ARA Review by hesscr of The Reel Sisters

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hesscr
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ARA Review by hesscr of The Reel Sisters

Post by hesscr »

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Reel Sisters.]
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4 out of 5 stars
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In her debut novel, The Reel Sisters, author Michelle Cummings creates an entertaining and inspirational look at sisterhood, not of blood but rather of friends who share a love of fly fishing. The novel follows the lives of five very different women: Sophie, a Kansas farm girl who moves to Colorado to start a greenhouse and nursery business; Veronica, a Denver city girl who conducts team-building classes and leadership seminars to help women climb the corporate ladder; Amanda, a teacher with two kids and a husband serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan; Rose, a widow whose cabin is center to the group’s fly-fishing getaways; and Melody, the newest and youngest member of the group who meets the others in the most unusual of circumstances. During the course of the novel these women share their lives, heartaches, accomplishments, and failures as only “reel “sisters can.

This is very much a character-driven story, as each character narrates in alternating chapters - a style which allows the reader to learn about the personalities and backgrounds of each in a kind of slow reveal. This style mostly worked well for me, since each character was sympathetically drawn, though at times I thought the overall story might have benefitted from a more central conflict rather than five storylines that interconnect, much like a soap opera does. Some storylines - for instance, Sophie’s yearning for love and Melody’s striving for independence - interested me more than others, making the book a somewhat uneven read.

Still, the author’s love and knowledge of fly-fishing shines throughout The Reel Sisters. My only previous knowledge of the sport comes from one of my favorite films, A River Runs Through It, which the author references a number of times. Like the film, the novel captures the appeal of the sport with such beautiful imagery that I found myself wondering whether I might learn to fly fish too. The author also includes wonderful quotations from fly-fisherwomen (and men) to introduce each section, such as the following quote from Joan Wulff:

“A perfect cast is a thing of beauty, It is like a note of music extended and held. In all other sports, the moment of impact separates you from the very thing you are projecting in beautiful flight - but the execution of the perfect cast can be seen and felt from its inception until the fly touches down on the water.”

In addition to some lovely language, the book also captures the raw humor of women simply having fun without men around to complicate things. The numerous sly asides and catty comments rang very true and showed the sisterly give-and-take that I recognize from my own friendships. The book is genuinely funny. Even so, I thought the author often overused dialogue, even including long phone and text exchanges that added little to the story and could have been easily paraphrased.

Despite some minor issues, I wholeheartedly recommend this book, especially for those readers who enjoy contemporary fiction about feisty ladies. In fact, it reminds me of the movie, Steel Magnolias. It has the same type of humor, affection for its characters, and mix of comedy and tragedy. If you loved that movie, you are sure to enjoy reading The Reel Sisters.

4 out of 5 stars: I really liked the book, though I found some minor problems with dialogue and plot.

***
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Marsha JJ
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Post by Marsha JJ »

I read this book as well and really enjoyed it. I think your review does a great job of capturing the essence of the book, and I also enjoyed learning more about fly fishing and am now intrigued to try it.
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