In the Land of Dreamy Dreams (Voices of the South) [Paperback]

Ellen Gilchrist (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002 | Series: Voices of the South

IN THE LAND OF DREAMY DREAMS is Ellen Gilchrist's fabled first collection of stories, the book that won her acclaim in 1981 and to which each of her subsequent works has been compared. Peopled largely with young southern females who chafe against the restrictions of their upper-class lives, these stories convey the humor and tragedy to be found wherever retreat into imagination is preferred over reality. Introduced here are Nora Jane Whittington, Rhoda Manning, and other recurring Gilchrist characters beloved for their failures, tenacity, and all-too-human hope in the face of frustrated love.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The cruelties and sensualities of affluent modern New Orleans occupy the attention of four or five stories in this noteworthy first collection. Most effective of these are "Rich" (a banker's murderous despair over his hyper-active adopted daughter); "There's A Garden of Eden," in which a divorcee and her carpenter lover float in a canoe down a flooded street; and the title story - about ruthlessness at the tennis club, which Gilchrist makes as unpleasant as a chipped glass. But angular naturalism isn't the only talent on display here, merely the flashiest. A loosely related group of stories revolves around a spoiled, willful, completely independent girl named Rhoda, a manipulator yet somehow also an innocent - and Gilchrist, through her, in no time has you convinced that selfishness is an attribute so trivial as to be ultimately benign. Elsewhere, too, this elasticity of reaction can swing stories from the tawdry to the lovable in an easy arc; in "Traveler," for instance, a young girl's summer with a newly-motherless cousin becomes a lovely evocation of the adolescent as self-historian. Gilchrist with her jaw set, then, as in the New Orleans stories, is a sharp writer. Relaxed, she's an even more interesting one. And this collection, though patchy, is full of promise and gift. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

7 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807128295
• ISBN-13: 978-0807128299
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,353,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super ultimo best short-story writer in the universe, February 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Land of Dreamy Dreams (Voices of the South) (Paperback)

The final story in this book is the best short story I have ever read anywhere. Hands down.

Gilchrist is a writer of rare grace and absolutely flawless ear for the language and foibles of upper-class women from the Delta, viz, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana, Memphis, and, on occasion, Fayetteville. Most of them have lived in Uptown New Orleans at least some of their lives.

All are spirited, overindulged, bright, lonely, and infinitely memorable. Gilchrist writes of them with compassion and verve, and absolute pinpoint accuracy, right down to the stuffed crab they buy at Langenstein's deli. Most fall prey to substance abuse for part of their lives, and all are have big powerful men in their lives who just don't listen or pay attention.

But Gilchrist's characters are not whining closeted feminists. They do claim their own power and space. And they make the reader love them.

Whenever I read Gilchrist's books, I find myself wondering if she ever gets invited to lunch in New Orleans anymore. She is just too too acurate and skewers too well the pretentions and aspirations of Uptown matrons too accurately for her to have any friends left in the Crescent City.

If you're an outsider and plan to visit deep Delta Dixie, read this book first unless you only want to see the superficial.

The unexpected and sharply tragic ending of this book's final short story will grab you by the throat, and never let go.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ground Zero, April 24, 2000

By 

Jill Moloney (New Orleans) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Land of Dreamy Dreams (Paperback)

This is a must for any Gilchrist fan. It's her first collection of short stories everyone will be delighted to read about the beginning of Nora Jane, Rhoda and other fabulous characters. All the stories are wonderful, but my favorite is the short wistful piece, "1944." It's not really a story so much as a beautiful fragment of memory.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In These Stories Human Angst is Present, May 26, 2009

By 

Bonnie Brody "Book Lover and Knitter" (Port St. Lucie, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: In the Land of Dreamy Dreams (Voices of the South) (Paperback)

In these short stories, the normal edges over into the bizarre. Sometimes there is an added twist of torment and despair as well. The stories seem to solidify the reality of human angst. Of note in this collection are the following stories:

* Rich

* The President of the Louisiana Live Oak Society

* In the Land of Dreamy Dreams

* Suicides

* Traveler

As a lover of good short stories, I found this collection very satisfying.