The Cabal and Other Stories FROM THE PUBLISHER
"This is the story of a group of people who had a bizarre and unexpected thing happen to them. Their psychiatrist went crazy and started injecting himself with drugs. The most useful and dependable man in their lives became a maniac in the true sense of the word."
So begins the The Cabal, the hilarious novella that forms the centerpiece of Ellen Gilchrist's sparkling new collection of stories. Dr. Jim Jaspers's patients include all the most prominent citizens of Jackson, Mississippi--wealthy businessmen, wealthy socialites, even the governor's daughter. Unfortunately for them, their beloved psychiatrist suddenly goes mad himself, revealing their deepest secrets and embarrassing misdeeds to anyone who will listen. The whole town goes crazy: some want to lock him up or, failing that, arrange a convenient accident. Others try to protect him. The rest are busily revising their personal histories. The result is a hilarious, bitingly ironic tale, revealing that our deepest secrets invariably are those best known by others.
The five stories that follow are classic Gilchrist, including another witty and wise account of Miss Crystal by Traceleen. In one story, a happily married nurse finds herself pursued by an old high-school boyfriend. In another, a grandmother makes a cross-country pilgrimage from Kansas City to Mississippi to see her family. From a literary writer struggling in Hollywood to the mysterious appearance of thirty-six gold coins in a small Southern town, these stories will delight both old and new Gilchrist fans. With all the warmth, wit and humor her readers have come to expect from her, The Cabal and Other Stories.
FROM THE CRITICS
Los Angeles Times
...a wonderful plot...
Southern Living
Once again, Ellen Gilchrist uses the short story form to invite readers into quirky and humorous worlds...
Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction
New and familiar, "unique and interesting" characters mix, match, and clash in Gilchrist's "amusing" short-story collection. "Wonderful, each story left me wanting more. Bittersweet, funny, and life-affirming." "I'm looking forward to reading her backlist." A few found the characters "shallow and self-absorbed."
New York Times Book Review - 5/7/00
...rich with intimate exchanges between finely etched characters...convincingly chaotic...
Publishers Weekly
Veteran fiction writer Gilchrist (Flights of Angels) is in fine form in another group of short stories that display her distinctive voice and eccentric characters. Featuring the title novella, about a social clique that "runs the town" of Jackson, Miss., this wry and breezy collection touches on all things Southern, from makeovers for aging belles to plantation hijinks, and reverence for ancestors and the Delta itself. When Caroline Jones, a down-on-her-luck poet, accepts a post in the English department of Millsaps College, she also is unwittingly stepping into a social morass. On her first day in town, her old friend Augustus Hailey, the most glamorous gay man in the South, drags her to the funeral of local benefactor Jean Andry Lyles. Then Jim Jaspers, psychiatrist to most of Jackson's elite, suddenly goes mad and reveals publicly the secrets and deceptions of his patients. Some characters in this novella reappear in the five short stories that follow. "The Sanguine Blood of Men" tells of Jones's earlier adventures in San Francisco, where she tries to sell a script to a lecherous old movie mogul. In "Hearts of Dixie," Jean Lyles's typist discovers that her recently deceased employer has left 36 tempting gold Krugerrands in an office safety deposit box. There's a humorous tale about Darwinian theory and people who don't know they're funny, and a happy one about an extended family's get-together. And because no Gilchrist collection would be complete without appearances from Miss Crystal and Traceleen, the author offers a bittersweet reprise of their affectionate relationship. Throughout, there's enjoyment of casual sex, and casual talk about it--and if the talk does often threaten to bury the substance in Gilchrist's fictions, there's giddy pleasure in her characters' endearing antics. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
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