IT was fun at the start, like every romance. But ten years on, the bloom is off the “chick lit” rose. This sparkly slice of women’s fiction has more or less offi
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ITwasfunatthestart,likeeveryromance.Buttenyearson,thebloomisoffthe“chicklit”rose.Thissparklysliceofwomen’sfictionhasmoreorlessofficiallyexpired.ReportsaboundfromeithersideoftheAtlantic:publishersrebuffnewtitles;supermarketsbarelystockthem;authorscannolongermakeitpay.SophieKinsella,thereigningqueenoflightamusingurbanromance,mustfeelalittlelikeMarkTwain.Sheain’tdeadyet:hernewestnovel,"I’veGotYourNumber",isacurrenttopselleronBritishfictioncharts.
chicklit都市女性文学。“Chick”除有“鸡仔”的意思外,口语中还有“妞儿”的意思,是英美俚语中对年轻女郎的统称。“Lit”是“literature”的英文缩写,是“文学”的意思。所谓chicklit实际上定义是“女性作家写给女性读者看的作品”,类似于中国近几年比较流行的女性言情小说。
expirev.期满;终止;死亡
aboundv.充满;富于;大量存在
rebuffvt.断然拒绝n.断然拒绝;回绝;漠不关心
Adecadeafter"BridgetJones’sDiary"and"ConfessionsofaShopaholic"unleashedatsunamiofstilettoheels,chicklitisn’tasmuchdeadastransformed.Thegenrehasgrownupandmovedon.Ifanythingshouldbelaidtorest,manywomeninpublishingargue,it’sthedubiousanddenigratinglabelthathashungonitlikeanalbatrossfromthestart.
laytorest消除;埋葬
“Thetermassumesthesubjectscoveredarelight,butactuallythat’snotnecessarilytrue.Theycanbemeatyandgritty,”saysJaneyFraser,aBritishwriterwhosenewnovel"ThePlaygroup"involvesrelationshipsacrossgenerations.EvenMsKinsella’soriginalShopaholicheroinenowhasababy,noteshereditor,LindaEvansatTransworldBooks.The“chicklit”boxneverreallydidjusticetothefullspectrumofwomen’sexperiencethatmanyofthesenovelsaddress—andisnolongerrelevanttotheworkbeingpublishednow.
“It’smovingonfromyoungwomenhavingtroublewiththeirboyfriendsandtheirhair.Ican’timaginepublishinganythinglikethatin2012,”saysMsEvans.“Butthegoodoneswereneverjustaboutthat;theywerealwaysaboutmoneyandproperty,too,like'PrideandPrejudice'.”
Theoriginalappealofthesebooks,mostlyfeaturingfeisty,singleyoungprofessionalwomen,hasnotchangedmucheither.They’reentertainingandoftenwickedlyfunny.“EveryonceinawhileIjustliketoreadafrothystoryIdon’thavetothinkabouttoomuch,”saysAndee-LouiseGilchrist,aLondonreader.“It’slikechoosingCadbury’soverGodiva;allareanindulgenceandeachhasitsmerits.”Fortheirpart,twoAmericanwriters,stungbytheobituaries,havedefendedtheirturfbylaunchingawebsite,“ChickLitIsNotDead.”
Nonetheless,Britishsalesofwomen’scommercialfictiondidslumpby20%from2010to2011,accordingtotheBookseller.Forsomeauthors,thedropwasasmuchashalf.Butbooksalesinallgenresaredown,whilee-booksalesarestillnottracked.Somethinkitpossiblethatchicklit,likeitssteamiercousin,romance,ismorereadilyconsumedone-readers,withoutthetell-allwrapper.
It’stempting,too,toblamevampiresforputtingastakeinchick-lit’sheart.Therealreason,though,wasoverkill.Booksellingisafaddishbusiness,andthemarketwasquicklysaturated—asthe“Skandicrime”genreissaturatednow.“ThousandsifnotmillionsofwomenworldwidedecidedtheycouldpickupapenandwriteanotherBridgetJones,andpublishersstartedprintingthemindroves,”saysliteraryagentTeresaChris.Publishers,fortheirpart,blameretailers,withtheirblinkeredrepetitionofwinningformulas,andespecially,thosetreacly,girlycovers.Manywriterswereshoehornedintothatmarketingbox,eveniftheirnovelsdealtwithmoreseriousissues.PollyCourtney,forexample,droppedpublisherHarperCollinslastyearforpackaginghernovelsinwhatshecalled“condescendingandfluffy”covers.
faddishadj.风行的;流行一时的
saturatevt.浸透,使湿透;使饱和,使充满
indroves成群结队地
Manyreadersareindeedturnedoffbytheimplicitmarketingmessage.“It’ssortoflike,admititladies,it’sallaruse,thisprofessionalthing.Theprinceandtheringarereallyoutthere,”saysone.Thatunderlyingsexisminpackagingstillgrates,especiallysincethesuccessofDavidNicholls’"OneDay",ayoungurbanromancethatwoulddoubtlesshavesportedswirlshaditsauthorbeenawoman.
Still,hopespringseternal,asthesetalesinstruct.Theageingcohortthatoncedevoured"Prada"and"Shopaholic"willsoonwantadifferentkindofnovelthatreflectsthecomplexitiesofmodernwomen’slives.“Theymaywellhavestilettosonthecover,”MsFrasersays.“ButIwouldn’tbesurprisediftheyalsohadtrainers.Womenliveinaverybigchurch.”
Thesubjectisenduring,andbroad.ThinkCathyandHeathcliff,Austen’s"Emma",the1930sgem"MissPettigrewLivesforaDay".AlongsidechicklitemergedhilarioustakesonbalancingcareerandmotherhoodsuchasMaeveHaran’s"HavingItAll"andAllisonPearson’s"IDon’tKnowHowSheDoesIt".ThecurrentpopularityoftragictalesofTudorqueensandotherhistories,andtheemergenceoffamilythrillerslikeEmmaDonohue’s"Room"andRosamundLupton’s"Sister"suggestthatthelate,lamentedchicklitismerelyonepink-huedincarnationofastill-vitalphenomenonofstoriesthatconveythefemaleexperience.
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