Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
I did not particularly care for Sophie Applebaum the main character of this book. I found her wishy-washy and a little bit whiny. Because the book jumped from phase of Sophie's life to another phase, often details were left out (sometimes on big life events), and there was no closure. Overall, just didn't like this book.
Bleh...I had to read the jacket after I finished to see what the book was supposed to have been about. No real story. (read for book club)
he was the kind of man who might've fished zelda fitzgerald out of the fountain at the plaza, draped his cashmere coat around her shoulders, never asked for it back, and never told anyone the story.
melissa bank has something magical here and virtually no one knows about it. a writing style that is beautifully and masterfully calculated, think hemingway or sally rooney. a deadpan humor that is actually funny instead of eye roll inducing. superb characterization as seen in the brief snippet above.
i really think this book has it all and if it were given the same cool-girl literature treatment as sally rooney, this book would take bookstagram by storm. if this book were turned into a screenplay and directed by someone like greta gerwig, noah baumbach, richard linklater, either of the coppola sisters, etc. it would be a hit sitting comfortably alongside films such as ladybird, the before trilogy, lost in translation, etc. again.
who knows, maybe i'm crazy but i think if this book got a little face lift (both the hardcover and paperback version is... not good. the picture i've used here on goodreads is not the edition i read.) it would be sitting on the popular shelf of your local target alongside other popular millennial fiction. melissa bank is not a millennial and our protagonist is more of a gen x cusp but her plights and her disposition are similar to those i've read in "millennial" novels.
there isn't much to this book; a single jewish girl grows up before our eyes and navigates jobs, lack of jobs, familial relationships, and romantic relationships. but the tenderness and the craft on each page is truly a delight. if i were a popular influencer (yikes, i'm sorry i said the word influencer) i would hype this book so everyone would read it. but since i am not and only have this small little corner of goodreads in which i use to shout into the void, i recommend this treat of a book to you, dear reader, if you have found yourself here. this book fished zelda fitzgerald out of the fountain at the plaza and didn't even tell anyone the story.
melissa bank has something magical here and virtually no one knows about it. a writing style that is beautifully and masterfully calculated, think hemingway or sally rooney. a deadpan humor that is actually funny instead of eye roll inducing. superb characterization as seen in the brief snippet above.
i really think this book has it all and if it were given the same cool-girl literature treatment as sally rooney, this book would take bookstagram by storm. if this book were turned into a screenplay and directed by someone like greta gerwig, noah baumbach, richard linklater, either of the coppola sisters, etc. it would be a hit sitting comfortably alongside films such as ladybird, the before trilogy, lost in translation, etc. again.
who knows, maybe i'm crazy but i think if this book got a little face lift (both the hardcover and paperback version is... not good. the picture i've used here on goodreads is not the edition i read.) it would be sitting on the popular shelf of your local target alongside other popular millennial fiction. melissa bank is not a millennial and our protagonist is more of a gen x cusp but her plights and her disposition are similar to those i've read in "millennial" novels.
there isn't much to this book; a single jewish girl grows up before our eyes and navigates jobs, lack of jobs, familial relationships, and romantic relationships. but the tenderness and the craft on each page is truly a delight. if i were a popular influencer (yikes, i'm sorry i said the word influencer) i would hype this book so everyone would read it. but since i am not and only have this small little corner of goodreads in which i use to shout into the void, i recommend this treat of a book to you, dear reader, if you have found yourself here. this book fished zelda fitzgerald out of the fountain at the plaza and didn't even tell anyone the story.
Didn't like as much as The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Combination novel/short story book in that all the stories are related but can stand on their own. Similar in structure to Girls' Guide. I enjoyed it as a whole, but I didn't like the title chapter because it was the last in the book and I felt unsatisfied.
⭐⭐⭐
The elephants doing circus tricks on the cover lead me to believe this book would be eventful. BUT a cover is not a book and nothing happened. Eventful or otherwise.
Its bugging me that I can't put my finger on the reason I enjoyed this book. Like when you can almost remember something you use to just know without remembering even being a part of it.
