If you are in the habit of following such things, you know about a “controversy” over a collection of short stories, “This Is Not Chick Lit: Original Stories by America’s Best Women Writers.”
The hullabaloo, such as it is, stems from chick-lit writers (or “chick lit-istas,” as I call them) feeling slighted and demeaned: the implication is that they aren’t in the club of America’s Best Women Writers.
(Before I step into this steaming pile of perfumed doo-doo, some disclosure: I am good friends with one of the writers who contributed to “This Is Not Chick Lit.” It’s a terrific collection, and I’ve discovered a couple of new writers by reading it.)
I didn’t really care about what chick lit-istas thought until they busted an aneurysm when the book was first announced (also see here). On blogs and elsewhere, the “literary fiction” crowd struck back. And if you know anything about men, you know we can’t resist a catfight.
Another disclaimer: I can’t condemn chick lit because I haven’t read any of it. The thing about chick lit is that, by definition, it’s for chicks. These books are aimed at women readers; they (usually) lack the aims and ambition of literary fiction; (I am told) there’s a lot of shopping and man bashing. Which I can’t say interests me.
In their defense, chick lit-istas will cite Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte, two writers accused of 19th Century chick lit; the chick lit-istas invariably trot out these ladies when their genre is deemed Not Literary Enough For Serious Consideration.
Je ne sais quoi
Hell, let’s just do a comparison. In one of my favorite books, “Jane Eyre,” you have a plucky heroine (check), falls in love with Mr. Right (check), has competition from a woman hotter than she is (check), snags then loses Mr. Right (check), gives serious consideration to Mr. Wrong (check), and finally snags Mr. Right in the end (check). But in all this you have tragedy and real drama, a marriage that is called off at the last second, a madwoman in the attic, and Mr. Rochester getting burnt to toast and blinded.
This is not the stuff of “Bergdorf Blondes" or “Sex in the City.”
So if chicks are the only ones reading chick lit, what do guys read?
I’m trying to imagine the male equivalent of chick lit, which one wisenheimer I know calls “dick lit.” But really, dick lit has been prevalent in one form or another since someone bothered to put Homer on paper. (“The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” are the first certifiable dick-lit books).
In theory, dick lit c. 2006 should be about frat-house behavior that continues after college. But most of the men whose primary interests are beer, babes, and sports are reading Maxim rather than “Infinite Jest.”
Horror, sci-fi, and crime, it can be argued, have a particularly male tint. But there’s really only one Father of Contemporary Dick Lit, a man named Papa.
Yes, Ernest Hemmingway gave birth to modern macho-man fiction. His heroes fish. They drink and they hunt and they fight the good fight. They go to the bullfights and zinc bars. They hunt and box because they are Men. They treat women like crap because Hemmingway makes them whores.
Despite Hemmingway’s many shortcomings, he did not hang a sign on displays of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” that said “No gurlz allowed.” Hemmingway addressed universal concerns and themes that transcended gender, no matter how much hunting and bullfighting was involved.
I don’t want to slam chick lit as one-dimensional, but to compare it to literary fiction borders on the desperate; the amount of Sturm und Drang from the chick lit-istas over “This Is Not Chick Lit” has the unmistakable stain of Thou Dost Protest Too Much. Granted, the subtitle “Original Stories by America’s Best Women Writers” might be over the top, but it’s hyperbole only because they left out Joyce Carol Oates and Jane Smiley, not Jennifer Weiner or Plum Sykes.
In the chick lit-istas’ defense, you might argue that putting out a book that “slams” chick lit is the real stroke of desperation. Literary fiction sales are relatively small compared to chick lit, and a book that claims to be “not” chick lit is like putting out a book that is “not” sci-fi or horror.
But that’s just it. The chick lit-istas have made the genre so popular that it overshadows many great female literary fiction writers, whose writing and aims are said to be so much higher than Candice Bushnell, Helen Fielding, etc.
A Papa in more ways than one
Truthfully, I can’t say if chick-lit books are well-written — like I will repeat for the 1,057th time, I’ve never cracked one open — but the writing is besides the point, isn’t it? It’s the adventure of some Bridget Jones or Carrie Bradshaw wannabe, and if it’s breezy fantasy. And I say, “no problemo.” Chick lit is commercial genre fiction, entertaining and light, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
In the end, the quality of prose in genre fiction usually doesn’t matter. (Most sci-fi reads like it was written by Billy Pocket Protector in 10th grade. You aren’t there for elaborate sensory imagery or complex characters.)
