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Beyond the pinkIs chick lit denying women writers the recognition they deserve?By Jane CharlestonChick lit: A genre of fiction that often recycles the following plot: Girl in big city desperately searches for Mr. Right in between dieting and shopping for shoes. Girl gets dumped (sometimes repeatedly). Girl finds Prince Charming. Hmmm. OK, so this does sound like a very familiar plot. I could probably name numerous titles that have used this as its blueprint. The problem chick lit has come across is that because of these books, the term has become pejorative. Much like a group of lads has to call themselves a ‘vocal harmony group’ as opposed to a boy band, women’s literature now has to be qualified to distinguish itself. Despite chick lit having a bad reputation, there are some wonderful novels that would fit into this genre. Marian Keyes’ latest; Anybody Out There? is heartbreaking, funny, and thoughtful. It is not a book that you could easily guess the ending to, possibly because the typical goal of getting the guy has already been achieved before the novel has even begun. The story leads you through the heroine’s journey after losing her husband, and I have to admit left me in floods of tears at some points. Most tellingly, though, it that it was not possible to skip a few pages of the book and still know what was going on. I was very surprised after picking up a Sophie Kinsella book, of which I had heard great praise, to find that I could do just that. In fact when the heroine meets a man at the very beginning I could pretty much guess the entire plot, and with a few pages skipped, I managed to finish the book in one evening and find out that I was right. So even though there are many quality novels written by women, about women, why are they all so often easily dismissed? Could it simply be that no matter how funny, interesting or insightful a book may be, men are simply not interested in issues that concern women? Indeed, in these post-feminist times where women are increasingly encouraged to dismiss anything girly or emotional in a bid to compete with men, it is sometimes unfashionable to admit that we enjoy reading about people falling in love. Of course the connotations of the term ‘chick lit’ are not helped by the insistence of publishers to cover all these books with pink swirly letters and flowers. These images suggest to the reader something shallow, flighty and easily forgettable once read, much like the heroine herself will be. This trend seems to be a vast underestimation of women who enjoy reading romance in novels. Are we to believe that all people who like romance are unintelligent enough to be put off by a book that looks a little bit more serious than a bunch of flowers? A perfect example of this is Headline Review’s recent publication of Jane Austin’s work; here they have rebranded these classic works as chick lit and given them all pink swirly covers for those readers who may have been put of by the Penguin Classic’s more dreary beige. (At £1.99 a book though, they could use any colour they wanted in my opinion) I’d like to take this opportunity, then, to encourage you to look beyond the girly covers (even though they are pretty and look lovely on the bedside table) and the derogatory generic label and enjoy the book for what it is. Whether it’s a celebration of shoes and men, or a more intense look at a woman’s personal journey. Listed below are some sites which celebrate women’s writing and women in general (because lets face it, we are fabulous). Also I have included some new novels written by women and also some non-fiction books that aim to give a little helping hand in all the girly things we secretly love. www.theoldhag.com (including a very important discussion on whether Colin Firth or Matthew Mcfadyen makes the best Darcy – answers on a postcard)
28th August 2006 Seen as a significant departure form her previous novels in terms of maturity and style, The Vanishing Acts of Esme Lennox, Maggie O’Farrell’s follow up to After You’d Gone, is a different novel in every way – bigger, more ambitious and packed with more emotional highs and lows. It is the story of Esme, a girl written out of her family’s history when she is taken to an asylum in an extreme reaction by her family to curb the non-conformist streak in her which they see as dangerously wild. She is released form care after sixty years, with an obvious score to settle. The mystery behind Esme is discovered by Iris, a young woman who unravels the story of her great aunt. What unfolds is a tale of two sisters in colonial India and 1930s Edinburgh - the loneliness that binds them together and the rivalries that drive them apart, leading one of them to a shocking betrayal.
