Kaye Gibbons
Paperback | Pages: 126 pages Rating: 3.78 | 27691 Users | 1599 Reviews
Particularize Books Supposing Ellen Foster (Ellen Foster #1)
| Original Title: | Ellen Foster |
| ISBN: | 0375703055 (ISBN13: 9780375703058) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Ellen Foster #1 |
| Setting: | United States of America |
| Literary Awards: | Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction (1988), Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction (1989) |
Narrative Conducive To Books Ellen Foster (Ellen Foster #1)
"When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down through my head until it got easy." So begins the tale of Ellen Foster, the brave and engaging heroine of Kay Gibbons's first novel, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Institute of Arts and Letters. Wise, funny, affectionate, and true, Ellen Foster is, as Walker Percy called it, "The real thing. Which is to say, a lovely, sometimes heartwrenching novel. . . . [Ellen Foster] is as much a part of the backwoods South as a Faulkner character—and a good deal more endearing."Describe Regarding Books Ellen Foster (Ellen Foster #1)
| Title | : | Ellen Foster (Ellen Foster #1) |
| Author | : | Kaye Gibbons |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 126 pages |
| Published | : | May 3rd 1990 by Vintage Books (first published January 21st 1987) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. American. Southern |
Rating Regarding Books Ellen Foster (Ellen Foster #1)
Ratings: 3.78 From 27691 Users | 1599 ReviewsEvaluation Regarding Books Ellen Foster (Ellen Foster #1)
The first line of Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons reads: "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy." Wow! Talk about a powerful hook! Eleven year old Ellen has been through more than any child should experience. Her father is alcoholic and abusive toward Ellen's mother. Ellen just about raises herself in this dysfunctional household, the "hero" in the alcoholic family. After her mother dies, she goes to live with her teacher and things would have been fine except her grandmotherI give it 3 1/2 stars. The most engaging aspect of this book is its protagonist's voice: clear, unadorned, unsentimental. Her tale is truly heartbreaking--and therein lies what seems to me the book's primary flaw: the book is too short. I want to know in greater detail about Ellen's parents and the tragedy that befell her mother. I want to know more about the various homes she migrated through before finding her "new mama." I want to know more about her friend Starletta and her family. And the
This is a short but powerful and a lot of the time a painful story . Ellen Foster is a precocious eleven year old girl whose courage and strength and infinite wisdom carry her through things that no child should bear .I wanted to pull Ellen out of those pages and take care of her , get her away from her alcoholic father who for the most part has abandoned her and her miserable grandmother who takes her in for a period of time. But ultimately it's Ellen who pulled me up from the despair I felt
When I was eleven years old, and in sixth grade, I remember getting a bloody nose during school. While I was holding the tissue to my hemorrhaging nostril, a mean-spirited girl, whose mom had already picked a fight with my mom because I didn't invite her daughter to my birthday party that summer, commented loudly to the rest of the class, "I bet she was picking her nose!"I still remember the humiliation I felt as several people started chanting "nose picker! nose picker!" Humiliation remembered,
This Vintage Contemporaries novel, short in length but mighty in worth, is a bittersweet jewel. Ellen Foster, surviving and thriving despite the unfair circumstances she was dealt...repeatedly. Such a winning message: never lose your humor, courage, hope or determination. "While they were at the graveyard I decided that if I quit wasting time I could be happy as anybody else in the future, and right now with one year ending and a new one starting up I thought now was the time to get old Ellen
When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. That's quite an opening line!I chose this book because I was wanting to read classic-American-literature and was also hovering around award-winners. This novella is both.Ellen has survived a childhood filled with abuse and neglect, yet her spirit never fails. She has a results-oriented, get-it-done attitude which causes her to hatch a plan... she's going to find herself a new family.There are so many beautiful moments within this story,
If you are looking for a book to take your breath away, this is the one.If you are looking for an exceptionally well-written novel wherein each phrase, each sentence, each paragraph contains poetic beauty, then this is the one.If you are looking for a book that resonates deep within your soul, leaving you laughing, crying and simply not wanting it to end, then this is the book to read.And, I'll go out on a huge limb to say that if you choose to read only one of my recommendations this year,
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