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A review by nerdynatreads
The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Well, this, unfortunately, wasn’t a new favorite to me 😞
I really liked how Gomez wove the ongoing discussions around race throughout the different timelines and the dichotomy of Gilda being a vampire while being such a caring and empathetic person, seeing the connections she made throughout her life, the similarities and differences of the people to whom she was drawn. Also the parallels between the treatment of black people/queer people and vampires in the story. However, the whole book, I just never felt really settled into Gilda’s character. Perhaps it was the third character perspective that alternated between characters, rather than focusing on Gilda alone? Maybe I just wanted more emotion? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something with the writing style just kept me at a distance from her. I think if I could have been more invested in Gilda, I would have also been more invested in her relationships and story.
I also feel like for this being marketed as “very lesbian,” there would have been a bit more attention given to the romantic relationships Gilda forms. There are four major women in her life: Bird, who rides the line between partner and mother, Eleanor, a gorgeous, intriguing but destructive woman, Effy, who becomes her partner, and finally Ermis, who she turns, but in doing so, removes Ermis’ agency.
The relationship with Bird was odd, but vampire stories tend to skew lines of relationships with siring, however, she’s a driving force of Gilda’s life for a lot of the story, but I wasn’t convinced by a strong enough relationship for that? The interactions with Eleanor were some of the most interesting, as she wasn’t evil, but certainly wasn’t a good person either and she really showcases the gray of people to Gilda. Then Effy, who is introduced and throws herself at Gilda with very little build-up and almost no payoff. She becomes Gilda’s partner, but we hardly see any of that in the book. Ermis's introduction was unnecessary in my opinion and I really didn’t like that Gilda turned her without Ermis being involved in the decision, when Gilda’s been taught that turning someone is a really big deal and should be done with the victim understanding the full impact of the decision. Plus this is explained away asGilda’s powers allowed her to read Ermis’ mind and know that she didn’t actually want to die. That just seems a little victim-blame-y to me.
Finally, there’s very little attention paid to the atmosphere and setting, even though the story spans centuries. There’s lots of discussion on Gilda’s lifestyle in each chapter, but I think more attention should have been paid to clearly showing what time period she was living in. The final chapter also rides into sci-fi territory and I just… didn’t expect that turn, though I did like the climate dystopian bits.
I'm bummed I didn’t love this more.
I really liked how Gomez wove the ongoing discussions around race throughout the different timelines and the dichotomy of Gilda being a vampire while being such a caring and empathetic person, seeing the connections she made throughout her life, the similarities and differences of the people to whom she was drawn. Also the parallels between the treatment of black people/queer people and vampires in the story. However, the whole book, I just never felt really settled into Gilda’s character. Perhaps it was the third character perspective that alternated between characters, rather than focusing on Gilda alone? Maybe I just wanted more emotion? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something with the writing style just kept me at a distance from her. I think if I could have been more invested in Gilda, I would have also been more invested in her relationships and story.
I also feel like for this being marketed as “very lesbian,” there would have been a bit more attention given to the romantic relationships Gilda forms. There are four major women in her life: Bird, who rides the line between partner and mother, Eleanor, a gorgeous, intriguing but destructive woman, Effy, who becomes her partner, and finally Ermis, who she turns, but in doing so, removes Ermis’ agency.
The relationship with Bird was odd, but vampire stories tend to skew lines of relationships with siring, however, she’s a driving force of Gilda’s life for a lot of the story, but I wasn’t convinced by a strong enough relationship for that? The interactions with Eleanor were some of the most interesting, as she wasn’t evil, but certainly wasn’t a good person either and she really showcases the gray of people to Gilda. Then Effy, who is introduced and throws herself at Gilda with very little build-up and almost no payoff. She becomes Gilda’s partner, but we hardly see any of that in the book. Ermis's introduction was unnecessary in my opinion and I really didn’t like that Gilda turned her without Ermis being involved in the decision, when Gilda’s been taught that turning someone is a really big deal and should be done with the victim understanding the full impact of the decision. Plus this is explained away as
Finally, there’s very little attention paid to the atmosphere and setting, even though the story spans centuries. There’s lots of discussion on Gilda’s lifestyle in each chapter, but I think more attention should have been paid to clearly showing what time period she was living in. The final chapter also rides into sci-fi territory and I just… didn’t expect that turn, though I did like the climate dystopian bits.
I'm bummed I didn’t love this more.