Items related to Ellen Foster
"When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down through my head until it got easy." So begins the tale of Ellen Foster, the brave and engaging heroine of Kay Gibbons's first novel, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Institute of Arts and Letters. Wise, funny, affectionate, and true, Ellen Foster is, as Walker Percy called it, "The real thing. Which is to say, a lovely, sometimes heartwrenching novel. . . . [Ellen Foster] is as much a part of the backwoods South as a Faulkner character—and a good deal more endearing."
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Review:
Oprah Book Club® Selection, October 1997: Kaye Gibbons is a writer who brings a short story sensibility to her novels. Rather than take advantage of the novel's longer form to paint her visions in broad, sweeping strokes, Gibbons prefers to concentrate on just one corner of the canvas and only a few colors to produce her small masterpieces. In Gibbons's case, her canvas is the American South and her colors are all the shades of gray.
From the Inside Flap:
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.
Kaye's wonderful and beloved first novel.
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- PublisherVintage
- Publication date1988
- ISBN 10 0394757572
- ISBN 13 9780394757575
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages126
- Rating
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Ellen Foster
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_399665886
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Vintage Books USA
(1988)
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.35. Seller Inventory # G0394757572I5N00
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Ellen Foster
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Vintage Books
(1988)
ISBN 10: 0394757572
ISBN 13: 9780394757575
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. 1988 Trade PB. Vintage Books. 126 pgs. No reader marks, clean pgs, binding solid. First couple pages with very light crease. Cover with light shelf wear to edges. 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. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 000496
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Ellen Foster
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Vintage Contemporaries
(1988)
ISBN 10: 0394757572
ISBN 13: 9780394757575
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Pages unmarked.Binding square & firm. Upper front corner creased. Book. Seller Inventory # 116094
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Ellen Foster
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Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
(1988)
ISBN 10: 0394757572
ISBN 13: 9780394757575
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Book Description Condition: Good. 1st Vintage contemporaries ed. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 3248034-6
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Ellen Foster
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
(1988)
ISBN 10: 0394757572
ISBN 13: 9780394757575
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Book Description Condition: Very Good. 1st Vintage contemporaries ed. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 18842183-6
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Ellen Foster
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Vintage Books
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ISBN 10: 0394757572
ISBN 13: 9780394757575
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Light wear to the covers. Otherwise a clean, bright copy. Seller Inventory # 006889
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Vintage Books, Vancouver, Washington, U.S.A.
(1988)
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ISBN 13: 9780394757575
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Book Description Trade Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Book- Good. Dust Jacket- No Jacket. All books are clean and unmarked unless stated. Seller Inventory # 15344
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ELLEN FOSTER
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Vintage Contemporaries
(1988)
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ISBN 13: 9780394757575
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good-. 7.9 X 5.1 X 0.7 inches; 126 pages. Seller Inventory # 139509
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Book Description Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Seller Inventory # BK2824
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