For all the thousands of chick lit-istas who read this blog, here’s some unsolicited advice. If you truly want to be considered one America’s Best Women Writers — and there’s no reason that you can’t be — you have to write something that the other half of the population can read in public without fear of humiliation.
There’s no reason that a story about career girls in the Big City who are obsessed with shoes and men and drink too much and fret about their weight can’t be The Great American Novel. It just hasn’t been written yet.
Next: The real reason for this blog posting — an excuse for Bookfraud to try his hand at “Dick Lit”!
Thoughtful post, BF. I apologize for having nothing of substance to contribute. All these distinctions and classifications have long given me a headache. I can have a long-running argument of Michael Bay v. Michael Mann (Bay: stay home and knit, Mann: go see today), but when it comes to writers, I only know what’s good once I started reading the pages. I read a chick-lit book that I really enjoyed years ago. I wish I could remember the name of the book or the author. Excellent writing. But Terry McMillan, on the other hand, chick-lit, terrible writing. To me, it’s not the classification, but the quality of the read.
I guess I had more to say than I thought. Thanks for the provocation.
I wrote a paper in college argueing that Hemingway’s fiction wasn’t misogynistic at all, but rather critical of the traditional masculline gender role. The argument hinged on the Nick Adams stories, and especially the story “Fathers and Sons.”
But that is the point, isn’t it? People can and still do reinterpret Hemingway. How many different ways can helen fielding be re-interpreted?
there’s also an anthology out called “This is Chick-Lit.” not sure which book came out first. pretty clever to use controversy to sell a few more books.
Well, you can pooh-pooh chick lit, but those women are laughing all the way to the bank. I’ve read a few of the so-called chick lit books (both Bridget Jones, by the way) and I thought they were entertaining. I think we have plenty of dick lit floating around…not to mention dicks in general. Why don’t you write a memoir?
This is one I haven’t heard about yet. As for chick lit, I’ve only read a handful of that genre.
I thought women wrote chick-lit because it is popular and makes them money. I wrote an episode of “Home Improvment” once. I was happy to get a big check and didn’t feel bad when I wasn’t included in “America’s Finest Dramatists.”
fringes: of course you have something to contribute. i am with you 100% — the topic matter is secondary to the quality of the writing. but a lot of chick lit is crappily written.
quinn: now that’s a great point. you can write to be the best writer possible, or make $$$. then again, maybe “bridget jones’ diary” is the best helen fielding can manage.
le: i’ve seen the “this is chick lit” anthology. like there’s not enough chick lit getting read out there?
collin: i didn’t poo-poo chick lit — i haven’t read any, remember? i’m sure they are entertaining and a good read. but if they are laughing all the way to the bank, some chick lit-istas seem pretty sour about it.
zinna: go out and grab “this is not chick lit” today. you will discover a great new writer or two, i guarantee it.
neil: they may write chick lit because it’s popular and gives them $$$, but they want respect. they write fiction-lite fluff, but they also want to be thought of as serious writers. that’s why they’re getting so pissed off by not being called one of america’s best women writers.
so what was tim allen like? wasn’t he in the big house for drug dealing at one time?
Thoughtful post, BF. I apologize for having nothing of substance to contribute. All these distinctions and classifications have long given me a headache. I can have a long-running argument of Michael Bay v. Michael Mann (Bay: stay home and knit, Mann: go see today), but when it comes to writers, I only know what’s good once I started reading the pages. I read a chick-lit book that I really enjoyed years ago. I wish I could remember the name of the book or the author. Excellent writing. But Terry McMillan, on the other hand, chick-lit, terrible writing. To me, it’s not the classification, but the quality of the read.
I guess I had more to say than I thought. Thanks for the provocation.
Thoughtful post, BF. I apologize for having nothing of substance to contribute. All these distinctions and classifications have long given me a headache. I can have a long-running argument of Michael Bay v. Michael Mann (Bay: stay home and knit, Mann: go see today), but when it comes to writers, I only know what’s good once I started reading the pages. I read a chick-lit book that I really enjoyed years ago. I wish I could remember the name of the book or the author. Excellent writing. But Terry McMillan, on the other hand, chick-lit, terrible writing. To me, it’s not the classification, but the quality of the read.
I guess I had more to say than I thought. Thanks for the provocation.
I wrote a paper in college argueing that Hemingway’s fiction wasn’t misogynistic at all, but rather critical of the traditional masculline gender role. The argument hinged on the Nick Adams stories, and especially the story “Fathers and Sons.”
But that is the point, isn’t it? People can and still do reinterpret Hemingway. How many different ways can helen fielding be re-interpreted?
