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What women want
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A new brand of savvy singleton stalks the bestseller lists in Manolo Blahnik and Prada, discovers NEETI SARKAR
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Photo: Mohammed Yousuf
Read on A jolly designer-embellished escape route
It all began with Helen Fielding’s “Bridget Jones’s Diary” or was it Candace Bushnell’s “Sex and the City”? Suddenly a new breed of woman stalked the bestseller list. She was a savvy singleton given to carous
ing with eccentric friends with the usual weight loss and boyfriend angst that the urban woman is prey to.
In all the hurry to formulate in a phrase, this kind of writing was slammed into a little pink box called Chick Lit. And while there are many who find the labelling obnoxious, this brand of writing has its devout followers.
“Every woman needs her dose of fact and fantasy and chick lit provides it,” says Eisha Oomer, an avid reader and freelance writer. Lovable female protagonists, inconceivably complicated love triangles, heart wrenching break ups and unconcealed sexual themes, these books have them all.
Jharna Jethani, a college student enjoys romantic novels and Nicholas Sparks’ “A walk to remember” is her favourite. Jamuna Tripathi, a psychologist says: “Identity and idealism are the prime reasons why many women go for genres like romance and fantasy. Identifying with the heroine and escaping from reality for a few hours is what most women like doing. It gives them a break from reality.”
While writers like Beth Harbison (“Shoe Addicts Anonymous”) and Rachel Gibson, (“Tangled up in you”) have a great fan following, Indian writers are not far behind. Advaita Kala’s whacky and superbly spun tale “Almost Single” is selling like hot cakes. Rajashree’s “Trust Me” spiced up with Bollywood-style melodrama has captivated readers.
Bookstores in the city are of course laughing all the way to the bank. Augustine Jones of Landmark says: “Teenagers are target readers for this genre.” Jones has observed “a good number of young men are often spotted picking up such books, probably as gifts for girlfriends.”
And where does the swooning heroine of yore fit in this mad scramble for stories about confident, smart-aleck young women who know their Manolo Blahniks from their Jimmy Choos?
There are those who choose stories of lantern-jawed men named Brad and their damsels in distress for their escapist fix. However, Rajan Das of Crossword is of the opinion that “Some of the old romance writers are no longer popular as their writing styles do not appeal to what young women want.”
And before you think every woman is eagerly devouring stories of drunken binges and commitment phobic bosses, there are non-believers as well. Commerce student, Prathibha Shankar for instance is not particularly fond of the genre as she cannot bear the gazillion clichés and the unreal situations.
“Reading chick lit for a change is good. But on a regular basis, I would not really opt for such books, as much as I love reading,” says Evelyn Rajeshekar, a journalism student. Then there is Valene Varela, a business management student who prefers action-packed novels or thrillers.
When converted to celluloid, chick lit expands its already considerable fan base. Be it “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, the haute “The Devil wears Prada,” or the more recent “P.S. I love you,” the books have hit the right notes on screen as well.
Ask Rajan Das if his sales have increased before the release of these movies and he says: “We sold many copies of Cecelia Ahern’s ‘P.S. I Love You’ before the release of the film. But, just before the movie released in India, we had many young women picking up the book.”Every woman has a world of her own with her share of glamour, love and loss, all contained in that addictive pink paperback! So if you need a refreshing change from your life, just grab a book and immerse yourself in Carrie’s troubles over Mr. Big.
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