

Okay so I'm not a teen, a mum, or a gran, but I can identify with a chaotic family life. In fact, so chaotic were things today that I stumbled upon an audio version of Sophie King's "Who's Speaking Please?" that I thought would be perfect to listen to while I cleaned the kitchen.
I'm not sure if this is what they mean by chick-lit, but it's what I imagine it to be. The protagonist tries to get over a man, thinks about shopping, and comforts herself with chocolate. And please don't let me be misunderstood, I'm sure plenty of women have nursed a broken heart, eaten chocolate and gone shopping, but-- and I'm trying to tread carefully here-- if that's all there is, aren't they reduced to cliché? Everybody has at least something, some little idiosyncrasy to set them apart and keep them interesting, don't they?
At first I enjoyed the mundanity: a woman listening to a silly radio contest in the morning, interrupted by a moody shower head. But I kept waiting for the hook, the break in the woman's character that set her apart. It never came.
I can't help but feel that King was simultaneously pandering and condescending to an audience that I don't belong.
(Did you write a post for Short Story Monday? If so, please leave a link in the comments below.)
3 comments:
I don't think I belong to that audience either, John. :<)
My first of the month Fitzgerald review is here:
http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2009/11/short-story-mondayan-alcoholic-case-by.html
I avoid anything labeled 'chick lit' ...really don't even like that label (maybe women's fiction would be better). This story sounds like a waste of time...
My post today -
http://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/2009/11/virago-book-of-ghost-stories-wrap-up.html
It sounds like "chich lit" to me too John. I loath chick lit so I will be staying away from this one.
Here's mine: http://teddyrose.blogspot.com/2009/11/stephanies-ponytail-by-robert-munsch.html
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