Throw Like a Girl

It's disheartening to read reviews of a gifted writer and see the word "depressing" applied to her work. And why should stories about women have to be about "phenomenal" women, as another reviewer seems to require? (This sounds suspiciously like the demand parents these days make of children: to be "phenomenal" children--why?) If I want to read about a perfect, loving, giving, highly functioning woman, I will read a Hallmark mother's day card. These stories are about women we might know; they're about women we might be. This is the first book of stories by Jean Thompson that I've read. I'll definitely read more. Thompson is looking into the hearts, minds, and souls of girls and women, and she's good enough and patient enough and generous enough to share with us what she's finding as she goes about her search.

After being asked what she wanted for her readers to take away from Throw Like a Girl, Jean Thompson answered that she hoped they appreciate the "transforming power of literature, how can it remove us from the everyday world and let us see with new eyes." And this book does just that: it takes us away from the everyday world and then painfully drops us back with the suspicion that this fiction is actually very real. The horrors of normalcy and the tedium of a common life are the forces that drive the majority of the characters in these twelve stories; our "heroines" are far from the romantic or ladylike ilk, but instead more like tough, strong and violent. On the opposite side stand the men in these accounts, mostly unsuccessful and lost, they portray what nobody wants and what most end up getting. In "The Brat," a spooky but familiar story about teenage anger Iris, the twelve year old outcast main character that is not "pretty or smart or nicey-nice," hates everybody and everything, and we hate her; we hate her and we understand her because we have been there. This character, as most in this collection, is like we were, are or will be. All of these women have the urge to live, to act on their thoughts and to get what they really want, and we know that getting what you really want is a trap. We know that if we go for the cheese it will cut our heads off, and we do it anyways. Jean Thompson is the story teller of our own collective story. Lust and boredom force Mel in "A Normal Life" to leave her children and husband to marry the man she was having a hot and heavy affair with just to go around in the circle of dissatisfaction, where she ceases being a "sexy siren" and instead becomes "just another nagging, squawking wife." "The Family Barcus" analyzes the life of a perfect American family, with an obsessively optimistic father who eventually gives up on life. It's told in a first-person velvety prose that slips into the brain and tightly wraps it for a long time. The wit and black humor of the title are splendidly sinister. Throw Like a Girl is a phenomenal account, and when you read it, you'll understand why it bears the title of the collection.

This book is an excellent read. I found it hard to put down. Jean Thompson does a great job with character development and story telling in general. I found the characters to be flawed and intriguing. Also, the plotting, story subjects, and story structure keep you wondering what will happen next. It is hard to write short fiction, but Jean Thompson has successfully accomplished this task.

It's difficult to write a short story collection that captures attention. Alice Munro, Jhumpa Lahari, Margaret Atwood, Peter Ho Davies are a few writers that come to mind who do it well. Now I can add another one -- Jean Thompson. Her stories are about women (not "phenomenal women", like another reviewer wrote)...just women who have gotten caught up in life. Some are emotionally unhealthy, some are finding their way, some are learning how to navigate life. The author is making no political statements here. Instead, she is taking us into their worlds -- and what worlds they are. These are REAL characters who speak REAL dialogue and seem amazingly REAL. The little simple details bring them to life. Perhaps the best way to judge a short story collection is to ask yourself, "Do I care about what happens next? When I put this book down at night, do I want to pick it up again in the morning?" To these questions, I answer a resounding "yes." Each story sparkles; each captures attention. I'm glad I discovered this writer.

These stories are terrific: especially insightful about girls and their hopes and the disappointments of growing up. Now that I think about it, a lot of the stories center on disappointments: thinking that doing X would get you Y; doing X, getting Y, and realizing that Y actually kind of sucks. Terrific writing; much to admire.