Starcarbon: A Meditation on Love: A Novel

I have been reading all of Ellen Gilchrist's books in the order they were written, so I was familiar with Olivia, Jessie, Helen, and many of the other characters in this book. Continuing the family saga was a rich, satisfying experience. There was new gossip, new plot twists, but also a deepening of the characterizations. Olivia is more her own person and less the unhappy rebel thrown into the family. Helen is in love, and blossoms. I especially liked the variety of settings in the different storylines. King and Jessie are in New Orleans, Helen is in Boston, and Olivia is back in Oklahoma, where the heart and meat of the book take place. Only a few pages take place at the Starcarbon Ranch in Montana, yet the beautiful description makes it permeate the book, idealized like the Garden of Eden. The minor characters get enough loving attention from the author that I'd like to see more of them and feel like they'd be just as rich as the main characters-- the brother Niall, in particular. There's a little less glorification of gee-whiz science in this book than there was in Gilchrist's books about Anna Hand, and I'm glad about that. I felt the number of psychiatrists and the spouting of their theories, however, got to be a little much. It also made the book feel somewhat dated, back to the 1950s or 1970s when psychoanalysis was in vogue. I finished the book hoping I'd see these characters again, and wanting to visit the places in this book.

I actually read this novel without knowing that it followed a previous work of Ellen Gilchrist's. However, I STILL enjoyed it immensely. Starcarbon is intellectual and interesting and moves at a quick over-lapping pace. I often fold over a small corner of a page when I read an interesting bit of prose to go back to later - page after page is dog-earred in my copy of this book. Don't be alarmed by the family tree outlined in the first few pages; it is easy enough to follow along. You'll find yourself in several heads during the course of this book - even if it gets confusing, enjoy the writing and ride it out.

This book is fabulous. This was the first book I read about her crazy, intertwined Southern clan. Once I read this, all I wanted to do was sit down and read every book she ever wrote about these people. What impressed me the most was the descriptions of the emotions people felt throughout the story. Each of her characters has a distinct and slightly zany personality. Equipped with a wide range of strong emotions, they all are pondering major life decisions throughout the book. She blends the three stories together masterfully. As I read her other books, I am impressed with how she creates an entire world that revolves around a massive network of characters who are all related by blood or situtation. In case you can't keep up, use the family tree at the front of Starcarbon.