Aurelia is the first human that Gilda considers turning into a vampire, and in her decision not to do so she learns that part of being a vampire is being able to recognize when a person is better off as a human and when a person is suited to being undead. Then in Missouri in 1921, Gilda spends time with a human woman named Aurelia. Gilda sees these lessons exemplified in Eleanor, a vampire who takes pleasure in killing and misery. Sorel and Anthony teach her the ways of the vampire, that to be undead does not mean to be automatically infallible or good. It is here that Bird leaves to find her people, and Gilda learns more about what it means to be a vampire from her own kind. The next chapter focuses on Gilda’s time in San Francisco in 1890. Bird and the original Gilda teach her many things, and eventually turn her into a vampire. The original Gilda takes her to the brothel that she owns, where Gilda meets another vampire named Bird. Gilda’s story starts in Louisiana in 1850, when she meets the woman whose name she adopts and who gives her eternal life as she herself is escaping her Mississippi plantation. As we read about Gilda, we follow her through small episodes in her 200 year life as a vampire. The book follows the life of Gilda, an escaped slave turned vampire as she discovers what makes people human through herself and the relationships she forms. The Gilda Stories is an expansive novel which explores various aspects of humanity from a non-human point of view.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |