The twilight of literature

A gross generalization you might think, but true on at least one account if Meyer's book of the same name is anything to go by. The first 20 pages of Twilight convinced me against further perusal. Credit to my friend: he got as far as 80, and if his review does justice to the 60 pages I missed, I shall be glad indeed to have dismissed the novel as early as I did. I think it important to make a little note here: Meyer's book is not considered romance per se. Neither is the unfortunate category under which it correctly falls, id est, chick lit. Chick lit is not to be confused with romance, bad enough that it is considered literature! I am, as you surely accuse me and which I freely admit, biased; but only because I have yet to find a novel classified chick lit that is not woefully shallow in its portrayal of its characters and its depiction of love. I hardly know what to think of its apparent success in sales. Perhaps it is due to the fact that it is exceedingly good at creating characters hormone driven teenagers, particularly our female counterparts, can relate to? Sorry! I have nothing uncomplimentary to say about those of the female persuasion, but the vast majority of fans raving over Twilight are, in fact, female. Chick lit itself is primarily targeted at the very same.

If I have not thoroughly alienated you with my highly biased expostulation by now, permit me to draw your attention to a book that does justice to the names of romance and literature both! Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is probably vastly superior to anything you will find on chick lit shelves, no matter how hard you search. Set in the victorian period, Austen succeeds in creating an engaging story populated by equally interesting characters without feeling the need to include vampires. Described as genius, Austen's use of English does full justice to the meaning of the word. Neither does she condescend to present a watered down version of feminine issues, nor fail to include at least one moral lesson from the 'sparkling comedy of manners', as it is called, that follows. As far as literature and romance, or for that matter English, is concerned, Jane Austen is pretty darned hard to beat. I have never been a fan of love stories myself, but Pride and Prejudice might change that. I entreat you, the next time you visit the bookstore, to give the book a go. Never mind it's being a classic, it might surprise you.