Gorilla, My Love

The posted reviews make clear that students are being asked to read this book at too young an age. I teach the book to my college students, and they too struggle with the stories, which are sometimes puzzling. At a first go-through, the reader is in the position of the two Northerners in "Mississippi Ham Rider," who go down South to interview a famous blues singer and get tested by locals who won't make the task of locating the singer easy. In fact, the book teaches you how to read it as you move through it. Rarely has a collection of stories been more tightly unified and balanced. The stories vary point of view, and do not reflect the perspective of one person, although some characters come back in various stories. Perhaps the hardest one in the book is the title story ("Gorilla, My Love"). Here the author uses a difficult stream-of-consciousness style to convey the mental condition of Hazel, a young girl heartbroken to learn that her uncle ("Hunca Bubba") is not going to marry her like he promised he would. Hazel innocently believed that that when you say something, you stick by it. The point of view initially obscures the problem Hazel has, but finally reveals it: she hasn't grown up yet. Bambara introduces difficult flows of thought and unclear words into the story to confuse the reader and make her feel like Hazel does. Thus the reader identifies with the character just by reading the story. (By the way, the film Hazel sees named "Gorilla, My Love" is about the crucifixion of Jesus, and it has no gorilla in it--which is exactly the point: you often don't get what you expect out of life, but must take what it gives and work with it.) The strongest stories here are "My Man Bovanne," "Gorilla, My Love," "Raymond's Run," "The Hammer Man," "The Lesson" (my personal favorite), and the final story, "The Johnson Girls," which pulls the themes of the book together when Gail stands up and says that as a group, all the women can come up with "a sure-fire program" to help one of them win back the man she wants. That's the author's ultimate message: in isolation we lose out, but together there is nothing we can't accomplish. Of course, Bambara is right.

There are beautiful stories in this highly recommended book. The title story and "My Man Bovanne" are two favorites. Poignant, funny, sad, inspiring, these stories are destined to be American classics. Buy this book!

One question--was there ever a film "Gorilla, My Love"? If not, where did the title come from and what does it mean?

Bambara's short-story gems are invaluable for letting us look at the world from the view of someone who is more often seen ( and scorned) than heard. This all-too-often ignored narrator is that nameless, smart-ass lower-class girl who is intelligent but limited in her exposure to life.Bambara seduces us into not only liking these annoying scamps but in seeing that their view of the world can teach us a lot about race, economic injustice, the hidden riches of the 'ghetto' and the sterility of money-obsessed bourgeois culture.Her stories must be read by everyone--the haves and the have-nots --particularly young black kids who have never connected to school, to reading and are at risk of dropping out. She gives them characters to relate to.