As it explores the life lessons of Jane, the contemporary American Everywoman--who combines the charm of Bridget Jones, the vulnerability of Ally McBeal, and the wit of Lorrie Moore--"The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing" offers wise, poignant, and laugh-out-loud insight.
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As it explores the life lessons of Jane, the contemporary American Everywoman--who combines the charm of Bridget Jones, the vulnerability of Ally McBeal, and the wit of Lorrie Moore--"The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing" offers wise, poignant, and laugh-out-loud insight.
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Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $0.99, good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Group.
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Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.01, very good condition, Sold by Giant Giant rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reston, VA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Books.
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UsedVeryGood. Size: 5x0x7; Very Good condition. Crisp pages. Clean cover and pages. Book shows minimal shelf wear. No highlighting/marking. Not Satisfied? Contact us to get a refund.
Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.22, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Books.
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Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.28, good condition, Sold by Books For Life rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Laurel, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Books.
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Book is in good condition. Minimal signs of wear. It May have markings or highlights but kept to only a few pages. May not come with supplemental materials if applicable.
Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.43, good condition, Sold by OnlineGoodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Nashville, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Group.
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Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are solid. the cover is intact, but may show scuffs or light creases, as well as a possible rolled corner. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, The former owner may have written their name inside the front or back cover.
Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.50, fair condition, Sold by Goodbookscafe rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Macon, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Group.
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Fair. The cover shows heavy wear. The cover has curled corners. The pages show normal wear and tear. This book is in Acceptable condition. The cover and spine are solid, though they do show visible wear. The interior pages are useable though worn, and include limited markings or highlighting with curled corners to be expected. The previous owner may have put their name in the inside front cover. No additional materials such as disks or codes are included. Fast Shipping-Safe and Secure Bubble Mailer!
Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.72, good condition, Sold by Giant Giant rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reston, VA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Books.
Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.75, very good condition, Sold by The Maryland Book Bank rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from baltimore, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Group.
Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.78, good condition, Sold by Once Upon A Time Books rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tontitown, AR, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Books.
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This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear. This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear.
Add this copy of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing to cart. $1.78, fair condition, Sold by Once Upon A Time Books rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tontitown, AR, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Penguin Books.
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Fair. This is a used book. It may contain highlighting/underlining and/or the book may show heavier signs of wear. It may also be ex-library or without dustjacket. This is a used book. It may contain highlighting/underlining and/or the book may show heavier signs of wear. It may also be ex-library or without dustjacket.
Packing up some books I came across The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank. I gazed at it in wonder because, as far as I know, it made its way onto my shelves entirely of its own volition. I have no memory of purchasing it, borrowing it, stealing it, or having received it as a gift. Tired from climbing up and down the step ladder, covered with dust, irritable at having to put my books in storage, if only for a while, I looked upon it as a sign, a message from the universe that I should take a break, and I did so immediately.
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is designated as "Chick-Lit." I hate designations generally (after you've said fiction or non-fiction, either it's good writing or it's bad writing), but "Chick-Lit" especially seems so condescending and vaguely contemptuous, as if "chicks" had to have special books written for them with small words, short sentences, and large font. "Ah, those brainless little sex objects, bless their hearts; here's a simple little book to keep them busy and away from the shoe stores for a while." I mean, come on, is there a "Beefcake" genre? (Please don't answer that. I don't want to know.)
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is a loosely connected sequence of short stories that cover the range of a girl's life from fourteen to an unstated age (which we can guess at precisely because it's unstated) as she tries to come to grips with what love is and should be for her. Like so many of us, she makes one disastrous mistake after another over the years before she stumbles into a healthy relationship, and it is that process that links the stories. It is not quite a novel, but the linked stories make it a sort of novel in the way that Jack Schaeffer's Monte Walsh was. (That's Manly-Cowboy fiction, for you genre addicts.)
But describing the book this way trivializes it. Romeo and Juliet can be summarized as "Chick-Lit, sub-genre, Boy-Meets-Girl," but in Shakespeare's hands, the story becomes a trifle more interesting than that. In Melissa Bank's hands, Jane and her family and eventually her lovers become, if not as majestic and heroic as the Montagues and the Capulets, very real and specific people in specific places at a specific time, which is another way of saying universal. The very first story in the collection introduces us to Jane as a fourteen-year-old, and in Melissa Bank's hands, Jane becomes as awkwardly and sardonically real for the advent of the twenty-first century as Holden Caulfield was for the middle of the twentieth. And it was that intelligent and perceptive adolescent girl who remained with me throughout the other stories; she may have aged and gotten smarter (and funnier), but she was still Jane trying to make sense of her brother's choice of girlfriend, still Jane trying to get along with a boss without getting squashed by the same, still Jane trying to reconcile the men in her life with her idea of love. It's what we all do, on both sides of the sexual border.
Melissa Bank's writing is lean and compelling and very funny. I'm only giving the book four stars because I found one story to be jarringly out of place; not in style or tone, but because it was told from another person's point of view, and that jarred me out of the flow of the book. But if all "Chick-Lit" is as good as The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, then count me in as a brainless little sex object.
faithanns
Dec 9, 2008
Read this!
This is one of my favorite books. It is funny and emotional, and also very very addicting! I could not put it down. I recommend this book to people who love witty, love stories with great humor.
