There was an interesting essay in the NYT Book Reviewlast Sunday about the growing global popularity of chick-lit. The genre, aimed at young, single, working women in their twenties and thirties, is usually traced back to Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary. But the chick-lit-bug has spread beyond England (Fielding, Sophie Kinsella) and America (I guess, The Nanny Diaries qualifies).
India has a few chick-lit writers, although, as the essay points out, they're not quite as sexually explicit as their Western counterparts. Cultural differences, which are fast changing. Russia, Hungary, Poland and Scandinavia have also jumped on the wagon, though again, each brings its own cultural differences -- Polish chick-lit has tragic elements, the Scandinavians are existential. The essayist is interested to see if the genre will gain popularity in Arab countries -- it hasn't yet. And if I were her, I wouldn't hold my breath.
I confess, I'm a fan of chick-lit. And there was a time when I'd put the books behind more "acceptable" books on the bookshelf. But, there truly is some good writing within the genre. Bridget Jones, the Shopaholic series, The Nanny Diaries -- all well-written books. There has been some crap riding the wave, too, of course. But that happens with any new fad. Still, I was a little insulted to read this about chick-lit on Wikipedia:
the term "chick-lit" includes a reference to chiclets brand chewing gum, with the implication that readers of the genre are likely to be clichéd, unintellectual females who chew gum and avoid "serious" literature.
Ah, stereotypes. I was actually surprised that the essay made no mention of Anna Maxted, another British writer whose books qualify as chick-lit. But who also uses humor and a certain lightness of tone to explore serious issues. Her books deal with eating disorders, death and rape. (The protagonist is also generally dealing with career and love life, which are typical chick-lit subjects). So, while it might never be considered great literature, even a so-called fluffy genre can do some intellectual and emotional heavy-lifting. Besides, as it continues to spread across the globe, cultural differences are going to make it harder to categorize and harder to pin the demographic down just to "cliched, unintellectual females."
