chicfic is the new ladylit
Here is my first BlogLily Summer Reading Program report. Haha. I am ahead of everyone else because I have the prototype program booklet thing in my hands. (Yours goes out this Friday.) But then again, I am not actually competing for any of the prizes because that is not allowed. It’s not allowed ever in any program of any kind, is it? Still, in the interest of participating in all the fun, here is my review:
In Her Shoes, Jennifer Weiner.
I checked this out from the South Lake Tahoe Public Library because I am under the impression that this is women’s fiction, which is one of the categories of reads for the BL Summer Reading Program. Why am I under this impression? Because Jennifer Weiner eloquently and unapologetically says it is. And she should know, because she wrote it. Plus, she went to Princeton, and I think that gives her a little added authority, don’t you? (You don’t? Well, maybe you have a point. By the time you’re in your thirties, your Ivy League credentials have aged into irrelevance. And then all that matters is whether you can write a book that made me cry.)
Book made me laugh: Yes. Jennifer Weiner is funny. No question.
Book made me cry: It did! It did! I gave up all critical distance and gave myself completely up to the story, which is basically the tale of two sisters — one sensible and a size 14 (would that be Sense?) and one dyslexic and hot as hell (would that be Sensibility?) One hurts the other. Guess who? (Yes that would be sensibility who does the hurting.) They wear the same size shoes (that would be the title). One is a lawyer (that would be Sense.) They must learn to get along, and they must also come to terms with their mother’s death early in their lives and the horrible fall out from that death. It is a really fine plot.
Did I cringe at the writing?: No. Jennifer Weiner is a good writer. She is clear and clever and a good plotter. Whatever this is, it is not trash.
Did I learn something new about myself, about life, about people, about how fiction is put together? No, I did not.
Did I expect to learn something new about myself, about life, about people, about how fiction is put together? Not really. Why must every book do this? Jennifer Weiner did not set out to do this, so why should she be penalized for not accomplishing something she never even suggested she was going to do?
Is this a bad book? No. As I mentioned, I enjoyed it. I like crying at stories when I know that everything is going to work out. It’s like a movie where you know exactly what’s going to happen but the acting is good, the locations are lovely, the dialogue is sharp — you know you’re in good hands.
Is it a great book? No. Sense and Sensibility is a great book. It is very difficult to write a great book and really I very much doubt a great one has yet been written this century.
Other books like this: Well, I believe I have mentioned Sense and Sensibility which is also the story of two sisters who have to learn to love properly. They do, however, get along through most of the book. Another book this reminds me of is Cathleen Schine’s The Three Weismanns of Westport, which I vaguely remember is modeled after Sense and Sensibility, although honestly I wouldn’t have realized that if the book jacket didn’t mention it.
