nycojo's review against another edition
5.0
Magnificent!
A book I didn't know that I needed, that came right on time. Look forward to adding to my collection and reading repeatedly for years to come
A book I didn't know that I needed, that came right on time. Look forward to adding to my collection and reading repeatedly for years to come
thecaseofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I read an eARC of this book so thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publisher for allowing this.
The Gilda Stories was a really interesting take on vampire literature, in so many ways it felt very familiar. The atmosphere, the themes of death and hunger, outliving mortals and loss. And yet, Gilda’s experience felt quite unique. Gilda still has to deal with racism and prejudice even with the power that comes from her vampirism. The author described this as feminist, lesbian vampire fiction and this again creates a vampire narrative that feels really unique. The power of female relationships is so prominent throughout this book. I found it notable how kind vampires are in this novel. They rarely kill, they don’t cause suffering. Their power is to give their prey sweet thoughts as they feed, thus creating ‘sharing’ rather than just consuming. It felt that the female dominant narrative created this kindness. With older vampires teaching the fledglings how to use their powers responsibly.
I found the start and the end of this novel thrilling, though it did feel a little slow at points in the middle. The novel takes place in time jumps with Gilda in a new place and decade. She must move around less the local mortals become suspicious of her lack of aging. Gilda picks up new skills and jobs in each decade and her independence grows as she lives through the decades.
This was an unusual read and one I was left thinking about long after I’d finished it. It satisfied a love of vampire fiction that began with Dracula and Anne Rice two decades ago, whilst also feeling new. I enjoyed the kinder, less violent vampire tale that still felt dangerous and romantic without becoming too detached from reality.
The Gilda Stories was a really interesting take on vampire literature, in so many ways it felt very familiar. The atmosphere, the themes of death and hunger, outliving mortals and loss. And yet, Gilda’s experience felt quite unique. Gilda still has to deal with racism and prejudice even with the power that comes from her vampirism. The author described this as feminist, lesbian vampire fiction and this again creates a vampire narrative that feels really unique. The power of female relationships is so prominent throughout this book. I found it notable how kind vampires are in this novel. They rarely kill, they don’t cause suffering. Their power is to give their prey sweet thoughts as they feed, thus creating ‘sharing’ rather than just consuming. It felt that the female dominant narrative created this kindness. With older vampires teaching the fledglings how to use their powers responsibly.
I found the start and the end of this novel thrilling, though it did feel a little slow at points in the middle. The novel takes place in time jumps with Gilda in a new place and decade. She must move around less the local mortals become suspicious of her lack of aging. Gilda picks up new skills and jobs in each decade and her independence grows as she lives through the decades.
This was an unusual read and one I was left thinking about long after I’d finished it. It satisfied a love of vampire fiction that began with Dracula and Anne Rice two decades ago, whilst also feeling new. I enjoyed the kinder, less violent vampire tale that still felt dangerous and romantic without becoming too detached from reality.
synoptic_view's review against another edition
3.0
I found it challenging to interpret many aspects of this book. One recurring example is the treatment of consent. Sexual compulsion is a recurring theme in many vampire stories (at least since Carmilla and Dracula), and blood sucking has become such a common metaphor for sex, so I was keen to see Gomez's take on the subject. What I found in the book eludes easy interpretation. Many of the relationships between vampires in the book appear quite consensual. But interactions between vampires and non-vampires are distinctly non-consensual. The vampires takes blood from their victims without the victims' knowledge. In the process the vampire reads the thoughts and dreams of the individuals, and the vampire can influence the thoughts of their victims, Inception-style. This often appears to be presented as a mutually beneficial arrangement. The vampire gets some blood, and the mortal gets a new, better outlook on life. But these encounters can also turn quite dark. During the Boston portion of the book, Bird goes out to feed and finds a family in their home. Here is how the feeding plays out
This is a wildly complicated and paradoxical paragraph. Both at the beginning and end, it makes clear that the boy has no idea what is going on, much less any say in the event. The writing clearly presents Bird as having good intentions (she "felt a rush of tenderness"), yet she acts on that tenderness by implanting an idea in the boy's head that is contrary to his own desire (to have a date). I might agree with the outcome Bird wants here--to combat some sense of masculine entitlement for a date--but it doesn't remove the fact that she is implanting the thought without any agency on the boy's part. The final sentence of the paragraph is also self-contradictory. The boy's dreams have been tampered with--they are no longer his own--so how can he return to them. And hanging over all of this is the fact that Bird, a 100+ year old vampire, specifically chose to feed on a teenage boy out of all of the people living in a house with multiple residents.
