Thursday, November 12, 2009

Quotable - gotta problem with 'chick lit'

"I am passionate about this kind of writing, but it seems to me to come in for an extraordinary amount of bile and patronising comment which I rarely see applied to novels by men in the same vein. Books – both fiction and non-fiction – reflecting women's lives, whether young or old, are labelled. Hence "chick-lit": often a derogatory term used to mean books by young women drinking chardonnay and being silly about boys, without the thought that novels by women about women might accurately reflect their lives and thus have merit or, at the very least, relevance."

~ Don't patronise popular fiction by women

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4 comments:

shrink on the couch said...

nice point.

Eidin said...

Here's a response from Bookninja:

Chick-lit strikes back

After twisting its shapely ankle on a strappy, five-inch heel caught in a sewer grate, Chick-lit has bravely righted itself, adjusted its skirt so only a sliver of panty is visible, wiped away its drunken mascara tears, and screamed, “F*ck you, assh*le!” into the night. It’s, like, transformative.

Kim said...

Love it! And I like Bookninga's response. I find the disdain for any genre ridiculous, if you don't like, don't read it. The spill over from chick-lit to literary fiction by women is needs a constant push back on all fronts. No one confuses Grisham with Roth, but both have their value.

Eidin said...

Kim, well said.