I, Rhoda Manning, Go Hunting With My Daddy

By: Ellen Gilchrist

Narrated by: Amanda Meadows

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

With all the poignancy, hilarity, and wisdom that are the hallmarks of her fiction, Ellen Gilchrist introduces a gallery of unforgettable characters, Southern women and men whose off-kilter lives are delicately revealed by the author's keen and forgiving gaze. This jubilantly acclaimed collection affirms anew why, as the Washington Post puts it, "Ellen Gilchrist should be declared a national treasure."

©2002 Ellen Gilchrist (P)2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"With these new stories, rendered in direct, clear prose, Gilchrist proves again that the people and places she conjures resonate in a wider world." (Publishers Weekly)
"The crisp, melancholy stories in I, Rhoda Manning, Go Hunting with My Daddy showcase Ellen Gilchrist's many gifts: her effortless prose, her empathy and emotional depth, her irrepressible optimism." "Amazon.com

Actually very good.

This book turned out to be more of a contemporary novel than I expected. Most of the stories surround Rhoda Manning, one as a child, but all of the others as a grown woman dealing with family "issues." The writer is very talented and a few of the stories clearly demonstrate her range. The narrator is very good, but her cracking voice kept reminding me of Julie Kavner aka Marge Simpson.

Ok......

I was a bit disappointed in this book. I love southern writers and had High hopes for something a bit different. This was written sort of as a memoir, but done in short stories with each chapter skipping around from place to place and different time frames in the author's life. I would have liked to hear more of her childhood stories but a big part of the book focused on her adult years. A bit of a letdown, in my opinion.

Phenomenal

As a long-time fan of southern fiction, I'm ecstatic to have discovered Ellen Gilchrist. This collection is comprised mostly of stories about Rhoda Manning, a southern woman, daughter of a classic patriarch (Burt Lancaster, John Huston, you'd have been perfect for the role)who struggles to be loved, and carries that struggle through her childhood and adult life. I've learned that Gilchrist pulblished a novel length collection called Rhoda, with other stories of this character. In addition are a handful of other stories with topics as varied as a terrorist cell pursuing a bookstore owner, discovered by a nosy upper-east-side condo association president; to a young pair of lovers dealing with an unwanted pregnancy in the face of southern mores and parental ambitions. I've debated whether this writing is more character or plot driven; the wonderful reality is that the characters are beautifully and truthfully drawn, and the stories riveting and poignant. In addition, the reading is superlative. I've been to the library to pick up all the Ellen Gilchrist I can carry home, I only wish there was more on audio in her wonderful throaty voice. Enjoy.

A talented writer with a flaw that 1/3 of Americans may see as a strength.

Ellen Gilchrist is, undoubtedly, a talented writer. She excelled in character development and now, in her 80’s, is not devoid of wisdom. Her writing style is unique in a very good way. Her fatal flaw, from my point of view, is that she is decidedly liberal in her outlook on life. This fact will not bother the 23% of Americans who are standing beside her in far left field, but I simply couldn’t stomach reading along, complicit, as Ms. Gilchrist portrays a doctor as a hero because he has no regard for human life if the human life is not yet born, and her promotion of a multitude of other liberal causes. I do not feel this way about all liberals, but the liberals I can admire and listen to for words of wisdom are few and far between, Alan Dershowitz being a stellar example of a liberal with compassion that is tempered by an abundance of wisdom, sadly, Ellen Gilchrist is no Alan Dershowitz, but few liberals are. If you are a true Trump-hating liberal then you really should love excellent this set of short stories that focus on the characters rather than the stories being told.