Rhoda: A Life in Stories

I zipped through Rhoda yesterday and
today and ended up liking Rhoda even
more than Dreamy Dreams. Linked stories,
with the same main character, almost a novel
but not quite, is a fun idea. Even the little
discrepancies between the stories
(Just how old was Rhoda when she first got
married, anyway? She is said to be twenty
and nineteen and seventeen in various stories)
add a feeling of authenticity to the book
(Do you always remember just how old you
were when you got married? I sometimes tell
different people different ages.)
Gilchrist's writing has a Hemingwayish feel
to it, especially when she has Rhoda begin to
write and when she has Rhoda fall in love.
I loved Rhoda when she was a fearless child,
was saddened by her in her twenties as she
seemed to let life carry her along, but
fell back in love with this character when
she hit her fifties and began to be courageous
again (I really really wanted her to meet up
with the bullfighter...oh well.) Wonderful book.