5th June 2006 The witty, sexy sequel To Quan’s runaway bestseller, Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl. Born to duplicity and blessed in the carnal arts, married life suits high class call girl Nancy down to the ground. But as any newly wed domestic goddess will tell you, its only a matter of time before something has to give. And when Matt suddenly decides he wants children – well, motherhood and apple pie seem a long way off when you’re serving dessert to your husband one day and someone else is licking it off you the next. As Nancy becomes increasingly paranoid about her two lives colliding, she wonders if its time to check out of the Upper East Side hotels for good….
7th September 2006 Faith Zanetti, star of Anna Blundy’s previous books The Bad News Bible, and Faith Without Doubt, returns here where she is newly posted to Moscow. She has been here before, back when the communists were still in power, food shortages were a way of life, public services were collapsing and people were getting away with murder. Now, both Moscow and Faith have changed but ghosts from the city’s soviet past are gathering to haunt her. She deals with terrorist bombs and bizarre prison stories, digs up bones of her impulsive teenage marriage and grapples with her occasional lover, Eden Jones (a name that would surely only exist in the pages of chick lit). Honest, moving and utterly compulsive, Neat Vodka, it’s a boy’s own adventure for the girls. Embrace your inner adrenaline junkie.
18th September 2006 With her inimitable wit an insight, Fay Weldon offers her wisdom on the subject of female happiness and how to achieve it. In answering that unanswerable question that foxed both Freud and Mel Gibson alike, What do Women Want?, Fay Weldon offers wisdom gleaned from her remarkable life. She explores what makes women happy; how our lives, jobs, families, bodies, desires, morals, and responsibilities affect that happiness and what we can do to lead more fulfilled lives. She delivers her verdict illustrated with invented case studies, or fables, to prove her points. To be good, she concludes, is to be happy, to be happy is to be good. A blend of philosophy, storytelling and self-help, this inspirational works shows Weldon at the peak of her creative powers.
7th September 2006 Much like Justin Timberlake, relationship guru Tracey Cox is bringing sexy back. Superhotsex is for anyone who has ever asked whether it is really possible to make love to the same person – happily – for the rest of your life. According to Tracey, the answer is yes! Loaded with lashings of wicked real life fantasies and tricks for your fingers, tongue and other parts, Superhotsex is a crash course in how to take your sex life form dull to daring. If you are an avid reader of women’s magazines, or ever watched any relationship show ever, you will be familiar with her chatty, funny, accessible style. Here there’s everything from a stroke-by-stroke guide to spanking, tips on how to get that fantasy form your head to your bed, and the six all time best outdoor sex experiences. Most invaluable of all, though, are the cunning ploys to get what you want without ever upsetting your partner. No advice on turning him into Justin, though.
21st September 2006 When the reply to your question, “Wow, that’s fabulous, where did you get it?” is, “Its vintage, darling”, a natural reaction, if you are anything like myself, is a mixture of wonder and jealousy. How do these women do it? Every time I attempt to find anything ‘vintage’ it simply looks old and second hand, much like when I was younger and had to wear my sister’s hand-me-downs. In her new book, Christa Weil provides all the inside information required to sniff out vintage trends and designer bargains in a second hand shop near you. It also includes fabulous tips from super stylish vintage vamps such as Pearl Lowe, Jemma Kidd and Lulu Guinness. Whether rummaging in a charity shop, browsing in an antiques market
or scouring the internet in search of the perfect 1940s jacket, an
original Ozzie Clarke or something to add a twist to a high street
outfit, you'll find this guide to buying and wearing vintage indispensable.
This is the perfect companion for anyone who loves clothes (and bags
and shoes!) The next time you're complimented on a unique outfit wonderfully
accessorized, simply reply, 'It's Vintage, Darling!'
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The
Vanishing Acts of Esme Lennox
Diary
of a Married Call Girl
Neat
Vodka
What
Makes Women Happy
Superhotsex
Its
Vintage Darling!: How to be a Clothes Connoisseur
