The Gilda Stories

Rating:
Summary: An Elegant Vampire Twist
Review: Gilda begins her tales as a nameless runaway slave in Louisiana during the 1850's. This, however, is only the precursor to Jewelle Gomez's fantastic collection of a refreshing take on the fabled vampire. The subject matter captivated me at first - a novel about a black lesbian vampire in the 1850's, but I found that first impressions can be deceiving and that The Gilda Stories was much more than a series of horror fiction. Jewelle Gomez sets up a much different hierarchy of the vampiric world - where vampires are humane noble creatures, who only kill in self-defense, only take the blood they need and always leave something in exchange. One will find that the true victims in The Gilda Stories are the vampires themselves, trying to co-exist peacefully with the world they inhabit.

The character, Gilda is a wonderful heroine. Her stories are independent of each other, seperated by decades at a time, as she wanders across the United States in search of a sense of family, home and the love of her tutor, the Native American woman, Bird. One must realize that this story is not just a vampire's memoirs. Her stories deal with racism, class and the bridges in between. Gilda herself, is a minority amongst a minority - being one of the only black vampires in existence. The elements of sexuality deeply suggest Gilda's lesbianism, though the fine lines of sexuality blur amongst the vampire community. Much like in Anne Rice's interpretation, sexuality and romantic partnerships are conjoined by mental bonds and the ideals of companionship. Gilda's true inability is to love or make love to a mortal, but amongst the vampiric community, it seems that either gender is fair game.

Each of Jewelle Gomez's stories seem independent of each other, despite Gilda's memories of past characters. While some of the stories are center around the dangers in the vampire community and can be quite action packed, other stories bare deep into Gilda's connection with others. Gilda's and Bird's relationship center on most of the sub-plot. Bird acted as mother, teacher and at times lover to Gilda, but abandons her early on. Gilda laments on Bird's disappearance for much of the book and Bird's name resurfaces amongst other members of the vampire aristocracy and even shows up to help Gilda kill a ruthless foe in the Boston chapter. Still, Gilda's history is more nomadic than anything and the reader will see sides of the world through both innocent and wise eyes.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of the vampire genre. I found The Gilda Stories to be a most enjoyable alternative to the mass endeavor that is Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. The Gilda Stories is well written, engaging and offers a lighter tones to a very dark world, but still installs plenty of mystery and suspense. This is a milestone for the feminist press, Firebrand Books, and is a must-read for the new young generations of readers and writers.

Rating:
Summary: An intense and moving vampire tale
Review: Jewelle Gomez departs from the usual vampire scenario, first because her vampire heroines are almost all female, and second because they are a truly diverse group. Instead of following the Euro-focused trend set by most vampire story authors (from Laurell Hamilton to Brian Lumley), Gomez crafts a believable multiracial and multicultural vampire tradition, embracing a gritty kind of realism and a compelling spiritual focus. The story begins like an historical novel, recreating the antebellum South, and moves through the present and into the far future, as befits a tale of immortals. One of the most interesting themes in the book is the gradual distancing of the immortal from strictly human concerns, and the necessity of maintaining one's connection with the emotions of hope, love, and compassion. This is an excellent read and highly recommended for those tired of vampire melodrama.

Rating:
Summary: The taste of midnight
Review: This remarkable novel is about a runaway slavegirl in the 1850s who is befriended by 2 enigmatic women who run a brothel. The two women help the girl and make her like themselves, as vampires. The girl takes the name Gilda (from one of the two) and spends the next 200 years searching for a place to call home, for love, and for greater meaning in the world. Gomez has created an amazing tale that is utterly intriguing. I wanted to love it more, but sometimes the story almost worked against itself by moving too quickly from time period to time period without giving us (and Gilda) a chance to really connect. I heartily recommend this book because of the many thought-provoking points Gomez introduces. It's quite a tasty story.