The Courts of Love

In "The Courts of Love", Ms. Gilchrist transports us to a world where beauty, love and knowledge are the guiding tenets of existence. The characters throughout the stories are whacky to the max, but insanely likable for just this reason--they marvel at the wonder and beauty that life offers, clumsily reach for meaningful connections with others, and seek answers to life's larger questions. The writing flows and characters emerge full-blown, their emotions so finely and wisely explored that you just want to sit down with Ms. Gilchrist and have a good talk; you know she knows a lot. I've been a big fan of Ms. Gilchrist since I read, "Drunk With Love" in college more than 10 years ago and have devoured nearly every one of her novels and collections of short stories(some not as perfect as this)since. I'd love to get as many of you out there hooked on her work as possible; it's literature at it's best--transforming!

I am always searching for a new "find" - authors-wise - and Gilchrist is it! I love her clear writing style. I feel like I am the other half of a conversation with her - with funny remarks like "The rest is private" when she is describing an intimate moment between two characters. Her stories are "by the way" stories that stay with you after you put the book away. I can't wait to read more of her stuff.

In this mixed collection, Gilchrist shows her versatility by changing the points of view to a woman, a man, a 7-year old girl, a bear, and even a wounded dog. The stories are life affirming, in the sense that the protagonists are "good people" who sometimes do a little praying and say Amen. The situations are not usually exciting, though there is one violent death. The characters explore loss, new relationships, changes of direction in their lives, and are not afraid to reach out and grasp opportunities. This is work by an author who is very sure of her medium and her skill. I found it thought-provoking and greatly interesting.

In The Courts of Love, Gilchrist concentrates primarilyon Nora Jane, a worthy successor to Gilchrist's (and my) favortieprotagonist, Rhoda Manning. This collection of short storiesis both timely and entertaining. Treat yourself, then goexplore all of Gilchrist's works - she is phenomenal andonly gets better through the years