With over 80 books in our library, this year we're taking some time every week to highlight one of the books on the Eckhartz bookshelf. This week's book is Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind by Vicki Quade.
For years, Chicagoan Vicki Quade has been telling stories as a journalist, playwright, theater producer, and performer. So it’s not surprising she has a way of connecting with quirky characters during mundane, everyday occurrences.
Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind is a compilation of those stories, examining the lives that brush past her on city streets, in banks, at the grocery store or in restaurants. With a sharp wit and empathetic skill, Quade colorfully recreates brief scenarios that range from the comic to the bizarre to the dangerous – and all are unique to the spirit of the Windy City.
“Call Vicki Quade the anti-quotidian. There is nothing ‘everyday’ about her experiences, her interactions and especially her keen, well reported observations. She is an oddity magnet. More odd things unfurl before her on almost every outing than happen to most of us in a season–funny things, sad things, sometimes even dangerous things, or just plain odd things. That’s in part because she is a hyper-curious buttinsky, often launching conversations with strangers our mothers warned us against, emerging with priceless stories and anecdotes. You will find yourself amazed, amused or just drop your jaw but it’s all true. I swear it is.”
“Like the best Chicago journalists from Mike Royko to Rick Kogan, Vicki Quade takes us into the surprising lives of the people whose paths cross ours in parking lots, banks, parks, hotels, dark alleys, and in memories. All the while, we get glimpses of Vicki herself, a Chicago phenomenon with a heart as big as the former Sears Tower or, as we Chi-town folks now call it, ‘The Big Willy.’”
“I love observational journalism. When a writer simply listens and watches, and interprets a story through their senses. Chicagoan Vicki Quade is that kind of writer. She beautifully captures the small nuances of movement and conversation that make Chicago what it is—a city of people, a city of neighborhoods, and a city of a million stories, big and small.”
“If one were to put Vicki Quade’s book into a time capsule, the lucky discoverers would learn more about human behavior than poring over a century’s worth of academic research. In a relaxed conversational tone, this pre-pandemic chronicler of warts-and-all everyday encounters navigates across a city populated by Seinfeld- and Lanford Wilson-esque characters capable of absurdly enlightening wisdom.”
“Vicki Quade is a Chicago treasure with an abiding curiosity about the world around her, and sprinkled among these fly-on-the-wall stories are some valuable tips on things to see and experiences to have in our great city.”
“Vicki Quade takes you back to a time when human interactions meant something, where being on the street and stopping to chat was an event, and listening was an art unto itself. These vignettes are literary gems, taking the ordinary lives of others and showing us how extraordinary we all are. Vicki writes with humor, and a deft poignancy that allows us to revel in the everyday moments of our lives. I truly enjoyed this book–it is a respite of reflection during the current period of information overload.”
“Vicki Quade’s new book reminds me of Martin Buber’s quote which was always a favorite of mine: All real living is meeting. Anyone who loves or wants to know Chicago will enjoy Vicki’s keen humor and vivid memories. They invite us to find new ways to live and laugh, especially during this pandemic isolation. Maybe it will encourage some to write their own memories of human encounters!”
