大学英语四级美文欣赏：都市女性文学之死思维导图

Adecadeafter"BridgetJones’sDiary"and"ConfessionsofaShopaholic"unleashedatsunamiofstilettoheels,chicklitisn’tasmuchdeadastransformed.Thegenrehasgrownupandmovedon.Ifanythingshouldbelaidtorest,manywomeninpublishingargue,it’sthedubiousanddenigratinglabelthathashungonitlikeanalbatrossfromthestart.

“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.

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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