Ellen Foster

In Ellen Foster, the title character is an 11-year-old orphan who refers to herself as "old Ellen," an appellation that is disturbingly apt. Ellen is an old woman in a child's body; her frail, unhappy mother dies, her abusive father alternately neglects her and makes advances on her, and she is shuttled from one uncaring relative's home to another before she finally takes matters into her own hands and finds herself a place to belong. There is something almost Dickensian about Ellen's tribulations; like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield or a host of other literary child heroes, Ellen is at the mercy of predatory adults, with only her own wit and courage--and the occasional kindness of others--to help her through. That she does, in fact, survive her childhood and even rise above it is the book's bittersweet victory.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
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Sad but humorous at the same time, 2008-11-04
A short, intense novel about 11 year old Ellen Foster (or that is what she calls herself) growing up in a severely dysfunctional family in Southern USA. Her poor mother dies in the beginning of the story and leaves Ellen with her mean, drunk and violent father. She also stays for a while with her aunt and cousin and finally her grandmother takes her in. But that is not necessarily a good thing, because grandma is one mean woman and there is no love lost between her and Ellen. When the grandmother dies, Ellen goes to live with a foster-family, which is the first time in her life she feels some love, but this also ends and she goes to a new foster-home, which is where she is as she is telling her story. She is happy there, at last, but what will the future hold for her? The above description may sound sentimental and too much, and even though the story is told with the voice of a child, the whole story is also so ironic and filled with dark humour. And that is what makes it bearable. Otherwise Ellen's story would simply have been unbearable- Ellen's only friend is a black girl, for whom Ellen will do anything, but in Southern USA some years back that wasn't always the easiest thing. I was caught up in this book and could easily see all the humour, but it also made me a bit sad. Its a dark story for sure. Makes the reader think of the evil of mankind.


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Shockingly honest voice . . . , 2008-07-24
Ellen Foster is a slim volume, Gibbon's first novel. It's told from the searingly honest perspective of eleven-year-old Ellen, whose mother passes away. After her mother's death, Ellen manages to escape her abusive, alcoholic father. She moves in with a controlling, vindictive grandmother. After the grandmother, too, dies (by which time her father is also deceased), Ellen stays for a short time with her aunt (also a difficult situation) before joining a foster family that finally provides her with a real home.

Ellen is a fascinating character. Her voice is simple, but clearly intelligent and bent on self-preservation. Her eventual epiphany and acceptance of her "colored friend" Starletta is also a strong theme. The book reads quickly, and though Ellen endures considerable hardship, she does not wallow in self-pity. I recommend this novel.



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A study of a resilient child, 2008-04-24
You will fall in love with the title character of Kaye Gibbons's Ellen Foster. Throughout the novel, Ellen's most dominant character trait is self-preservation. From the first page to the last, she reveals and demonstrates the backbone and resilience necessary for a child thrown into challenging circumstances.

Gibbons structures the novella around a series of temporal shifts between the present situation of the narrator (the now of the story) and the past situation of the character (the then of the story). The story, in effect, becomes a gradual diminishing of the distance between these two temporal settings.

As the story of Ellen Foster's difficult childhood and her remarkable resilience is parceled out to the reader through fifteen chapters, another story--a story about a child's understanding of race and decency--is told as well.

Like J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Ellen Foster is a story for people of all ages.



0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

A wonderful narrator, 2008-03-18
I found this book to be absolutely stunning, primarily because of the point of view! Ellen is the narrator, and we so clearly see the world, people, and events around her through her ten-year-old eyes--and they are very special eyes! The child has a way of interpreting events that helps her survive a childhood that may have defeated many more ordinary girls.
She is unforgettable.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Short story?, 2007-11-07
This book is just strange. It's a diary of a young girl that is hard to figure out. There is no conclusion to this story, it just kind of stops like half the book is missing. You can read it in one sitting if that's what you are looking for, buy it.

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