The Reel Sisters and Their Men

Use this forum to discuss the February 2018 Book of the Month, "The Reel Sisters" by Michelle Cummings.
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Gerry_9
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Re: The Reel Sisters and Their Men

Post by Gerry_9 »

I think the author was targeting to showcase women as independent people by sidelining men. The book was centered around friendship among the four women therefore it had to be girlish for the author to achieve her objective.
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Post by londonmartine »

Jeyasivananth wrote: 19 Feb 2018, 09:31 The book is explicitly gynocentric celebrating the female bonds and women as a natural nurturer. The male characters are all relegated to the periphery merely functioning as appendages to the central characters. In fact, in a very subtle way the author champions gender fluidity in the characters of Thatcher who dons the role of a chef and a homemaker to a globetrotting entrepreneur spouse and Mike who is now forced to don the role of a single parent. This is a conscious reversal of the traditional male gender roles. The negation of gender stereotyping in reiterated in a casual conversation between the characters to remove the suffix man from the word ‘fisherman’ and thereby neutralize the gender associations. The reference to Dame Julianna Berners who wrote a book on fish flying in the 1400 in the mans world and claiming that women have better listening, patience and observation to fly fish better than men all seem to allude or call for a change in the world around us from being too androcentric.
Wow. Yes. Great observations, well expressed! I've not read this book but I am always interested in stories that convincingly switch gender roles, and manage not to make it seem too "so there!".
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Post by MollyEnter »

bookowlie wrote: 25 Feb 2018, 10:41
CatInTheHat wrote: 23 Feb 2018, 17:55 I feel like the men had a reason to be there, but if they were given greater roles in the story, it would have diminished the essence of the story, the women's friendships.
You make a good point. It's always a balancing act for an author to keep some characters in the background so the main premise is not watered down. In this case, it would have probably taken the plot even more off track if the men had been featured more, since there were already five main characters!
I totally agree with many here, although, Thatcher was a little too perfect. Maybe if the author had been able to give us a little more on him, I would have hated Veronica less.
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Post by Jeyasivananth »

londonmartine wrote: 21 Mar 2018, 04:21
Jeyasivananth wrote: 19 Feb 2018, 09:31 The book is explicitly gynocentric celebrating the female bonds and women as a natural nurturer. The male characters are all relegated to the periphery merely functioning as appendages to the central characters. In fact, in a very subtle way the author champions gender fluidity in the characters of Thatcher who dons the role of a chef and a homemaker to a globetrotting entrepreneur spouse and Mike who is now forced to don the role of a single parent. This is a conscious reversal of the traditional male gender roles. The negation of gender stereotyping in reiterated in a casual conversation between the characters to remove the suffix man from the word ‘fisherman’ and thereby neutralize the gender associations. The reference to Dame Julianna Berners who wrote a book on fish flying in the 1400 in the mans world and claiming that women have better listening, patience and observation to fly fish better than men all seem to allude or call for a change in the world around us from being too androcentric.


Wow. Yes. Great observations, well expressed! I've not read this book but I am always interested in stories that convincingly switch gender roles, and manage not to make it seem too "so there!".
I am glad you agree. And yes, implicit portrayals have their unique charm.
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Post by michmc3 »

It has been fun to read through all of your comments. Thanks for some great dialog about The Reel Sisters! ~Michelle Cummings
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Post by zilizopita1998 »

Women are the pillar that supports this story.
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Post by folkshot »

It's interesting to have a story centered on women with the men having a limited impact. Reminds me of Ya Ya Sisterhood in that respect.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

Without the men I am sure the story would have changed a bit. The main characters being women and the men being given supportive roles does not make it less interesting but some other books do it the other way round.
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Post by Jamasenu »

Miriam Molina wrote: 17 Feb 2018, 23:40 One can say that this is a woman's book. The author is a lady, the main characters are all girls, and even the dog is a she. Do you think it was a good strategy to give the men only supporting roles?

Who among the men (fathers, husbands, exes and boyfriends) had the most impact? Would the story have been the same without men in the picture?
The story was about the women and not the men. It brought a reality to focus that women need to get together sometimes, not to male bash but to support each other, relax, take a break from the hectic world we live in. It's great they had supportive men but their role in the book was menial but gave credence to the story.
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Post by lisabrowne »

this is a good book. all about women and power.
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Post by Alex Hughes »

I think it would have been a better book if the men were left out of it completely. The entire characters revolves around women, the women now over power the men. I think thats why its Unique and interesting.
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Post by Amondi Oluoch »

It's a rare kind of story. I think it tries to show just how independent women can be. Leaving our men on the book would have brought an effect, Sophie's entire character arc revolves around finding a man.
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Post by JR Mercier »

I think we so many books and movies where the men are the main characters and the woman are the add on's so this change of pace was really nice.
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Post by Manang Muyang »

Yes, let's celebrate muliebrity!
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Post by michmc3 »

MollyEnter wrote: 21 Mar 2018, 07:32
bookowlie wrote: 25 Feb 2018, 10:41
CatInTheHat wrote: 23 Feb 2018, 17:55 I feel like the men had a reason to be there, but if they were given greater roles in the story, it would have diminished the essence of the story, the women's friendships.
You make a good point. It's always a balancing act for an author to keep some characters in the background so the main premise is not watered down. In this case, it would have probably taken the plot even more off track if the men had been featured more, since there were already five main characters!
I totally agree with many here, although, Thatcher was a little too perfect. Maybe if the author had been able to give us a little more on him, I would have hated Veronica less.
Haha. This made me giggle. Just wait to see what happens with Veronica and Thatcher in the sequel! I agree, their lives were a little too perfect in this story... There's a storm brewing! ~Michelle Cummings
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