This is a book of Sophies concise observations on her average life. Its an average life seen clearly. This is a skill I sorely lack and maybe that fascinates me? I'm rarely sure of what I've experienced. #daydreambeliever
"I never expected anyone in my family to change, and especially not my father, who changed first and most profoundly. He died."
The elephants doing circus tricks on the cover lead me to believe this book would be eventful. BUT a cover is not a book and nothing happened. Eventful or otherwise.
Its bugging me that I can't put my finger on the reason I enjoyed this book. Like when you can almost remember something you use to just know without remembering even being a part of it.
This is a book of Sophies concise observations on her average life. Its an average life seen clearly. This is a skill I sorely lack and maybe that fascinates me? I'm rarely sure of what I've experienced. #daydreambeliever
"I never expected anyone in my family to change, and especially not my father, who changed first and most profoundly. He died."
Really enjoyed Banks and her telling of, mostly, her "quarter-life crisis years." Like another reviewer said, I wanted to read through the next 20 years of her life. She's self-deprecating without being depressing and lighthearted without being air-headed. I'm definitely going to pick up her first novel next.
"The Wonder Spot" -Melissa Bank (2005)
While I admit to loving short stories, the one issue I have with a collection of them is that reading it in one setting tends to blur the story lines and characters. Admittedly, I'll sometimes begin reading the next story and forget what the one before was about. What I like about this book, is that each "short story" is a chapter in the same character's life, making it part short story collection and part novel. While the time line doesn't follow an exact scientific chronology, the book is made up of a mix of the same characters mixed with new ones who pass in and out of the life of the protagonist. And there's something about Melissa Bank's writing that is just so natural and easy to read, without being boring.
Began: March 28, 2009
Ended: April 1, 2009
Page Count: 324
While I admit to loving short stories, the one issue I have with a collection of them is that reading it in one setting tends to blur the story lines and characters. Admittedly, I'll sometimes begin reading the next story and forget what the one before was about. What I like about this book, is that each "short story" is a chapter in the same character's life, making it part short story collection and part novel. While the time line doesn't follow an exact scientific chronology, the book is made up of a mix of the same characters mixed with new ones who pass in and out of the life of the protagonist. And there's something about Melissa Bank's writing that is just so natural and easy to read, without being boring.
Began: March 28, 2009
Ended: April 1, 2009
Page Count: 324
This is the story of Sophie Applebaum - a Jewish girl in New York who struggles through bad relationship after bad relationship and can't seem to find a career that makes any sense either. Her older brother, Jack is the typical jock-playboy and her younger brother is the serious one who winds-up marrying an Orthodox girl. In the end, despite several close calls on a lasting relationship, Sophie is still single in her late 30's and trying to figure things out. After her father dies, her mom even finds romance with a man her own mother would not let her marry so many years before.
This book took on Sophie's whole life - from about 10 to her late 30's and did a decent job. I was fascinated at the bad and curious choices she made in men, but even mores in how she had no direction to her life in terms of any long-term plan. How she could live with her grandmother and both brothers without going crazy is hard to believe. I must admit I had high hopes for some of the guys - most of all her (ex) best friend's roommate, but respect Sophie for knowing what she wants and not settling for less.
This book took on Sophie's whole life - from about 10 to her late 30's and did a decent job. I was fascinated at the bad and curious choices she made in men, but even mores in how she had no direction to her life in terms of any long-term plan. How she could live with her grandmother and both brothers without going crazy is hard to believe. I must admit I had high hopes for some of the guys - most of all her (ex) best friend's roommate, but respect Sophie for knowing what she wants and not settling for less.
The whole way through I kept thinking I have already read this. I hadn't but it seemed like other books I had already read, not very original. I read her Guide to Hunting and Fishing and loved it. I was younger then so maybe that had something to do with it.
I really liked the Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing and have been waiting for the authors next work ever since, and The Wonder Spot is it. The Girl's Guide was as easy to read as any guilty pleasure chick-lit, yet it was far, far more substantial. It really surprised me how much I loved it, even though it was less what she wrote than the way she wrote it. Melissa Bank is a gifted writer, inventive and original.