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July 11, 2005

Reaching Across The Aisle

From Lauren, July's Guest Literary Chick!

Earlier this year I entered an essay contest sponsored by, I don’t even remember now – maybe Mobil Oil Corporation? – to write an essay on what is the better path to success in business, competition or cooperation. I adopted the latter stance, citing as my model the second season of “The Apprentice.” Maybe that’s why I didn’t win? Regardless, I wrote about how the character of Jen had proved problematic for most contestants to work with and how when the field was down to five, Stacy, rather than competing with her teammate Jen, did what none of the others were able to accomplish before: she cooperated with her and, even though they were just two against three on the other side, they managed to outsell the team with the greater number of members. OK, maybe the skimpy red shirts and miniskirts helped, but still I think it was that spirit of cooperation that carried the day.

In American politics today we also see the perils of not cooperating. When Republicans and Democrats stay firmly entrenched on their individual sides of the aisle, little gets accomplished and unpleasantness ensues. It’s not that it’s not important to hold onto one’s ideals, but so much more can be achieved when people seek out their similarities, the middle ground, rather than staunchly adhering to the my-way-or-the-highway approach.

And in publishing it’s no different.

It used to be that there were two major camps in publishing, Literary v. Commercial. And within the area of women writers, that distinction has lately devolved down to the following: Chicks v. Lits. The former resents the greater review attention bestowed on the latter; the latter resents the greater sales of a hot market. But what if, instead of wasting our time throwing stones at one another, we were to pool our reader resources towards the end of greater benefit for all?

I can’t speak for anyone else’s reading habits but I know that, for myself, I can’t stand to just keep reading the same kind of book over and over again. I read a lot and I read widely, always have. A typical week of reading for me might include one literary novel or classic, a more chicky book, some nonfiction thrown in. Certainly, each week includes reading three books a night to my five-year-old daughter, those reading sessions growing incredibly long as her own tastes move into the realm of chapter books. But if I were to only read literary novels or only read chick books, eventually I know I would start to read less. It would be like eating shrimp cocktail or chocolate mousse all day long every day: I like both foods, but not all the time, thanks. And it’s the same for me with books. My appreciation of any book is enhanced by the differences in the books I read that surround that particular reading.

Frequently, perhaps because of my history as an independent bookseller and reviewer and writer, I get asked for recommendations. Or I get asked by fans, “So, what else do you think I’d like?” This question has made me start to wonder what books I can recommend from the other side of the aisle and, in my pursuit of coming up with a list of books written by literary novelists I could recommend here, I consulted my friends at www.readerville.com - a site devoted to readers and writers that I wholly recommend you subscribe to. I asked for recommendations for books that had a smart, ironical, satirical, or underlying humorous tone, since it seems to me that the success of chick books has as much to do with tone as it does with shoes (See essay from last week, “How is a Book Like a Shoe?”), maybe more so. Years ago, when coming back from Puerto Rico, my plane was struck by lightning, all the passengers becoming fast convinced they were going to die. My reaction? “At least I got my vacation in.” This may seem a callous response to a serious situation, but I don’t think so; I love my family just as much as anyone, I think, and the saddest part for me of that experience was imagining my poor parents getting that awful phone call. But it is that attitude – the attitude that, in the face of death, rather than crying “Oh, but I haven’t lived yet!”, instead says, “Hey, I had a good time in this life!” – that represents to me the best of the spirit of chick books.

The following, then, is offered in the spirit of achieving détente in the publishing world, at least among women. All of the books mentioned are, I believe, books that would be of interest to anyone who likes chick books and also has an interest in reading widely and well.
Case Histories, Kate Atkinson – recently selected by the LitBlog Co-op as their first Read This! selection, this is about a detective taking on three unsolved crimes in the London area.
Nice Big American Baby, Judy Budnitz – a collection of stories that is a nice big blend of comic and serious.

The Epicure’s Lament, Kate Christensen – a character-driven novel about Hugo Whittier, a 40-year-old misanthrope who’s not doing so good these days.

The Hills at Home, Nancy Clark – a domestic comedy, set in Boston.

What to Keep, Rachel Cline – one of my personal favorites from 2004 and an Amazon pick for best book of that year.

Gods in Alabama, Joshilyn Jackson – any book that opens with the line “There are gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus...” is always going to be OK in my book.

Normal Girl: A Novel, Molly Jong-Fast – about a female drug addict or, as one Amazon reviewer puts it, “Bret Easton Ellis Meets Sex and the City.”

Paradise, A.L. Kennedy – as the heroine says, when asked what she does for a living, “Oh, a little theft, monstrosity, credit-card fraud, and my hobbies include giving blow jobs to unpleasant men while I'm semi-unconscious. I also drink a lot."

Liars and Saints, Maile Meloy – a wedding and a funeral, between which a Catholic family is chronicled over a period of five decades.

Moo, Jane Smiley – academia at an agricultural college from the woman who gave us one of my favorite books of all time, A Thousand Acres.

Who Will Run the Frog Hospital, Lorrie Moore – a sparkling collection of stories, the one with the guy in the condom costume alone making it well worth the price of admission.

Confessions of a Bad Girl, Bette Pesetsky – collected stories with an irresistible title.

Blue Angel, Francine Prose – satire set in Vermont about fictional Euston College, where people go if they can’t get into Bennington.

Rameau’s Niece, Cathleen Schine – Margraret Nathan, author of a best-selling scholarly biography, finds herself entranced with the manuscript of an 18th century dirty novel.

The Hazards of Good Breeding, Jessica Shattuck – a social comedy about the pressures of contemporary life in wealthy Boston.

The Queen and I, Sue Townshend – the British decide to get rid of the monarchy and Liz et alia find themselves living on the dole.

The Little Women, Katharine Weber – if you read only one book on this list, then read this one, which is about Meg and Jo and Amy – but not Beth! – dealing with parental issues and college life in contemporary New York and New Haven. Come on, we’ve all read the Alcott book – how can anyone resist?

The Position, Meg Wolitzer – sex and suburbia, about a family where the mother and father wrote a Joy of Sex-style bestseller.

OK, I’ve taken the first step here. Now, if only someone from The Other Side would reach back across the aisle to us, maybe we can get something good going here.

Lauren Baratz-Logsted is the author of The Thin Pink Line and Crossing the Line. Her third novel, A Little Change of Face, will be published in July 2005. Her essay, “If Jane Austen Were Writing Today,” is collected in Flirting with Pride and Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-Lit Masterpiece, edited by Jennifer Crusie and due out from Benbella Books on September 1.

Posted by at 6:00 AM | Comments (1)

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Posted by: beejay at July 12, 2005 5:15 PM