I wrote a paper in college argueing that Hemingway’s fiction wasn’t misogynistic at all, but rather critical of the traditional masculline gender role. The argument hinged on the Nick Adams stories, and especially the story “Fathers and Sons.”
But that is the point, isn’t it? People can and still do reinterpret Hemingway. How many different ways can helen fielding be re-interpreted?
there’s also an anthology out called “This is Chick-Lit.” not sure which book came out first. pretty clever to use controversy to sell a few more books.
there’s also an anthology out called “This is Chick-Lit.” not sure which book came out first. pretty clever to use controversy to sell a few more books.
I hate chick lit and I’m not afraid to say it. I hate everything about these books, from their predictable plotlines to their stock characters to their Pepto-Bismol pink packaging. They’re all so generically similar, it amazes me how many times the same story can be churned out over and over again. If they want to be respected they should try writing something original for a change.
Well, you can pooh-pooh chick lit, but those women are laughing all the way to the bank. I’ve read a few of the so-called chick lit books (both Bridget Jones, by the way) and I thought they were entertaining. I think we have plenty of dick lit floating around…not to mention dicks in general. Why don’t you write a memoir?
Well, you can pooh-pooh chick lit, but those women are laughing all the way to the bank. I’ve read a few of the so-called chick lit books (both Bridget Jones, by the way) and I thought they were entertaining. I think we have plenty of dick lit floating around…not to mention dicks in general. Why don’t you write a memoir?
This is one I haven’t heard about yet. As for chick lit, I’ve only read a handful of that genre.
This is one I haven’t heard about yet. As for chick lit, I’ve only read a handful of that genre.
I thought women wrote chick-lit because it is popular and makes them money. I wrote an episode of “Home Improvment” once. I was happy to get a big check and didn’t feel bad when I wasn’t included in “America’s Finest Dramatists.”
I thought women wrote chick-lit because it is popular and makes them money. I wrote an episode of “Home Improvment” once. I was happy to get a big check and didn’t feel bad when I wasn’t included in “America’s Finest Dramatists.”
fringes: of course you have something to contribute. i am with you 100% — the topic matter is secondary to the quality of the writing. but a lot of chick lit is crappily written.
quinn: now that’s a great point. you can write to be the best writer possible, or make $$$. then again, maybe “bridget jones’ diary” is the best helen fielding can manage.
le: i’ve seen the “this is chick lit” anthology. like there’s not enough chick lit getting read out there?
fringes: of course you have something to contribute. i am with you 100% — the topic matter is secondary to the quality of the writing. but a lot of chick lit is crappily written.
quinn: now that’s a great point. you can write to be the best writer possible, or make $$$. then again, maybe “bridget jones’ diary” is the best helen fielding can manage.
le: i’ve seen the “this is chick lit” anthology. like there’s not enough chick lit getting read out there?
collin: i didn’t poo-poo chick lit — i haven’t read any, remember? i’m sure they are entertaining and a good read. but if they are laughing all the way to the bank, some chick lit-istas seem pretty sour about it.
zinna: go out and grab “this is not chick lit” today. you will discover a great new writer or two, i guarantee it.
neil: they may write chick lit because it’s popular and gives them $$$, but they want respect. they write fiction-lite fluff, but they also want to be thought of as serious writers. that’s why they’re getting so pissed off by not being called one of america’s best women writers.
so what was tim allen like? wasn’t he in the big house for drug dealing at one time?
collin: i didn’t poo-poo chick lit — i haven’t read any, remember? i’m sure they are entertaining and a good read. but if they are laughing all the way to the bank, some chick lit-istas seem pretty sour about it.
zinna: go out and grab “this is not chick lit” today. you will discover a great new writer or two, i guarantee it.
neil: they may write chick lit because it’s popular and gives them $$$, but they want respect. they write fiction-lite fluff, but they also want to be thought of as serious writers. that’s why they’re getting so pissed off by not being called one of america’s best women writers.
so what was tim allen like? wasn’t he in the big house for drug dealing at one time?
I hate chick lit and I’m not afraid to say it. I hate everything about these books, from their predictable plotlines to their stock characters to their Pepto-Bismol pink packaging. They’re all so generically similar, it amazes me how many times the same story can be churned out over and over again. If they want to be respected they should try writing something original for a change.
I hate chick lit and I’m not afraid to say it. I hate everything about these books, from their predictable plotlines to their stock characters to their Pepto-Bismol pink packaging. They’re all so generically similar, it amazes me how many times the same story can be churned out over and over again. If they want to be respected they should try writing something original for a change.
