THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS

AivtILLE

FATEFUL ENCOUNTER

Clueless In
Manhattan

OCTOBER 9.2005 — FEBRUARY 5. 2006

Romeo & Juliet.
Antony ST- Cleopatra.
Rodin fS7,_ Claude!.

Melissa Bank's new novel traces
a young woman's search for
a meaningful life.

Diana Lieberman

Special to the Jewish News

n the 40 years since Betty
Friedan wrote The Feminine
Mystique, educated young
women have internalized the
message of female self-determi-
nation — that they alone are
responsible for their own fulfill-
ment as human beings, rather
than living life vicariously
through husbands and children.
But what if you have no partic-
ular passion, can't type and come
from a loving family whose arms
you can fall into after every fail-
ure?
This is the situation faced by
the always game but frequently
frustrated Sophie Applebaum in
The Wonder Spot (Viking;
$24.95), the new novel by Melissa
Bank.
Bank, who burst on the literary
scene six years ago with The
Girls' Guide to Hunting and
Fishing takes the reader through
25 years of Sophie's life, in eight
anxiety-filled episodes.
We first find the smart-
mouthed 12-year-old Sophie at
the bat mitzvah of a wealthy
cousin on Long Island. An under-
achiever with two talented broth-
ers, she feels awkward, poorly
dressed and out of place. To her
horror, she learns that its time to
cram for her own bat mitzvah.
Sophie is next seen at the fic-
tional Rogers University, a "not-
very-good school in Klondike,
New York:' where she promptly
becomes a social underachiever,
at least compared to her glam-
orous and eccentric roommate.
As a college graduate, Sophie
braves the Manhattan job market
with a degree in English and a
typing speed of nine words per
minute.
Three hundred pages later, she
still feels out of place, after a

I

October 27 2005

Among the world's
greatest love affairs,
theirs is the only
one carved in stone.

seemingly endless succession of
jobs and boyfriends.
"I was going from career to
career, and I wouldn't stop until I
found one I lover Sophie wor-
ries."I was going to be the career
version of a serial monogamist!'
These are situations ripe for
one-liners. Yet a vein of sorrow
keeps The Wonder Spot from
degenerating into a series of
pratfalls and comic misunder-
standings.
Unlike many novels of young
women in the big city, this one
does not end with the promise of
marriage and children, or even a
stable career. As Sophie lurches
toward maturity, she begins to
realize there is no one perfect
job, no one perfect man. The best
she can hope for is a shining
moment here and there — the
wonder spot.

For tickets call

1.877.DIA.TIXS

or visit dia.org

DIA membership

313.833.7971

ONLY
U.S.
VENUE

SPONSORED BY

DAIMLERCHRYSLER

DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund

Exhibition organired by N1usCe national des beaux-._r*, du Qudvc. in Ouebec City. ttith Musee Rodin in Paris.
In I)ctroit. the exhibition ha. been made posiihk by a gcnerou. grant from the DainderChry.ler Corporation Fund.
Addition,t1 .rapport provided by the Michigan Council it, Arts and Cultural Affair. and the City of Detroit.

[H A

Emotional Account

"I do think there's sadness in
the book; Bank said in a recent
e-mail interview."It isn't easy for
Sophie — but I certainly didn't
mean for the book to be at all
depressing. After all, Sophie's
funny, she's dogged in her search,
and she's very hopeful, too."
Much of The Wonder Spot is
autobiographical, Bank said, "not
necessarily factually, but emo-
tionally!'
"And when I'm writing I can
become so involved in a charac-
ter that I feel like we're one and
the same. It may be something
like an actor and a role. Even
what's pure invention feels auto-
biographical, because, as I wrote,
I experienced everything she
went through!"
Like Sophie, Bank grew up in a
suburb of Philadelphia. The

Clueless on page 64

Camille Claudel. Vertumnus and Pomona. 1405. Marble. Musee Rodin. Paris.
Photo: Must:'e Rodin! Erick and Petra liemerg

ou wiN?

711C

aca

5200 'Woodward Ave. I Detroit dia.org

The most beautiful
and best Sushi and Hibachi Steak House!

r

10% OFF
Total Bill

I

Expires: 11/30/05
Cannot combine with any other offer

MIMI

L---

Sushi & Hibachi
www.samuraisteakhousemi.com

L

248-661-8898 • Fax 248-661-8828

U,

• 411,•

MD III

■

SAMORAI

STEA.KHOOSE

14 Mile

1-696

=I

$15 OFF
!Birthday Mea

Japanese Steak House

EF

RIM

Show ID - minimum 6 persons
$120 purchase - Expires: 11/30/05

MN MEI

11

College Football Saturdags
NFL Sandals .

7390 Rugger Road wE 1Mlle
West Bloomfield, Michigan

Mon-Sat Lunch 11-3 pm • Mon-Thur Dinner 4:30-10 pm
Fri & Sat Dinner 4:30-11 pm • Sunday 4-10 pm
Coupons cannot be combined

1040930

63

