What Does Friendship Mean to You: a Reflection on 'The Reel Sisters'

What does friendship mean to you? In this essay, I would like to share how The Reel Sisters by Michelle Cummings helped me understand the depth of true friendship, despite initially assuming it was just a fly fishing guidebook. To me, it is a haven away from the scrutinizing gaze of the real world, a place where I can lay bare my fears without caring what would become of me once it is out, a secure pillar that is always there to support me. An in-depth friendship story has always been difficult for me to find. 

Fly fishing has traditionally been assumed a men’s sport for centuries, I have never once thought of a woman fly fishing, believe me, or not, to me fishing has always been a men’s only thing; however, I found myself awed by the author's input. After completing this novel, I can say that my ideals have been changed. Initially spanning the lives of four women; Rose, Sophia, Amanda, and Veronica, The Reel Sisters tells the story of friendship, struggles and personal experiences of these distinct women who share a common interest in fly fishing. This close bonded group of four sisters immediately turn five when they happen to find a girl naked on the shore. The novel is written in the first-person point of view of each of the five characters, the good part of it is that the writer makes you aware which character’s perspective it is by putting that character’s name as the chapter name, giving the reader a better understanding of their emotions and thoughts.

There was so much to love about this novel; the bond between the four sisters and the incident before they found their fifth sister, Melody, the light-hearted conversations among the sisters, the emotional growth of the characters, and of course their reliability on each other despite their diverse ages which was ranging from the mid-twenties to post-retirement. I even loved the twist getting to the end of the story.

The story is long paced which is understanding considering the fishing sport requires a lot of time, patience and effort. That notwithstanding, it is not a boring read. I loved the fun way the author taught fly fishing, it was just like one would teach a child, I found myself interested in the sport halfway through the book because of that. Till now, I still remember rule number one “always go pee before you put your waders on”. If I ever venture into that sport, I hope I get a teacher who sounds like the author.

It is needless to say I enjoyed this book immensely, aside from a few typos here and there, there is absolutely nothing to dislike about this book. I, therefore, rate this book 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to all readers mostly women since it is that gender who loves friendship stories the most.