepsister (an aunt and cousin), but she always seems hesitant when getting into the racial issue. (We don't find out Starletta is black for a few chapters, and Ellen does not mention her own race-or what she believes is her race-until the last chapter). Which is all well and good. It fits with Ellen's character and is part of the clue to the timeframe. However, it also raises nagging questions about Ellen's own race, especially given some of the other clues in the book, and the issue remains ultimately unresolved. How a reader is likely to interpret the book depends, then, on whether the reader is willing to take Ellen at her word (or whether the reader believes Ellen is white, instead of biracial/passing, whatever she says).
It is certainly a worthwhile book, and as I've mulled it over the last two weeks I've kicked it up half a star simply because it's stayed fresh in my mind this long. But it seems that such an important issue should have at least been alluded to. *** 1/2
Book Review: A Brutal Beautiful Story
Summary: 5 Stars
With a narrative the style similar to Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird," Ellen Foster embraces everything gorgeous and tragic about growing up among damaged people. Told from the voice of a confused child, Kaye Gibbons perfectly captures your heart in her opening pages. She wastes not a word as she so perfectly sculpts a portrait of a child's quest to belong, to be loved, to be happy.Book Review: A Depressing but Good Book!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently read this book and was very impressed.Ellen is born into a difficult family.When her mother dies, and her father continues to drink Ellen sees how unhappy she is. Instead of suffering painfully, she goes out to find her own happiness. I would clearly recommend this book:)
Book Review: A MUST READ FOR ALL!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a truly wonderous book. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to find out the depth and character of "Ellen Foster". A very interesting, strong person, this book flows beautifully. I was overjoyed to see that Oprah put it in her club! If you want a book.. read this one!Book Review: A Must Read (EDEL 617)
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a book that is fillied with many suprises. This is definantly a book that you have to pay close attention to. The author often, without warning, jumps back and forth from past to present events throghout the book. The author talks through the eyes of a young child named Ellen. She does a very good job of speaking through her and expressing her emotions.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I often wanted to know what else was going to happen to this poor child. It seemed as if she went from bad to good to worse. I often felt sorry for her, but she never felt sorry for herself.
Although the author expressions of the girl's life were clear she often left out details that left me a little confussed at times. This confussion lead me to make up my own conclusions of certian events througout the book. Discussing this book with others let me know that I was not alone.
Ellen had a difficult childhood that took too long to be corrected.
In reading this book I reailized that children see things alot differently than most adults do. At times what we think is best for them may not be and they see it sooner and clearer than we do. This book also makes me realize that children should have more of a say so in what goes on in their life. More adults should take in consideration that when they grow up they are the ones that have to deal with the things that went on in their past.
Ellen was blessed to not have let things that happened to her hurt her, but better her as a person.
I rate this book a must read because it opens your mind up to many differnt ways of seeing the past and how much it relates to the present. We still live in a world where things have not change for the placement and care of foster children. Will your eyes be opened?