Customer Reviews

Victory Over Japan

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ellen Gilchrist has been shocking and inspiring readers of her short story collections and novels for more than a decade. Victory Over Japan is her second book and a perfect entry into the world of deep, funny, and dangerous women and the men who love them. Gilchrist herself is a walking whirlwind of insights and inconsistencies and her characters (rumored to be thinly veiled portraits of herself and her family) display her wit and grace in every line. The men are strong and rich, the women are beautiful and lucky, stepping into the next adventure with a hair-raising "Whyyy not?!"

Gilchrist paints a wide canvas of experiences. We are treated to southern characters whose eccentricities transcend stereotype. The really good news is the characters and their families continue and grow throughout her books. Like eating Belgian chocolates, reading Ellen Gilchrist's Victory Over Japan will be exhilirating, satisfying, and leave you eager for the next delicious encounter.

This book was very exciting. It made me feel happy,and sad all at the same time. Gilchrist played on every emotion throughout the entire book. With each introduction of a character, she showed the humorous and serious side of them. The women had serious issue with men that they cleverly sought revenge on.This made the book very clever and surpriseing. I had no idea what Crystal was going to do next. I really enjoyed reading this book to find out what was going to happen next.

Ellen Gilchrist spoke to me directly in these stories - and I've read every word she's written ever since. The emotions and pain that her "southern belles" go through are incredibly real to me, who has never even been to Fayetteville, Arkansas or Mississippi, or even the southern Illinois of the 40's of which she writes so poignantly. Sometimes she's a little too much of a mother in some of her work, but I thought these stories were perfect.

My mom gave me this book to read when I was in high school, and I have read every book of hers since.

OK. I'm an Ellen Gilchrist fan, so there's some bias here, but no, I do not think the judges wrong to give this book laurels. One story, "Rhoda, A Fable" I've seen in other anthologies.

I think there's some risk in collections of short stories. Some may hit you. They're fabulous. Then they are over. Sigh. Others may not hit you. Sigh. However in this collection there are many more fine stories than average ones.

"Victory Over Japan" fully explores the lives of Southern women. The reader feels very involved in the aspects of the characters issues.

Each of the short stories in VICTORY OVER JAPAN is broken into shorter segments, which makes the book easy to put down. Trouble is, you might not bother to pick it up again.

In the first story, 3rd-grader Rhoda chooses as her partner for the war defense paper drive, a classmate who has been bitten by a rabid squirrel. The second story is about a young woman who, unable to find the lover she came to California to join, robs a bookstore and finds adventure. Another story, told by a maid, is of her mistress's revenge on her brother. Unfortunately, all the stories are disjointed, dull and senseless. It's a shame -- this author has done better. Much better.

I usually love to read short stories written by and about contemporary women, but after finishing Gilchrist's book, I could not recall a single image, character, or plot detail from this dull collection. One star for the pretty cover.

Another example that the judges for the National Book Award are illiterate homemakers. This is one of the most boring books I've ever read. Boring introspection of demented southern belles and feminist wanna-be's. There is no innovative prose in this book, and almost no plot. The stories are mostly about one person, Rhoda, but the tone of the protagonist changes constantly. It seems like a desperate attempt on Gilchrist's part to put together a full length book. A failure for America.