For all of us book lovers out in the world, you know the feeling I’m about to describe. It’s a feeling of enchantment; feeling the worn-paper feel of old spines, the smell of a dusty shelf full of volumes. It’s the feeling of a used bookstore, filled with stacks of books with histories beyond what is written in their pages. 

If you’re like me, reading isn’t just a hobby, it’s more of a character trait. As a child, I was never caught dead at family parties without a book in hand. My parents had to hunt me down to come socialize, but I, the recluse in the obscure corner, never wanted to put down my book to go say hi. I became known as the girl who never left anywhere without a book.

Reading is a part of me, just like it’s a part of the main characters in Joyce Carol Oates’ short story Three Girls, in which two NYU girl poets peruse the shelves of the Strand, a used bookstore in Manhattan. Oates weaves a hint of enchantment throughout every corner of this piece; from the snow, countless volumes, the thrill of young love, and the sighting of Marilyn Monroe, the reader, along with the young poets, feels like anything is possible. Three Girls has the feeling of a fairy tale, if you will.

This is what I love about Three Girls. Everything has an element of surprise, of enchantment. Reviewers tend to agree. The New York Times calls it a “…unexpected pleasure…”. I mean, a Marilyn Monroe sighting can’t be classified as anything less than amazing. That being said, the surprise really keeps readers on their toes, their curiosity about the story wandering as the girls wander through bookshelves in The Strand. 

While my curiosity grew, I couldn’t help but be enchanted by the Strand and its happenings as the young girls. The narrator described it as “… a maze of dreams…” and described herself as “Enchanted by books. Enchanted by the Strand. ” I was enchanted right along with her, that snowy March night being the perfect fairy tale setting for not only their adventures, but the perfect setting for my inner bookworm.

Not only do I love this story for its enchantment, but also for how strikingly feminist the characters are. I mean, this was set in the 1950s, and these girls are not afraid to feel contempt for their male counterparts in the Strand. (For all my male readers, I promise I feel no contempt for you, but I am a sucker for strong female leads). The girls’ feminism hits its peak as they follow Monroe through the store, saying “Like us (we began to see) this Marilyn Monroe required no man”. Marilyn herself was dressed in a “mannish disguise”. I mean, you can’t get more female empowerment than cross-dressing in the 1950s. That, coupled with the girls’ fierce nature of protection against men, created characters that are a better fit for modern times, characters that I could see myself being friends with.

The Strand, with all of its hipster bookstore vibes, and the girls, with all of their modern feminist ideas and passion for books and love, come together to create a story that made me feel full after reading it. What do you mean by full, you may ask? Well, as anyone who devours novels like I do knows, there’s a certain feeling of satisfaction after you read a piece that really does a good job of touching the reader and accomplishing its purpose. Three Girls is a piece that left me with that feeling, and I bet it’ll do the same for you.