I Cannot Get You Close Enough

September 30, 1991
Readers of Gilchrist's short story collections ( Victory over Japan ; I Cannot Get You Close Enough ) have watched headstrong Rhoda Manning grow into an intelligent, independent yet spoiled and self-destructive adult. In making her the protagonist of this compelling novel, Gilchrist has broadened and deepened her portrayal to create a fascinating portrait of a young woman's difficult coming-of-age in the Deep South of the 1950s. Eschewing the prettified characteristics of a conventional heroine, Gilchrist candidly depicts Rhoda's racial and class prejudices and essential disinterest in civil rights until growing maturity deepens her understanding and involves her in a personal way. Meanwhile, we gain insight into her family's dynamics--her domineering, hot-tempered father and class-obsessed mother--and the influences that make her conform not only to the image of the Southern party girl but also to abuse alcohol and rely on habit-forming drugs. Not surprisingly, Rhoda is drawn to a man who resembles her father; her marriage to Malcolm Martin, an ``ice cold Georgia aristocrat with a fierce libido,'' is disastrous. Gracefully evoking a time and place--with the cruelty of social injustice subsumed beneath the daily routines of a rich life--Gilchrist surrounds Rhoda with other characters of appealing vitality.

September 15, 1990
In this trio of interrelated novellas, the Mannings and the Hands cope with complex love relationships, familial and romantic, in a setting that is both retrospective and contemporary. Daniel Hand meets his first (Cherokee) wife in San Francisco in the 1960s, and they celebrate their love with drugs and sex. Far from those carefree days, Lydia ruminates on the specter of AIDS when she considers a tryst with a tennis instructor. The stories are a comfortable blend of old and new; the prose flows. Thus, Anna Hand describes falling in love as "when your eyes meet and you should dance and you love every word each other says." The last novella, concerned with the aftermath of Anna's death and the shotgun marriage of two lovesick teenagers, is written alternately from the perspectives of all characters featured. Although initially confusing, ultimately this approach is successful. Gilchrist has created a thoroughly engaging work.--Kimberly G. Allen, National Assn. of Homebuilders Lib., Washington, D.C.

Copyright 1990 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.