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Summary: I am Jane Rosenal
Review: The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing was just what I needed to put my life into perspective. The similarities I shared with Jane were amazing. Having just moved to New York, even the surroundings were familiar! Melissa Bank delivers a realistic and humorous novel that I could not put down. Jane was a great character. I laughed and cried with her. And because of her diverse personality and various 'adventures' I believe there is a Jane in every single one of us...Thank you, Melissa Bank, for showing me I have an ally in the search for my 'true' self in this difficult city!
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Summary: An uneven collection
Review: The first two stories start a trajectory of one woman's journey on the confusing path of the search for love. Unfortunately, this cohesiveness and consistency of quality then vanishes, reappearing in the final story, which is easily the best of the lot. In the middle, there is an awkward story of a family unrelated to the main character except for their address, a confusing breast cancer 2nd person tale (which would have been excellent as a stand alone, but the reader is distracted from the merits of the story with questions of how it relates to the rest of the book), and an altogether too long exploration of the heroine's relationship with an older man. As individual stories, all of this book is good, but as a collection, really only the first 2 and last one hold up.
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Summary: Good.
Review: Melissa Bank's The Girl's Guide to Fishing and Hunting was a cute, quick read. Of course, it wasn't much. For readers that are just starting out in women's literature, this would probably come off to them as funny, pretty true, and inspiring. However, for readers that are a bit experienced in the world of women's literature, this book would come off as ordinary, pretty cute, but over-all repeated and not a stand-out compared to other things they've read.It's not to say that this book was terrible, it was just... not anything that would particularly stand out that much. The main character lives in modern day America and comes back to her childhood some. She muses about things the typical female in America would and in the end of the book, - *spoiler* - surprise, surprise, she ends up feeling comfortable with herself in a relationship with a man that actually loves her. Pretty ok plot, huh? Nothing too special, but perhaps the writing style or the main character would engage us some! Not really. In the humor department, there were a few little zingers here and there, but nothing big. As for depth or being able to relate to the story and its main character, it was ok. The character wasn't even that contrived, either. It was a nice effort, though. For those who are a bit disappointed at my review, don't be. There are plenty other good, modern day women books in the library just waiting to be read. I'd recommend reading Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone. Funny. Beautiful. True. Great writing, heart-warming, and more depth.
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Summary: Just what I needed
Review: A band-aid for the heart. Read it on a rainy day with a cup of tea and a cigarette.
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Summary: a fun read
Review: The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is a very enjoyable read. We journey with Jane Rosenal through her childhood, family dynamics, career choices and intimate relationships on her quest for self-discovery. Jane feels like a failure in the love arena so naturally, she attempts to immerse herself in a self-help book formula for success. Unfortunately, this self-help book attempts to tame Jane's greatest assets, her keen observations and wicked sense of humor. This is a truly funny read with a very real and relatable character in Jane
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Summary: A success in the world of books...
Review: Melissa Bank has written a wonderfully creative and quirky character with Jane Rosenal! She (much like Bridget Jones) resides in all of us. This books is a terrific map to Jane's journey through the world or relationships, men, sex and love! It's funny, fresh and is very charming in it's prose. This is the perfect book for anyone wanting to know about coming of age today! READ this book!
