The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (Melissa Bank)

Genre: Short stories
Year Published: 1999

Once upon a time, back in the magical land of college, I had a writing class requirement to get out of the way, so I spoke to my friend, who was the student representative of the creative writing department (as well as a highly regarded poet in her home country of India, but that's another story for another time). I asked her, "Do you think I should enroll in a short-story class, or a poetry class?"

And that wise girl told me, "Poetry. Short-story classes are full of girls who write about sitting in cafés and smoking cigarettes while they discuss their failed relationships."

I took her advice, and I was privileged enough to study and write modern poetry under the auspices of a very accomplished poet. I believe that class changed my life.

But enough about me (at least for the time being). The relevant information in that story, as you've probably guessed, was her remark about the type of material that surfaces in short-story classes. And that, I'm afraid, is what I have to take Melissa Bank to task for.

The Girls' Guide is not poorly written. Some of Bank's turns of phrase and stylistic choices are very well done. Her characterizations are on the nose, and the stories never drag. But at the end of each story, the smoke clears and you realize all Bank has given you is yet another cigarette-filled tale of relationship woe, punctuated by pithy realizations and dry wit.

The protagonist of the book is Jane Rosenal, who is the narrator and main character of almost all of the stories (which can be read as a whole in this book or individually). Her life seems to be permeated by the drifting uncertainty of the quintessential young adult, but with none of the associated passion. Jane is not political; Jane is not ambitious; Jane doesn't seem to give a damn about anyone or anything that's not just under her nose. She is well-read but not cultured; she is blithely upper-class without acknowledging it; she is endlessly introspective without much to show for it. In short, Jane is exactly the sort of character (or author) that my friend was warning me about years ago when I had to decide which writing class to take. Her voice and perspective make The Girls' Guide interesting at first, repetitive in the middle, and irritating towards the end.

Melissa Bank is certainly not a hopeless writer. I think she has a unique voice and an understanding of humor that's rare. But I think she needs to do a few things: one, to branch out to stories that aren't so similarly themed; and two, to ease up on her reliance on Weighty Realizations that no one ever has. (For example: "It occurred to me that if I really had grown up I wouldn't want to be told" and "I realize we sound like strangers who happen to be staying at the same hotel.") My aforementioned poetry professor was fond of forcing people to write poems about love without using words like "love" or "heart" or "soul"; I think if Bank could learn to write stories of people realizing things about themselves without constantly, explicitly referencing their realizations, she'd be on the road to better writing.

Recommended? Not so much. If someone recommends a certain story within the book, ask to borrow their copy just to read that one story. Taken individually, you might be able to get more out of them.