From Publishers Weekly
Easily her best book in years, this latest collection of 18 stories by Gilchrist features some of her familiar, endearingly eccentric narrators (Rhoda and other members of the Manning family; Crystal and her maid, Traceleen). There are also some new, young and engaging characters and, throughout the book, a convincing evocation of the changing South. The new reality, as depicted here, includes the waning of racism, the sexual revolution and the growth of feminism. Among these characters, there's a determination to make their lives count in a wider radius than New Orleans, Fayetteville, Ark., and the Mississippi Delta. Here again, the female characters have been raised as Southern belles controlled by indomitable, charming, selfish and racist fathers; as women they still play second fiddle to their brothers, who are generally weak-willed, gambling, drinking, womanizing wastrels. Gilchrist's middle-aged heroines are spoiled and reckless and beautiful and needy; all have black maids and treat them courteously and as confidantes; all are looking for love and meaning to counter the pain of loss and death. Meanwhile, they drink and take pills and crack jokes and are loyal to family (no matter how exasperating) and friends. In the vibrant short narratives that feature younger protagonists, the sexual revolution and the drug culture add complications to family relationships. At their best, Gilchrist's stories convey the old-fashioned idea that charity, compassion and good works can change the world. One reads this collection entertained by her distinctive prose, beguiled by her vivid characters and buoyed by the insistent touches of humor and hope that she brings to her vision of chaotic lives. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Merle Rubin
...Flights of Angels is on the whole a satisfying collection.


From Booklist
Gilchrist is so amiable that it's no wonder that she is one of the most popular American short story writers today. She just has to be a friendly person, given that her fiction is so delectably yarny. It's back-porch material; when reading her stories, one can practically hear them being told to an appreciative audience as the sun drifts down to the horizon. Her latest collection will not disappoint her numerous fans. Her dual senses of comedy and poignancy continue in close partnership; the typical laugh-and-cry reaction to a Gilchrist story is both anticipated and realized in every piece gathered here. Readers meet some of her wonderfully all-too-human characters in "A Tree to Be Desired," a story about a grown woman who, since her elderly grandfather has died, feels free to continue her affair with the black male nurse who had tended to him on his deathbed. In "The Carnival of the Stone Children," the narrator and her good friend take a two-day retreat in an attempt to lose weight; her friend is "suffering the first documented case of herpes simplex in New Orleans." While the grown-ups deal with the lasting effects of the sexual revolution, their children embark on an exploration of drug culture. And try to resist the characters in "A Lady with Pearls," which begins beguilingly with, "We were on our way to the Vermeer exhibition when I realized I didn't love Duval anymore. We were on the plane, high up above the state of Mississippi when I knew our love was through." Gilchrist continues to delight. Brad Hooper


Book Description
"The opening story in Flights of Angels sets the theme for this new collection: the intricate and inexorable relationships between power, love, and loss. A Mississippi patriarch lies dying as his large family gathers around him. Once rich and powerful, he is now reduced to dependency on the very sons who ruined his financial empire and on government programs he has always despised. His granddaughter, the story's narrator, her marriage falling apart, starts an affair with the attending black hospice worker, ironically fulfilling the old man's prejudices. In the ensuing stories, parents and children, siblings, and lovers tread the treacherous paths of love. The reader is treated to tales from familiar Gilchrist characters-Rhoda, and Traceleen and Crystal--and is introduced to a gallery of sparklingly eccentric new ones. Caught in the snares the heart spins, they all learn the cost and pain of love, while reveling in its joy and hilarity. The final story asserts the universal need to extend one's love beyond family and friends and to make one's mark upon the world--to improve it. A group of young men and women sets out to expose the dangers of a nearby abandoned nuclear reactor. Their adventures in righteous enthusiasm teach them more about themselves than about fission. As always, Gilchrist's insights are imbued equally with humor and sorrow. In her world, where we encounter divorce, avarice, and death, we also find hope and laughter and the redemption of the human heart. "


About the Author
"Ellen Gilchrist is the critically acclaimed author of ten previous books, including the National Book Award-winning Victory Over Japan and, most recently, Starcarbon. Some of the stories in this collection were first published in the Atlantic and Story. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"The opening story in Flights of Angels sets the theme for this new collection: the intricate and inexorable relationships between power, love, and loss. A Mississippi patriarch lies dying as his large family gathers around him. Once rich and powerful, he is now reduced to dependency on the very sons who ruined his financial empire and on government programs he has always despised. His granddaughter, the story's narrator, her marriage falling apart, starts an affair with the attending black hospice worker, ironically fulfilling the old man's prejudices.

In the ensuing stories, parents and children, siblings, and lovers tread the treacherous paths of love. The reader is treated to tales from familiar Gilchrist characters-Rhoda, and Traceleen and Crystal--and is introduced to a gallery of sparklingly eccentric new ones. Caught in the snares the heart spins, they all learn the cost and pain of love, while reveling in its joy and hilarity. The final story asserts the universal need to extend one's love beyond family and friends and to make one's mark upon the world--to improve it. A group of young men and women sets out to expose the dangers of a nearby abandoned nuclear reactor. Their adventures in righteous enthusiasm teach them more about themselves than about fission. As always, Gilchrist's insights are imbued equally with humor and sorrow. In her world, where we encounter divorce, avarice, and death, we also find hope and laughter and the redemption of the human heart.