Chick Literate » English chick lit

Out of the Blue

lklawless — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:34:08 +0000

Isabel Wolff will always remain one of my favorite chick lit authors, even though I was incredibly disappointed by her third book, Out of the Blue. It’s the story of a woman whose husband has an affair and leaves her, sort of, but never manages to completely make the break – and she doesn’t really help him much either. The reason I was so disappointed was that SPOILERS her husband never, not once, regretted the long-term affair, and yet in the end she took him back in what was supposed to be a romantic finish but I just found ridiculous. I kept thinking “any minute now, she’ll realize what a loser he is,” but it never happened.

Bridget Jones’s Diary Returns

lklawless — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:00:16 +0000

If The Edge of Reason, the sequel to Bridget Jones’s Diary, left you wanting more, then you’re in luck: Helen Fielding did another series of columns which are available online. (Or maybe you’re not as lame as I am and already read them when they were published 3 years ago.) Anyway, it’s a little bit of a drag to have to read Bridget’s third and almost certainly final volume on the computer, but I couldn’t bring myself to print out all those pages. Regardless, the year of weekly diary entries brings things to a much more satisfactory conclusion: Bridget Jones’s Diary Returns. (Note that the site also includes links to articles about the columns – the actual diary entries have bolded dates.)

The Trials of Tiffany Trott

lklawless — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:33:31 +0000

One of the earliest chick lit books, The Trials of Tiffany Trott, by Isabel Wolff, is also one of the most fun. Tiffany is 37 and still looking for Mr. Right in a quest that leads her to classified ads, blind dates, Club Med, and pretty much anywhere else single men might conceivably hang out. Very funny and a pleasure to read!

French Relations

lklawless — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 07:29:41 +0000

Fiona Walker’s French Relations has a lot of good points, and one scene in particular is laugh-until-you-bawl funny. But it has some bad ones too, like obvious and repeated foreshadowing (I think I counted 10 mentions of the same event) and an over-reliance on puns for laughs. They can be funny, sure, but that sort of humor starts to get old really quickly. But it’s a fun read, and has a sequel. I love books with sequels for the same reason I like TV more than movies – I like to stay invested in the same characters for as long as possible.

The Edge of Reason

lklawless — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:56:27 +0000

The second (and final) Bridget Jones book, Helen Fielding’s The Edge of Reason, isn’t as good as the first, but it’s definitely worth a read or five. The timing is off in places (e.g., Magda’s pregnancy/new baby in the two books) and some of the situations are a little too outrageous, but all in all it’s fun and funny, and there are couple of truly touching moments, which surprised me a little (in a good way).

Just Friends

lklawless — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:00:36 +0000

It’s set in New York, but I would definitely classify Just Friends, by Robyn Sisman, as English chick lit. Either way, the whole book is fun and there are a couple of truly hilarious scenes. The characters and, more importantly, the various mix-ups and misunderstandings are believable, which makes them all the funnier. This is kind of a long book – 400 pages – but it’s thoroughly enjoyable.

Straight Talking

lklawless — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:00:03 +0000

Jane Green’s first book, Straight Talking, is not her best. Tasha is both shallow and selfish, and I couldn’t root for her no matter how hard I tried. At one point she found out something hurtful and I actually thought “serves you right!” (She said as much to herself, too, but that still wasn’t enough for me to forgive her.) Though I didn’t hate it, I didn’t like it either, and if it had been the first Jane Green book I read, I wouldn’t ever have picked up any of her others, most of which are great.

Getting Over It

lklawless — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:00:25 +0000

If you like books with a mix of comedy and tragedy, then Anna Maxted’s Getting Over It is just the ticket. Helen has a terrible track record with men, and at first the death of her father barely fazes her. But as the story unfolds, she develops closer relationships with a few different people and learns a lot about them and herself in the process.

SPOILERS I was particularly touched by the scene where Helen gives Tom the paint set. It was such a thoughtful, special thing to do.

The domestic abuse situation was horrifying and so realistic that it actually made me feel sick.

Living Dangerously

lklawless — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:00:10 +0000

I really liked parts of Katie Fforde’s Living Dangerously, and because of that I’ve read it several times. Polly, the protagonist, is 35 and happy to live on her own. She seems like a perfectly pleasant person. However, the implausability of it all eventually gets to me.

SPOILERS She is described as being somewhat plain, yet she is actively pursued by two completely different but extremely eligible men, and two others also express interest in her. I just don’t buy it. I believe in not judging a book by its cover, etc., but I just don’t believe that an average-sounding woman in her mid-30s would have 4 men slobbering over her. And that’s what ruins this book for me.

Honeymoon

lklawless — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:00:07 +0000

Honeymoon, by Amy Jenkins, is one of my very favorite chick lit novels. It’s both funny and clever, and I felt a strong connection with the heroine and several other characters. She’s about to get married, even though she hasn’t seen the Love of Her Life in years. Her fiancé is a good guy but he’s just not The One, and when… well, I won’t tell you the rest. Trust me, if you like chick lit, you’ve got to read this one.