I Tried…

I know nothing about the ChickLit genre, but it is infiltrating the bookstores and it was prevalent at Book Expo so I decided I must be missing something. I’ve heard the rumors about it—"shallow", "trashy", but I am open minded. I understand cultural evolution, and I am determined to stay current particularly in the world of literature. So I checked out the ChickLitBooks website looking for a frame of reference and direction. The homepage provides a great, although broad, definition—“hip, bright literature for today’s modern women.” They suggest withholding judgment of the genre until you’ve read a few….seemed like sensible and appropriate advice. So I took up two titles I acquired this past year: Bling by Erica Kennedy and Starter Wife by Gigi Levangi Granger. Bling is set in New York City and Starter Wife in LA.

Here’s the scoop: the characters are all about shedding their excessive vanity, rejecting materialism, and escaping the superficial demands placed on them by their high society boyfriend or husband. This metamorphosis, though heartbreaking and difficult, promises to open the gates to personal success and independence. This "independence" ultimately leads to the real love and admiration of a new man who is STILL a member of high society but is NOT superficial, i.e., he will not leave her to chase after a younger, prettier version of herself and he will not suggest dieting or dental work or a boob job because he loves her just the way she is.

To understand these novels you must be up-to-date on the most recent beauty regimes, cosmetic surgeries, fashion and jewelry designers, and the latest makes and models of luxury vehicles. If you don’t know these things, you will be lost in an endless stream of proper nouns that will make no sense and you will lose the story completely. At least I think that’s why I missed the stories. I’m sure there was a plot in there somewhere. Anyway, I gave it a shot…I’m heading back to what I know. Maybe I’ll join Oprah and re-read Faulkner.