Customer Reviews

Nora Jane: A Life in Stories

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book made me feel a bit Scrooge-like. I just couldn't get enchanted with Nora Jane: strong, exquisitely gorgeous Nora Jane, who drives men wild with desire; has a fabulously rich and devoted husband and one loyal male friend (but no women friends I can recall), plus two amazingly gifted (of course!) daughters, and a charismatic little son; and enjoys frequent sumptuous dinners at Chez Panisse....

I came away with no sense of her inner life or three dimensionality, or even what made her so appealing to those who are so devoted to her. (Her husband fell in love with her after she threatened to shoot him! Such is the power of her beauty.) There was also a whole subplot about Iranian assassins that I found racist, and Nora Jane's embracing the role "housewife and mother" (her words) in 1980's Berkeley, California, seemed frankly a tad retrograde. Not a smidgen of conflict, given her social context?

I wanted to be enchanted. Instead, I felt like I was "supposed" to be enchanted, but it never happened.

Nora Jane: A Life in Stories

I'm pretty sure there's crack sprinkled in the pages of all Ellen Gilchrist's books because, my God, they're addictive! Gilchrist is known for her recurring characters, and this book of a compilation for fans of Nora Jane, beginning with the first Nora Jane story that was published in 1981 and ending in the newest Nora Jane installment, the novella _Fault_Lines_.

I had read other Nora Jane stories in other collections and had fallen in love with the cast of characters--Nora, Sandy, Freddy, Lydia, Tammili, and now I have additional characters--Stella, Nieman, Mitzi, Donovan, and on and on and on. Thank you, Ellen Gilchrist!

Now, if I can only get my recurring characters to turn out so well.

As a child, Nora Jane Whittington loved her grandmother's Blue House where the youngster learned that she is the product of generations of strong women who are not afraid to take charge as it is a God gift for them to use their strength when needed. At nineteenth she heads west where her mentor Sandy teaches her to rob people using a prop gun. In the San Francisco Bay area, she tries to rob bookstore owner Freddy Harwood, but instead of leaving him in a wasteland, she ends up sharing his hot tub. She loves both her men and soon gives birth to twins. She chooses Freddy and with him raises their daughters in Berkeley. Over the next two decades, Nora Jane continues her belief to gravitate towards those you love; others follow her lofty ambition. All is joyful in Mudville until Freddy has leukemia. Now Nora Jane has her toughest task of all: bringing all her love into nurturing her beloved

The fourteen short stories have appeared in other publications over the years, but the novella Fault Lines is a new entry that adds to Nora Jane's cycle of life and love. The tales are all well written as most fans already know, but for the first time they appear in one book. The poignant effervescent heroine is perhaps at her best in NORA JANE A LIFE IN STORIES because the well written often amusing bit, always with a serious undertone, comes across more as a biographical fiction than anecdotal shorts. The novella enhances Ellen Gilchrist's wonderful collection.

Harriet Klausner

Ugh. I had high hopes as I plunged into the first Nora Jane story, "The Blue House", being initially charmed by adolescent NJ and her Good (capital G) grandmother-- but the magic quickly dissipated. The review by Marron of Boston was spot on. The characters are too flat to capture our empathy. The conflicts are contrived and feel stuck on to the story rather than part of any engaging weave. Loose ends irritate. Freddie, the rich and always perfect husband, is less than a caricature to the point where I could care less when he contracted cancer. I sense that the author has skills that were unfortunately not employed here.

This is the first time I've read anything by Ellen Gilchrist and I was enthralled with her writing style. I enjoyed the stories and liked the characters and given her upbringing, I was not surprised that she would embrace the life of a wife and mother - I think it made sense that she would be happy to finally have a normal life and give her kids a normal childhood. I really like the characters - Freddy with his amazing generousity - his friendship with Neiman. I liked the different personalities of the children, Neiman's overbearing mother. I loved the little story about Father Donny and the hairdresser.

I was expecting Sandy to come up again - thought we were a bit led on with that one - also thought all the happy endings were a little too much.

All in all, however, I really enjoyed this book and the characters - and especially Gilchrist's writing. I will definitely be going back and reading her earlier works.

I must say that the whole reason I ordered this book was because of an English class I am taking. I really enjoyed the book and I also appreciated the expediant delievery. Originally I had ordered the book from a site that my professor recommended. When the book was over a month late I decided to do what I should have done in the first place--order from Amazon. The book ended up being fantastic and I will ALWAYS order from Amazon. As far as the book, the author is very talented. She creates a world for the reader that we as humans may miss on a daily basis. I cannot wait for Ms. Gilchrist to come out with a sequel to it. The book was great plain and simple.