Review by Arina Siaban -- The Reel Sisters
-
Arina Siaban
- Posts: 34
- Joined: 19 Oct 2019, 04:46
- Currently Reading: The Course of Empire
- Bookshelf Size: 19
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-arina-siaban.html
- Latest Review: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz
- Reading Device: B01KWX0EL4
Review by Arina Siaban -- The Reel Sisters
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Reel Sisters" by Michelle Cummings.]
A comforting, heartbreaking tale about the ordinary lives of five women and the curious activity that unites them.
Friends Sophie, Rose, Amanda, and Veronica are a tight-knight group; united by their love of fly fishing, they quickly become friends while bonding over this delightful (and generally expensive) hobby that prompts them to find new ways to deal with and analyze the problems in their lives, while teaching them to build confidence and a thick skin to face all that stands in their path.
Veronica is a converted city girl, the CEO of her own company mentoring other women leaders through the business world; Amanda is a fifth-grade teacher, often single parenting when her husband Mike is deployed abroad; Rosie is a soft-spoken old woman with a lot of peppiness to her stride and demeanor; Sophie owns her own food supply company. These four women couldn’t be more different from one another, a colorful and boisterous group of friends ranging from their early 20s to late 40s and above.
Yet as different as they show themselves —Rose is the warmhearted and playful caretaker of the group, Amanda is the responsible and creative mother, Veronica is the energetic and driven businesswoman, Sophie is the outdoorsy and unifying tether — they all have a deep connection to one another and the activity of fly fishing.
Rose owns a cabin in the woods (but not the creepy kind) of Salida, Colorado, a home she built with her now gone husband in the 60s, and in which the group now spends their free time relaxing and indulging in both the sport they love so much as well as each other’s company.
The story opens up with humor, giving a distinct voice to the narrative and introducing us to a girls’ field trip that evokes a sense of companionship and unity. These four women find their trip shaken in the best way when they rescue Melody, a freelance photographer longing to escape the strobe lights of her Denver nightlife gigs, from drowning in the river they were fishing in. Melody soon reveals herself as a great new addition to this group of irreverent ladies.
With prose that is beautiful and descriptions that are vivid, The Reel Sisters creates a safe haven for all of them, the sanctuary of their little fly fishing cove. By building a space of acceptance, freedom, and unity, the story creates an inner harmony inside all of the characters, who either use fly fishing to escape their routines or to find comfort in one another.
There’s something very candid about the way the narrative expresses the characters’ joys and miseries alongside their vulnerabilities. They all demonstrate concerns, doubts, insecurities, and fears that will deeply resonate with our own ordinary lives. It was touching to see them interact and bond over swear words and funny fly names, as well as their very personal problems. We can see they genuinely love each other and are the happiest when sharing in this activity.
Besides being a story of binding friendship between five women, it ties in elements of history and the technical processes of fly fishing, from what type of socks to wear beneath your waders, to how better mend your line before casting. Being a newbie to the sport, I was intrigued by what I’d learned: that the fishers match their flies to the seasonal bugs preferred by the fishes; that the woman who wrote the first book on fly fishing to ever be published was Dame Juliana Berners, a nun and an author from the 1400s (an unthinkable time to consider a woman author!); that fish have stomach acids that can dissolve metal. It all prompted me to research more about fly fishing and ignited my curiosity to keep reading the book.
There were also some artistic details at the beginning of each chapter and gut-wrenching plot twists that slammed right into my heart, and I loved the added details at the end providing resources for women in fly fishing and book club questions! You can really tell the author has a special connection to the sport.
As to all stories, there were some unsavory bits, such as the generalization of racial identity and the “slit my wrists” metaphor in Melody’s first chapter, which I believe is an expression that should be avoided due to its hurtful, if unintended, nature.
Ultimately though, as this was a book that resonated with me emotionally and also benefitted from expert editing, I could not rate it anything under 4 out of 4 stars.
******
The Reel Sisters
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A comforting, heartbreaking tale about the ordinary lives of five women and the curious activity that unites them.
Friends Sophie, Rose, Amanda, and Veronica are a tight-knight group; united by their love of fly fishing, they quickly become friends while bonding over this delightful (and generally expensive) hobby that prompts them to find new ways to deal with and analyze the problems in their lives, while teaching them to build confidence and a thick skin to face all that stands in their path.
Veronica is a converted city girl, the CEO of her own company mentoring other women leaders through the business world; Amanda is a fifth-grade teacher, often single parenting when her husband Mike is deployed abroad; Rosie is a soft-spoken old woman with a lot of peppiness to her stride and demeanor; Sophie owns her own food supply company. These four women couldn’t be more different from one another, a colorful and boisterous group of friends ranging from their early 20s to late 40s and above.
Yet as different as they show themselves —Rose is the warmhearted and playful caretaker of the group, Amanda is the responsible and creative mother, Veronica is the energetic and driven businesswoman, Sophie is the outdoorsy and unifying tether — they all have a deep connection to one another and the activity of fly fishing.
Rose owns a cabin in the woods (but not the creepy kind) of Salida, Colorado, a home she built with her now gone husband in the 60s, and in which the group now spends their free time relaxing and indulging in both the sport they love so much as well as each other’s company.
The story opens up with humor, giving a distinct voice to the narrative and introducing us to a girls’ field trip that evokes a sense of companionship and unity. These four women find their trip shaken in the best way when they rescue Melody, a freelance photographer longing to escape the strobe lights of her Denver nightlife gigs, from drowning in the river they were fishing in. Melody soon reveals herself as a great new addition to this group of irreverent ladies.
With prose that is beautiful and descriptions that are vivid, The Reel Sisters creates a safe haven for all of them, the sanctuary of their little fly fishing cove. By building a space of acceptance, freedom, and unity, the story creates an inner harmony inside all of the characters, who either use fly fishing to escape their routines or to find comfort in one another.
There’s something very candid about the way the narrative expresses the characters’ joys and miseries alongside their vulnerabilities. They all demonstrate concerns, doubts, insecurities, and fears that will deeply resonate with our own ordinary lives. It was touching to see them interact and bond over swear words and funny fly names, as well as their very personal problems. We can see they genuinely love each other and are the happiest when sharing in this activity.
Besides being a story of binding friendship between five women, it ties in elements of history and the technical processes of fly fishing, from what type of socks to wear beneath your waders, to how better mend your line before casting. Being a newbie to the sport, I was intrigued by what I’d learned: that the fishers match their flies to the seasonal bugs preferred by the fishes; that the woman who wrote the first book on fly fishing to ever be published was Dame Juliana Berners, a nun and an author from the 1400s (an unthinkable time to consider a woman author!); that fish have stomach acids that can dissolve metal. It all prompted me to research more about fly fishing and ignited my curiosity to keep reading the book.
There were also some artistic details at the beginning of each chapter and gut-wrenching plot twists that slammed right into my heart, and I loved the added details at the end providing resources for women in fly fishing and book club questions! You can really tell the author has a special connection to the sport.
As to all stories, there were some unsavory bits, such as the generalization of racial identity and the “slit my wrists” metaphor in Melody’s first chapter, which I believe is an expression that should be avoided due to its hurtful, if unintended, nature.
Ultimately though, as this was a book that resonated with me emotionally and also benefitted from expert editing, I could not rate it anything under 4 out of 4 stars.
******
The Reel Sisters
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
