The Wonder Spot - Melissa Bank

Years ago, I read and enjoyed Bank's collection of short stories, The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing. While I do not remember what any of those stories were about, my lasting impression of Bank is that her writing was easy and that her characters were clever. The Wonder Spot achieves the same lasting result. This is the story of Sophie Applebaum, a mediocre student, hoping for something more but not quite motivated to obtain it. The separate chapters of the novel are themselves like individual short stories - connected only because they feature the same main character. The book spans from Sophie's adolescence enduring Hebrew school until her almost 40s. The stories focus heavily on Sophie's relationships with men - but provide a much broader commentary on personal relationships in general as Sophie observes her perfect younger brother's union with an Orthodox Jew, and her flaky older brother's meaningless flings. Sophie also has difficult friendships with women - yearning as a child to be viewed as popular, and in later life unsure what she should be forced to give up for acceptance. While Sophie is not the brightest or most insightful individual, she is full of saracasm and wit - probably somewhat of a charater flaw in her ability to understand others. The Wonder Spot won't leave you with much to ponder in the end, but it is an enjoyable read with a satisfying end.