Am I, as a reader, meant to see Bird, Gilda, and some of the other, more clearly non-evil vampires as good? Are these passages, when contrasted with the slightly more consensual vampire creation passages, meant to be problematic to draw out distinctions? From the text alone, I have a hard time judging, much as I had a hard time judging many of the elements of this complex and compelling book.
Bird sped into the shadows until she came upon a small house that held more than one person. She slipped inside and found the bedroom of a teenaged boy, sleeping deeply as they do. She held him with the hypnotic quality of her voice while she took the blood from his arm. His desires were simple: good grades on a science test and a date for an approaching dance. Bird felt a rush of tenderness as she slipped inside his secrets, gently prodding open his sense of mathematic and scientific principles so he'd grasp ideas a bit more easily. And she left the idea that it might not matter if he had a companion or not. The evening would be a success if he simply enjoyed everyone as a friend. He did not stir when she sealed the wound and listened to his slowed pulse. As she moved away from him he turned on his side and mumbled out loud, returning to his own dreams.
This is a wildly complicated and paradoxical paragraph. Both at the beginning and end, it makes clear that the boy has no idea what is going on, much less any say in the event. The writing clearly presents Bird as having good intentions (she "felt a rush of tenderness"), yet she acts on that tenderness by implanting an idea in the boy's head that is contrary to his own desire (to have a date). I might agree with the outcome Bird wants here--to combat some sense of masculine entitlement for a date--but it doesn't remove the fact that she is implanting the thought without any agency on the boy's part. The final sentence of the paragraph is also self-contradictory. The boy's dreams have been tampered with--they are no longer his own--so how can he return to them. And hanging over all of this is the fact that Bird, a 100+ year old vampire, specifically chose to feed on a teenage boy out of all of the people living in a house with multiple residents.
Am I, as a reader, meant to see Bird, Gilda, and some of the other, more clearly non-evil vampires as good? Are these passages, when contrasted with the slightly more consensual vampire creation passages, meant to be problematic to draw out distinctions? From the text alone, I have a hard time judging, much as I had a hard time judging many of the elements of this complex and compelling book.
bethreads13's review against another edition
2.0
i had such high hopes for this book and it fell waayyyy short. the mc felt unbearably boring to me, she seemed to have no personality or desires of her own, and was even stripped of her own name. gilda had so much potential in the beginning but then spent hundreds of years being insufferable. i still am very confused and disturbed by the relationship between gilda and bird, bird is described to be a mother figure to gilda but their relationship feels borderline incestuous and predatory. i appreciate the themes of found family and what the author was trying to do, but in my opinion the author was unsuccessful. but maybe i just didn’t get it
gripyfish's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
reila's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"One takes on others as family and continually reshapes that meaning---family---but you do not break blood ties. We may not with to live together at all times, but we will always be with each other."
What can I say except that I savored every word of Jewelle Gomez's prose? Decadent and refreshing, too. These are vampires that take life but give something in return, such as a thread of motivation or amplifying the dreams of the humans they feed on. Usually touching on the bit of humanity (hope) that the person has, being repressed by the state of the world they are in, among other barriers. The group that Gilda associates with practices this way of conscientious feeding. There are vampires in this world who have lost this compassion or are Made unaware of this alternative way to sustain their long lives.
"We take blood, not life, and leave something in exchange." In order to answer any of the questions the book raises we must take blood---metaphorically speaking. That is, we must learn how to break through the surface, find the deep dangerous place where blood flows without hurting one other, and share all that we know and love in order to survive."
The stories feel less about vampirism, touching more about the human condition throughout the years and at the turn of the century, from the perspective of an escaped enslaved person Turned into a vampire; the young woman we know as Gilda wasn't given that name until that pivotal moment; gateway to living her new, liberated life.
Some human lessons can be taken in stride, as there are no barriers to time. Searching for belonging is something that takes literal lifetimes to foster. To be activists/live through social movements, then outlive them, and see what comes after---aren't Gilda's main prerogative but are the focus of her peers.
"You must look to me and know who I am and if the life I offer is the life you choose. In choosing you must pledge yourself to pursue only life, never bitterness or cruelty."
Vampirism doesn't come in much, feeling like a secondary condition to Gilda. It sneaks up on you when mentioned (which works because you're figuring out 'what it means' with her). I promise you that superpowered fights and sensual blood-drinking happen in the book. Infrequently, but it happens.
We get to visit 2020 and even a glimpse of 2050. It's interesting to compare our 2020 to what was speculated in 1991. As far as what happens in 2050, feels like the vampire novel people tend to expect from the namesake (I will admit, I am 'people').
Very cool read, which I'm happy to have found!
readerpants's review against another edition
5.0
I JUST. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
I really, really, really loved this.
I really, really, really loved this.
monkeysbecausewhynot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
michelleshinee's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0