Post-feminist, or more fondly, Chick-lit!

BOOK DAY=20 SPECIAL

Post-feminist, = or more=20 fondly, Chick-lit!

About single women juggling a career and a social = life,=20 these are books most young women would be able to relate=20 to.

VANI=20 MAHESH

Vani is the Proprietor of EasyLib.com, an = online=20 library operating in Bangalore.

=91Chick-lit=92 or=20 chick-literature is probably a term that would make a feminist = turn in her=20 grave. However, the term is already here representing a new genre = of books=20 that are flooding the market. Chick-lit books are about single = women who=20 are juggling a career and a social life. The protagonists are in = their=20 late twenties to early thirties without a perfect job or a perfect = body or=20 a perfect boyfriend, and are eternally trying to find the love of = their=20 lives. These books are marked with a sharp wit that is mostly self = deprecating humour with always a bright ending.
Spun by the=20 overwhelming success of Helen Fielding=92s Bridget Jones Diaries, = these=20 pastel hued pink books on their covers sport a caricatured young = woman=20 with spiky shoes, short skirts, and more often than not, a martini = glass=20 in hand. These books are made to look very distinct and have = managed even=20 a separate shelf space in most American and British bookstores.=20

Bookstores in India have started stacking these books in = good=20 numbers as well. Given the overwhelming popularity of these books, = many a=20 major publisher is spinning off imprints to churn out these books = in bulk.=20 These spunky dust covers have equally funky titles such as = =91shopoholic=20 ties the knot=92 or =91always the bridesmaid=92.

What makes = these books=20 popular? A more realistic portrayal of the present day working = women - the=20 frustrations and insecurities that are very much a part of the = independent=20 lives they are leading. But it is all done in good humour without = a hint=20 of pathos. Unlike in other women=92s fiction and romance novels = where the=20 heroines have picture perfect looks and always stumble upon the = most ideal=20 rugged hero, the girls here have lousy boyfriends who forever = dodge being=20 snagged into matrimony. By the end of the book, we may not find = the=20 protagonist wedded but she will have definitely found a good man = standing=20 beside her giving her hope.

Already chick-lit is having = spin-off=20 genres like =91mom-lit=92. In the book =91I don=92t know how she = does it=92 the=20 author Allison Pearson paints a comical picture of the struggles = of a=20 working mom. There are also chick-lits by authors like Janet = Evanovich=20 which have a tint of mystery to them. The readership for chick-lit = mostly=20 comprise young women who can identify a bit of themselves in these = novels.=20 Even though the tales seem a bit exaggerated, if you enjoy a light = read=20 with some humour laced in, you won=92t be = disappointed.

What still=20 remains to be seen is if it is just a flash in the pan success for = these=20 books or if they are here to stay.

Writers of these books = are=20 mostly rookies some of whom have shown true wit with their writing = where=20 as a lot of others are just jumping into the bandwagon with haste. = A few=20 good chick-lit authors to try out are Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer = Crusie,=20 Janet Evanovich, Marian Keyes, and Jenny=20 Colgan.


	Deccan Herald, = Sunday, April=20 25, 2004