Customer Reviews

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

5 star:		(202)
4 star:		(162)
3 star:		(97)
2 star:		(74)
1 star:		(74)

 

 

I decided to write a review of this book last night when I finished it because everyone should be privy to such a warm laugh-out-loud book such as this one. I was surprised to see the number of bad reviews! I was sure the Girl's Guide would have received an across the board 5 stars! Then I read the bad ones. Ok, first of all - this book is actually a collection of short stories. The author never intended for it to be perceived as a single themed novel. Second - interchanging first person/third person is perfectly acceptable for a collection of short stories AND gives them texture. Third - the protagonist, Jane, is not the author. Finally - she (Jane) is absolutely hilarious! Therefore, so is the author (Melissa Bank.)

This book deals with the all too familiar issues of coming of age as a woman in an increasingly complicated world. It deals with family issues, relationship issues, breast cancer, career, friends etc. The book is simultaneously thought provoking and highly readable. At first it seems like a Bridget Jones style light read. When you re-visit the stories about Jane, you realize how much deeper they go into the complexities of balancing all facets of life - family with relationships with jobs and how each facet is intertwined. I also enjoyed the fact that Jane's inner voice is part of her character -the inner voice in all of us that we either stifle or listen to. Part of growing up is learning to listen to that voice, and that's what Jane does. READ IT! You won't regret it. Hopefully when you finish it, like me you'll feel an overwhelming sadness that it's over.

I am not a Harvard graduate nor am I a soap opera fanatic. I am left wondering if the people who hated this book could not see past the use of simple words. To me, the thoughts and ideas put forward by Melissa Banks were effectively understated. Rather than being bombarded by overly descriptive prose, I was powerfully affected by the use of direct and succinct language. This conveyed to me the message that some situations in life are so profound, so comical, so unique, that just stating them as they are is enough. Flowery language and overly clever manipulation of words can often make the reader feel like the author doesn't have anything very interesting to say. Simple writing does not equal simple minds, and it is very narrow minded and unimaginative to see it as so. Living in London, I managed to avoid the "hype" that has been so lamented in other reviews. I picked up this book because the cover looked appealing, and once I started reading it, I was intrigued. I admit that at first I thought it would be a light read, but I quickly discovered that this book also dealt with life issues that seem mundane but are often very telling. Again, I am not a literary genius, but as an avid book reader, I do recommend this book.

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!

Just finished the "Girl's Guide..." last night. I can honestly say it was one of the best books I've recently read. I was impressed that the seven short stories all featured the same central character (with one notable exception). I'm trying to figure out how anyone could finish the book and NOT identify with Jane. I finished it and kept hoping I would find more pages to continue with. Even despite the inserted story which does not feature Jane, (which is in no way a bad story, although I agree with complants as to it's incongruity) the rest of the book is skillfully written. From a teenager, un-sure of her self and frightened by her brother's failure in love, to a twenty-something woman in a relationship with a man twice her age, to the Jane at the end of the last story, the reader witnesses her transformation and maturation every step of the way. I would say that only the truly cynical reader would not identify or care about the central character and complaints about one incongruous story do not do justice to the other 220 pages of the book which are head and shoulders above the rest of the literary world. 5 Stars...an instant classic.

I can't say enough about this book. Read it in 3 days. It's fabulous. I'm pretty picky about books and tend to stay away from anything that's too cheesy or drama-ridden, or books where the main character is angst-ridden and rambling on and on for pages. This book looks like it could go there, but in fact fabulously suprised me. Jane's perspecitve and humor about life and the sometimes clueless and insecure search for love mimics the conversations that are carried on in the bar with your friends right before it gets busy for the night. The meaningful things, the stupid things, the silly things, the conversations you're not sure whether to laugh or cry about- that's what this book is about. It's funny and it's sad. It's dry and witty and heartfelt (but not that cheesy remember!). Jane's personality shines through- and while she does allow her insecurities to be a bit glaring at times, it doesn't make her seem winey or weak. It makes her seem even more like an everyday-just-like-you-and-me character- which is why she is so great, so funny, and so easy to identify with. READ THIS BOOK- you WILL NOT be disappointed.