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Summary: It¿s Not the Length of the Story; It¿s How You Use It
Review: Generally I'm not a fan of short stories because, all too often, favored stories end too quickly and boring, congested ones go on too long. You strike up a relationship with a character, only to find that the last date is just a few pages away. Melissa Bank solves this problem (as have others) by writing intertwined short stories about the same character: The likeable, funny, and insecure Jane Rosenal. Her relationships with men (and other elusive goals) are the core of this humorous, easy-reading book. It's neither pre- nor post-feminist, just a recognizable woman facing the complexities of love and work. The first story is one of the best: Told from the teenage Rosenal's view, it shows her vicariously experiencing her brother's relationship and break-up with Julia, an upper class, sensitive college student. Bank tells this story with the humor and perception of a J.D. Salinger (but without the Zen undertones). Two of the seven stories deal with Rosenal's relationship with a famous, older, somewhat unconventional editor. Bank is even-handed, as Archie alternates between mentor and monster, self-centered protector and sympathetic victim. He's a concerned, loving partner, but also a publicity conscious show-off, telling stories about Jane as if she were in one of his books. Interwoven with this story is an emotional and very effective look at Jane's parents. The sixth story is a series of vignettes told in a combination of the third ("In post-op, he will tell you he is honored you threw up on him.") and second person ("You see yourself through his eyes, as THE GENERIC WOMAN, the skirted symbol on the ladies' room door"). Here, Banks writes with a faux-tough style that recalls Liz Phair: "Everywhere you go, you see women more beautiful than yourself. You imagine him being attracted to them. You're drinking gasoline to stay warm." Unlike Phair, however, Bank can't buffer her lyrical sentences with music, and the words are imaginative but awkward. It's not clear why they eventually break-up, except that his devotion is purportedly aimed at all women, not Jane specifically. I didn't quite buy it. One other minor complaint: Jane Rosenal is sometimes sitcom glib--the funny lines need a rest sometimes. (We get it, we get it, she's a witty person!). For all the excellent writing ("My devoted friend says,'I don't think you could have felt so strongly if he didn't feel the same way about you.' 'I say, "How do you feel about Jeremy Irons"'") there are a few clunkers ("It occurs to me that I may not be the only butterfly whose wings flutter in the presence of his stamen." Well, maybe you like that line.) Finally, there is the excellent title story. Hearing from a friend that she's been trying to catch a man by swimming with him, rather than fishing with a hook and bait, she buys a self-help book, "How to Meet the Man You Want and Marry Him." The two female authors, "Bonnie," and "Faith," become characters in the story, and Jane follows and argues with their advise over how to handle Robert, a (standard poodle loving!) soulmate whom she meets at a wedding. Her guides to "hunting and fishing" advise her to play hard-to-get, because men "are predatory animals who enjoy the hunt." Because of her self-doubt, Jane follows their persistent admonitions to a Pyrric victory, finding that her role-playing is about to lose her "the man I never hoped I could expect." While some reviewers have mentioned that Robert seems a bit one-dimensional, the story really belongs to Jane and her interior conversations with her "man-trapping" guides The book is witty and smart, and captures the ineffable nature of falling in and out of love. Other than the basic themes of love, commitment, and insecurities, it's not really much like "Bridget Jones." Both books are enjoyable, but this has a little more substance. A fabulous book, warm, funny, and real. Very highly recommended!
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Summary: A Laugh Out Loud Kind of Book!!!!
Review: What a hoot!!! Yes, I did use the word hoot. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is a complete joy to read. Jane Rosenthal is hilarious with her sarcastic humor. I lost track of how many times I laughed out loud when I was reading this book. I read several excerpts to my husband and he found it amusing, too. I did not want it to end and when the ending did come I was sad. I craved to be let into her life for a little bit longer. Read it and enjoy!!!!!
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Summary: A cute adaptation of young life and young love.
Review: I thought that this novel was well worth the read. It was a quick, well-executed tale of a girl and her experiences in young love and in her young life. I enjoyed the way the narrator believably grew up. It is often easy to forget the way we thought about things as teenagers, or as younger adults. Through this book you can relive the memories. While conflict isn't readily available in this novel, it is still captivating. Jane is a great character that you will understand and love. I would definitely recommend this book.
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Summary: Mr Invisible
Review: Is love like a butterfly - short-lived and with a fluttery flightpath? Heroine has various learning moments, heartbreaks, and generalised brouhaha. A nearly but not quite wonder. Perhaps the problem for me was that the early chapters, with a teenage narrator watching her brother's girlfriend, were moving and evocative, whereas as soon as she takes partners of her own then, well, it seemed like a road we've been down once or twice too often. Key weakness: Mr Right at the end is practically Mr Invisible, so lightly is he sketched, which is the perennial problem of books filled with varying degrees of Mr Wrongs.
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