Book Reviews

The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank

I liked this book. As far as I was able to discern, the story has no plot. That's not to say it's not entertaining. Once I started it, I did not want to put it down. Bank has a wonderful way with words and it got so I was almost looking for lovely or clever phrases. More than that, her characters are real. They may be a bit too real for some, in that their lives simply are and do not seem to have a point. I liked them, however.

Sophie, the narrator, seems so much like so many women I have known, taking life as it comes, trying to make sense of it and not having any really profound revelations. We watch her grow and come into her own sense of being. Her brothers aren't a whole lot unlike my own. It isn't the specific actions or events, or even the personalities, but the interaction between the siblings that I related to. Ultimately, I found myself considering how different events in my own life are from Sophie's and wondering how other women relate to to her. In a way it's a literary equivalent of a '50s-'60's coffee klatch, where women share their everyday lives.

If you're not fond of "literary" books, if you need fast paced action, you probably won't like this book. If you appreciate writing style, like getting to know characters, even though nothing remarkable happens to them, you will definitely enjoy this book.