What are we missing? Scratching the surface, but never had any depth. Who is coming of age in THIS America? In this book club of 30 - somethings we found very little to relate to. Jane never found, or even looked for, herself. We looked for her"self" as well. It's amazing what a good title, a Fargo-esque cover, and glowing big name reviews can do. Jane was very passive and accepting of what came to her. She may have been fishing but it was in a very shallow fishing hole. Melissa Banks offered us no real insight into who Jane was, how she felt, or what she wanted. The only time there was a hope of a connection with Jane was in the first chapter. Whatever happened to teenage Jane?

I am only 16...soon to be 17, but i really feel that this book offered some knowledge to a world which i have yet to experience. The quest of the main character, Jane, is a story we all know, but with its own unique twist. It is easy to connect with Jane, and the novel's title, because in our hearts we are all hunting for that perfect person and then trying to reel them in the best we know how to. I enjoyed this book so much because it was so easy to relate to and the dialogue and action in the book kept me interested throughout the whole entire story. Overall, this book is a perfect example of a girl coming of age, and finding out how to love another and receive that love back. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. I am sure everyone will be able to connect to the story in one way or another.

Readers should not pick up this book with the expectation that it is a novel. Rather, it is a collection of short stories that were previously published elsewhere - and an exceedingly slim collection it is, consisting of but seven short tales. Because six of the seven concern the same heroine at various stages of her life, the seventh and middle story, dealing with another family and another set of relationships altogether, struck me as filler designed to stretch the collection to something approximating book length. The six stories of the one heroine show her from a young adolescent, where she tries to understand her brother's relationship with his girlfriend, to trying times in her own adulthood, where she tries to deal with a difficult boss, the loss of her father, and various disappointing boyfriends, young and older, until she at last lets down her guard with one who meshes with her.
Readers seeking good entertainment will enjoy this book. Melissa Bank has a gift for writing, and particularly for writing funny dialogue. She also has a winning way with the turn of a phrase. Considering the percentage of books written today that are sodden and dull, that is a very big plus indeed. If ever there were an undemanding, pleasant little beach book, this is it. You can easily polish it off in two sittings and go to sleep laughing in remembrance at the dialogue.
Short story writing is a distinct art, and each of the stories in this volume can, and should, stand on its own. They look at life in a specific here-and now, from the standpoint of the longings and maturity conveyed by the accumulation of experiences of the narrator up to that point. A problem arises, however, because six of the stories purport to take a single heroine from about age fourteen to her mid-thirties, but six shorts simply are not enough to flesh out a life over that span of time. Such a small grouping can give you but fleeting glimmers of the character, however good those glimmers are. A more effective device, it seems to me, would have been to show life at different stages in a woman's life, as seen from the perspective of different heroines. Doing this would have let the reader focus more fully on the situations, without being distracted by disconnected snapshots of the one character Bank chose to be her heroine.
I was at a loss when it came to rating this book. I entirely applaud Bank's writing ability. But at the same time, I wished for either a variety of characters to make their dilemmas unique, or for a more subtle and panoramic view of her one character. In confusion, I came down in the middle. A strong C-plus.

Having recently found myself in the position of having an abundance of time and a shortage of cash, I have started to re-read the books I already own and so had the happy accident of rediscovering 2 books which are both improved by each other's company.

The Girl's Guide... is short, sweet, witty and to the point. I wish Ms. Bank had spent more time with adolescent Jane but overall the book had depth in it's brevity and a surprising sympathy for the male characters (not always present in "girl fiction").
The "unrelated middle chapter" that has been much critisized did not jar me as much as it has some readers because, be honest, who hasn't peeked out their windows at the neighbors and wondered "Why can't my life just be normal like theirs?" This glimpse of the neighbor's reality emphasises that Jane's on the right track to having a "normal" life even if she doesn't know it yet.

The perfect companion book for this is "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby. Read them together for a terrific he said-she said look at what it means to grow up emotionally and get over past mistakes. Read them both also for the witty quips that you can file away and pass off as your own at the next appropriate moment. That's what I'm going to do!

Some of the reviews I read here remind me of a line from Oliver Stone's movie, The Doors -- "You people have to have your art spoon fed to you". The style was innovative, but easy to follow, and I never felt distracted by it. As for Jane, the story's protagonist, I laughed with her, cried with her, cheered for her and was, at times, disappointed in her. Which made her real. As opposed to the flawless heroine that some of the readers seemed to be looking for. Is this Pulitzer Prize winning literature? No. Is it a good read? Very much so.