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Anabasis: A Journey to the Interior
Set in ancient Greece, a novel that explores a feisty slave girl’s flight to liberation
297 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
4 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Gilchrist
70 books261 followers A writer of poems, short stories, novels, and nonfiction commentaries, Ellen Gilchrist is a diverse writer whom critics have praised repeatedly for her subtle perceptions, unique characters, and sure command of the writer’s voice, as well as her innovative plotlines set in her native Mississippi.
As Sabine Durrant commented in the London Times, her writing “swings between the familiar and the shocking, the everyday and the traumatic.... She writes about ordinary happenings in out of the way places, of meetings between recognizable characters from her other fiction and strangers, above all of domestic routine disrupted by violence.” The world of her fiction is awry; the surprise ending, although characteristic of her works, can still shock the reader. “It is disorienting stuff,” noted Durrant, “but controlled always by Gilchrist’s wry tone and gentle insight.”
She earned her B.A. from Millsaps College in 1967, and later did postgraduate study at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
She has worked as an author and journalist, as a contributing editor for the Vieux Carre Courier from 1976-1979, and as a commentator on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition from 1984-1985. Her NPR commentaries have been published in her book Falling Through Space.
She won a National Book Award for her 1984 collection of short stories, Victory Over Japan.
As Sabine Durrant commented in the London Times, her writing “swings between the familiar and the shocking, the everyday and the traumatic.... She writes about ordinary happenings in out of the way places, of meetings between recognizable characters from her other fiction and strangers, above all of domestic routine disrupted by violence.” The world of her fiction is awry; the surprise ending, although characteristic of her works, can still shock the reader. “It is disorienting stuff,” noted Durrant, “but controlled always by Gilchrist’s wry tone and gentle insight.”
She earned her B.A. from Millsaps College in 1967, and later did postgraduate study at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
She has worked as an author and journalist, as a contributing editor for the Vieux Carre Courier from 1976-1979, and as a commentator on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition from 1984-1985. Her NPR commentaries have been published in her book Falling Through Space.
She won a National Book Award for her 1984 collection of short stories, Victory Over Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 23, 2022
Auria is a slave in ancient Greece. She has been assigned to Philokrates, a philosopher/doctor. Auria's mistress gives birth to yet another girl and has the baby exposed. Philokrates' death spurs Auria to go rescue the girl, who she names Kleis. Eventually, Auria finds her way to a group of renegade nobles from Athens. She becomes their teacher and physician and marries Meion. They have to flee from a Spartan army but, eventually, they find solitude.
Auria discovers more about herself as she goes further into the mountains--and deeper into herself. She gains courage and confidence. And finds her won freedom.
Auria discovers more about herself as she goes further into the mountains--and deeper into herself. She gains courage and confidence. And finds her won freedom.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2010
From the book jacket:
"It was an age when muses and fates roamed the earth, when the world was new and all things seemed to be happening for the first time. The Golden Age of Greece was ending.
Within the setting of decline and fall, Ellen Gilchrist expands her fictional realm and for the first time tells a story set in ancient times. A slave girl named Auria - independent, resourceful and, like women in other Gilchrist fiction, certain to captivate the reader - rescues a child that has been put out to die, and they flee to the mountains. Within herself Auria finds strength and courage she needs. The anabasis, her rise to liberation, is an enchanting passage.
Ellen Gilchrist is the author of many notable books, including...Victory over Japan, for which she received the National Book Award."
My review:
This was a quick and undemanding read. I would have liked it to be more demanding and involving. Gilchrist has the potential for engaging characters in a fascinating story, but handles them in a distant/omniscient POV. I never got emotionally involved in the story or felt attached to the characters.
"It was an age when muses and fates roamed the earth, when the world was new and all things seemed to be happening for the first time. The Golden Age of Greece was ending.
Within the setting of decline and fall, Ellen Gilchrist expands her fictional realm and for the first time tells a story set in ancient times. A slave girl named Auria - independent, resourceful and, like women in other Gilchrist fiction, certain to captivate the reader - rescues a child that has been put out to die, and they flee to the mountains. Within herself Auria finds strength and courage she needs. The anabasis, her rise to liberation, is an enchanting passage.
Ellen Gilchrist is the author of many notable books, including...Victory over Japan, for which she received the National Book Award."
My review:
This was a quick and undemanding read. I would have liked it to be more demanding and involving. Gilchrist has the potential for engaging characters in a fascinating story, but handles them in a distant/omniscient POV. I never got emotionally involved in the story or felt attached to the characters.
August 4, 2007
Light and pleasant reading
August 22, 2008
A wonderful story about Ancient Greece intermingled with the present.
January 10, 2011
One of the few Ellen Gilchrist books that I didn't finish.
November 19, 2015
didn't finish, YA book?
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews