Gertrude of Stony Island Avenue

by James Purdy

Book Overview

This story of a woman's struggle to come to terms with a life seemingly emptied of meaning by her estranged daughter's death explores such themes as the mysterious connection between creativity and self destruction and the paradox of loss that leads ultimately to renewed life and love.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068815901X
• ISBN13: 9780688159016
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Overlooked gem.

James Purdy is one of those writers that most people assume only writes "black" novels. They think he is stuck in that genre, when in reality he is an amazing writer. This book is a little piece of heaven about an "eccentric" woman that Purdy knew in New York City. He fully fleshes out her little quirks and oddities, yet shows what a truly remarkable person this is. If you are new to James Purdy, this is a good place to start.

something new that's old

I was delighted by this slim elegant novel and plan to read others books by JP whom I have just discovered. I would like to see a picture of him or go to his web-site???? or fan club, etc.

Hypnotic

"Gertrude of Stony Island Avenue" is a hypnotic tale in which the boundary between the strange and the normal seems forever blurred. I was captivated by Purdy's highly distinctive style, which feels authentically "old-timey" yet also perpetually "off-balance." Carrie's search for her daughter constitutes one of the strangest yet ultimately moving quests for selfhood I have ever read.

Wonderfully Victorian

I have no idea why I loved this book, but I did. Maybe because the language, though stiff and formal, is beautiful, like a preserved rose. There's also something wonderfully pre-Freudian about the characters. True, just about everyone in the book is half cracked, but in this universe, they're allowed to be. What a delight to be reminded that there was a time, before Oprah's tele-shrink ministry, and mass prozac-taking, and the proliferation of bad shrinks, when eccentrics were tolerated. Now, they're cured. Purdy's novel is eccentric to beat the band, but great fun.

authentic south-side Chicago; great old-time vocabulary

I liked Gertrude of Stony Island Avenue very much. It is my first exposure to Purdy.Stony Island Avenue is the western boundary of the University of Chicago, my alma mater. This book catches the flavor of the area authentically, especially the style of the narrator, Carrie with her perfect-pitch dialogue and antique vocabulary. The time and place are beautifully evoked.The characters are all unreal but the mosaic is effective.