I Cannot Get You Close Enough : Three Novellas

Rating:
Summary: Thank Heavens for Ellen Gilchrist!
Review: I loved these novellas. Each one could have been published as a "little" book (the size of HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT or ELLEN FOSTER) and most certainly "passed" for a novel.

"Winter" was a gripping tour-de-force of Anna Hand, the late author, on a madcap trip to Europe, trying to gather evidence on her evil sister-in-law. "Olivia DeHaviland Hand" introduces us to Olivia, the long lost daughter of Daniel Hand, and niece to Anna and Helen. I must say I loved "A Summer In Maine" because all of the characters talk, drink, make love, and stir up mischief.

I just hope Ellen Gilchrist writes as fast as she can. She's a poet, she's a philosopher, she's a genie, she's underrated!!! Some of her characters border on alcoholism, but they are so deftly drawn, they come across as flesh and blood; in lesser hands, these women would have come across as melodramatic vixens. Her work is loud and subtle, wild and innocent. I noticed on Amazon that she has another book coming out in 2000.