Chick Lit

I was talking with a friend the other day and we were attempting to define chick lit--not in any official way, but in a way that meant something to us. We decided it was a little like "chick flicks" only there was usually less romance and more humor.

Perhaps the more important element, though, is that chick lit books are books that focus on the relationship between women. Yes, there are usualy men in the book and there are often romances, but the important relationships in these novels are the relationships between the women. Rosemary Well's The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood struck such a chord with us because of the intense friendship between the women. Yes, they all had their lives and their trials, and their families, but they were bonded to each other with a lifetime of secrets and confidences.

I'm currently reading a book titled Girls Most Likely, and once again I am struck with how it is less about the momentous events and the coming-of-age and more about the relationship between four girlfriends and the difference that makes to their entire life.

Currently, chick lit gets mostly written off as bubble-gum reading with little literary value. I wonder, though, if perhaps it is worthy of being taken a little more seriously.

posted by Book Help Web Editorial Team at 7:24 AM |