Bank’s first book is often cited as kick starting the “Chick Lit” trend, with an emphasis on “Lit”. Her debut in 1999 was refreshing, touching, witty and wise. The long awaited follow-up may come as a disappointment to many fans.tLike Girl’s Guide, The Wonder Spot challenges definition. It is not exactly a novel, but not simply a collection of short stories. Each story -- and there are seven here -- could stand on its own. The stories compiled here are connected by the same narrator and often refer back to previous stories in the collection. In the first story, she is a socially awkward twelve-year-old; in the second story, she is a freshman at college. The shift in time is not jarring -- the narrator has not changed all that much and the reader trusts that nothing truly important has been left out.tIn The Wonder Spot, we meet Sophie Applebaum: an insecure, directionless serial dater. We look on as she wears out her welcome with several room mates, struggles to find a career path, and tries to fashion each man she meets into a soul mate, failing at it differently each time. Like the stories from Girl’s Guide, these stories read like autobiography packaged as fiction. However, Sophie is not as charming and relatable as Jane was. Sophie is not even as interesting as the other characters in The Wonder Spot: her perpetually mysterious older brother, her beautiful college room mate with the tortured love life, her best friend from childhood who seems to know her better than Sophie knows herself (although this does not seem to be reciprocal). In fact, the real irony of Sophie Applebaum is how little self-knowledge she acquires while being so utterly self-involved. tBank’s has the ability to tell a story and make it feel like it really happened. Her characters seem so familiar they could be people you know, they could even be you. However, the believability of these stories approaches the mundane. She relates petty arguments and office politics, conversations with men that eventually lead nowhere, anecdotes that might interest her girlfriends, but are otherwise of small significance. It seems Bank already told the stories that were truly worth telling and now she has resorted to telling the rest: the one where she almost gets in trouble during Hebrew class, the one where she almost gets fired, the one where she almost falls in love. These stories are the leftovers, the scraps. Trying to make a meal out of them proves difficult and ultimately unsatisfying. tThe Wonder Spot reads like background for a more compelling story. It is so well written that the reader takes for granted that the point of the story will become evident at any moment. It seems always to be on the horizon. When one story finishes with loose ends and confusion, the following story assumes the burden. It is entertaining and believable; the characters are interesting and likable; it is peppered throughout with truly original and downright hilarious insights. The lack of plot is temporarily forgotten, nearly irrelevant. All along, the reader is sure that the end will give meaning to the preceding 300-some-odd pages. But meaning never comes.tThe Wonder Spot is a quick, enjoyable read. But it is not particularly rewarding or meaningful. Readers looking for quality fiction would be better off rereading The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing -- a book that was deserving of all the hype it got.
The Wonder Spot was a mostly enjoyable read. It was full of humor and captivating characters that drew me in and made it difficult to put down. The book highlights a series of memorable, character-shaping experiences throughout the life of Sophie Applebaum. Through these snippets, the reader follows Sophie on her quest to discover her place in the world and find contentment in her career and love life. Sophie is a very relatable character: she experiences awkward moments, friction between herself and friends and family, and frustration in her attempts to find a job she loves and a man that is right for her. All throughout, she manages to maintain a wonderful sense of humor (there are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments in here), and inner strength as she stands up to people and situations that hold her back. The ending was a little disappointing, as it seemed vague and abrupt, but I still get the sense that Sophie had matured and and found contentment through learning to enjoy the moment that she is in.My major complaint with the book was that it was choppy. I feel the author's idea was to present short stories of Sophie's critical life experiences, which I liked, but for me, it lacked a little bit of necessary segue. New characters would appear suddenly, and other characters would disappear, leaving me wondering what had become of them. At other times, the author would try to tie in a reference from an earlier chapter to a later chapter, but rather than providing context, these references just seemed clumsy. I would have liked if each chapter came together a little more concisely, so that I knew which people were gone from Sophie's life, and which remained. It would have been helpful to have a little clearer idea of how much time had passed in between chapters, as well.The Wonder Spot is definitely not a fairy tale. Sophie doesn't end up having everything she wants come to her. This is a point that she herself makes late in the book- happiness doesn't fall in her lap, and she doesn't have any grand revelations of what or who she should "be". To me, that is exactly what made it so compelling. Sophie seems like she could be a real person, facing real uncertainties, and I believe many readers can find something about her with which they can identify.
What do You think about The Wonder Spot (2006)?
The elusive Melissa Bank is such an amusing writer, it is hard to believe that she hasn't published a book since this 2006 collection of novella-length stories. All focus on Sophie Applebaum, whose love affairs, career options and friendships are never quite right. Some of the incidents covered are: improving her typing skills (on an IBM Selectric!)to get a better job and moving in with her grandmother and then with an older brother. She has parents that she enjoys being with, interesting friends and even more interesting boyfriends. All these themes drive the stories. Bank's strength is her wit and close observations of life in Manhattan. A thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.
—Iva
Whoever said those who were mediocre and middle class might like this was apparently right. I'm presumed to be both, and I think Melissa Bank has the best handle on the three-dimensional reality of being a single woman of anyone writing about "bachelorettes" today. Her protagonist has strong family relationships, complex friendships, moves through serious career changes, goes to school more than once, and gets beyond herself to examine others who have the same set of life's trials and tribulations. All without any mention of Bloomingdales, Manolo Blahnik or any of the other cliches of normal chick-lit set in Manhattan. She even gets her character to exotic locales like Williamsburg (VA, even, beyond Brooklyn!) and Pennsylvania. Well worth the backache of 10.5 hours in the studio listening to the author read this.
—Alison
This book was terrible! Several years ago I read "The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing." And was excited when this one came out.Our protagonist is a girl named Sophie who is in BAD need of anti-depressants or a therapist or something. Everything she does is sad and depressing, and everyone around her is sad and depressing. She is good and nothing, appreciates nothing and no one. Also, the story is told in little vignettes...so nothing is ever finished. She's having problems at work, awe, but the the next stage is introduced to her life and that's over. How did it end? Too bad? You'll never know.At some point, her beloved father dies. How did that affect her? Who knows? It's mentioned only in irritated passing.Yuck, yuck and yuck! If I could give it less then a star I would. I gave up after 200 some pages knowing it just wasn't going to turn around. I am only alive for so long on this planet...
—Angeld01
