A NEW DAY

Mell’s story collection spotlights women navigating careers and relationships in New York City.

In the opening tale, “Serendipity,” Rachel still pines for Richard years after he was a visiting painter during her senior year at NYU. What will the two of them do if there’s still a spark, especially now that neither one is single? The author groups this book’s 13 stories into three parts, focusing on three women: Rachel, Emma, and Nina. Rachel’s relationships, sadly, don’t tend to fare well; for example, she struggles to forge an emotional connection with the former artist and “cokehead” Paul in “Decorative Arts.” Aspiring actor Emma makes ends meet waiting tables. She certainly doesn’t need her life complicated (as it is in the story “House-Sitting”) when her boyfriend leaves her without a place to stay and robbers single out the restaurant where she works. Nina’s career doesn’t improve much after her tenure as a “lackey” at Bloomingdale’s department store in the mid-1980s, and the antidepressants she takes only seem to exacerbate her mental anguish. Mell’s characterizations are superlative, starting with the trio of protagonists. They’re sympathetic people often at the mercy (or lack thereof) of outside forces, but when their professional and/or personal lives hit snags or outright fail, they stand firm. Many among the supporting cast are equally compelling, such as Rachel’s friend Lily, who periodically takes the narrative reins; waitress Tina, who harbors a romantic interest in Emma; and photographers Mick and Rob, each of whom shares a gleefully curious history with Nina. The author’s colorful descriptions animate numerous sights in Brooklyn and Manhattan: “Tomato soup red and yolky yellow, dense pistachio and limey greens, royal and cerulean blues, everything tinged with a dark undertone like forties newspaper comics.”

Endlessly fascinating characters propel these wonderfully ardent stories.