Okay. As a reader of just about everything, I can say that there is quality and there is crap everywhere. I still read some romance authors that I’ve read for the last 15 years, who are really good at what they do, and I’ve read John Saul, and wonder how he keeps getting the same book published over and over again.
Most “chick-lit” seems to me to be about relationships. Bridget Jones’s Diary? It’s not going to change the world, but it’s funny, light hearted, and read in an afternoon. On the other hand? I can’t always read books that matter. I hate to break it to the literary world, but I can’t always read thick heavy books. Just like I can’t spend all my time watching documentaries and Academy Award winners. Sometimes? Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I watch “In the Army Now”.
So, there are good authors in chick-lit, and I can tell you some of them. On the other hand, I can tell you some of the crap you should never, ever touch with a ten-foot pole.
I read almost everything. I read Jane Eyre. It bored me to tears. Though it cured my insomnia for a while.
Okay. As a reader of just about everything, I can say that there is quality and there is crap everywhere. I still read some romance authors that I’ve read for the last 15 years, who are really good at what they do, and I’ve read John Saul, and wonder how he keeps getting the same book published over and over again.
Most “chick-lit” seems to me to be about relationships. Bridget Jones’s Diary? It’s not going to change the world, but it’s funny, light hearted, and read in an afternoon. On the other hand? I can’t always read books that matter. I hate to break it to the literary world, but I can’t always read thick heavy books. Just like I can’t spend all my time watching documentaries and Academy Award winners. Sometimes? Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I watch “In the Army Now”.
So, there are good authors in chick-lit, and I can tell you some of them. On the other hand, I can tell you some of the crap you should never, ever touch with a ten-foot pole.
Okay. As a reader of just about everything, I can say that there is quality and there is crap everywhere. I still read some romance authors that I’ve read for the last 15 years, who are really good at what they do, and I’ve read John Saul, and wonder how he keeps getting the same book published over and over again.
Most “chick-lit” seems to me to be about relationships. Bridget Jones’s Diary? It’s not going to change the world, but it’s funny, light hearted, and read in an afternoon. On the other hand? I can’t always read books that matter. I hate to break it to the literary world, but I can’t always read thick heavy books. Just like I can’t spend all my time watching documentaries and Academy Award winners. Sometimes? Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I watch “In the Army Now”.
So, there are good authors in chick-lit, and I can tell you some of them. On the other hand, I can tell you some of the crap you should never, ever touch with a ten-foot pole.
I read almost everything. I read Jane Eyre. It bored me to tears. Though it cured my insomnia for a while.
I read almost everything. I read Jane Eyre. It bored me to tears. Though it cured my insomnia for a while.
rebecca: please, don’t hold back. you are right that if you want to be known as one of the best writers around, you gotta have more ambition than recycling. one the other hand…
madame d.: i don’t think there’s anything wrong with chick lit per se, and i imagine some of it is well-written — probably better-written that many highbrow literary books. and i read (and watch) lowbrow, light stuff all the time. i just don’t think the creators of such stuff should have any pretentions about being highbrow.
doublebagger: i am this close to permanently expelling you. never, ever say anything bad about “jane eyre” again. or “great expectations.” or “the sound and the fury.” or…
rebecca: please, don’t hold back. you are right that if you want to be known as one of the best writers around, you gotta have more ambition than recycling. one the other hand…
madame d.: i don’t think there’s anything wrong with chick lit per se, and i imagine some of it is well-written — probably better-written that many highbrow literary books. and i read (and watch) lowbrow, light stuff all the time. i just don’t think the creators of such stuff should have any pretentions about being highbrow.
doublebagger: i am this close to permanently expelling you. never, ever say anything bad about “jane eyre” again. or “great expectations.” or “the sound and the fury.” or…
rebecca: please, don’t hold back. you are right that if you want to be known as one of the best writers around, you gotta have more ambition than recycling. one the other hand…
madame d.: i don’t think there’s anything wrong with chick lit per se, and i imagine some of it is well-written — probably better-written that many highbrow literary books. and i read (and watch) lowbrow, light stuff all the time. i just don’t think the creators of such stuff should have any pretentions about being highbrow.
doublebagger: i am this close to permanently expelling you. never, ever say anything bad about “jane eyre” again. or “great expectations.” or “the sound and the fury.” or…
I didn’t mean you were “pooh-poohing”…just that there’s poohing in general of chick lit.
I didn’t mean you were “pooh-poohing”…just that there’s poohing in general of chick lit.
I didn’t mean you were “pooh-poohing”…just that there’s poohing in general of chick lit.