I’ve been reading YA and chick-lit fiction these holidays. Pure escapism. And watching old episodes of the OC. Or “the O and C” as my son would say. As a result I’m quite relaxed and the trauma of having to teach low level migrants who are in cultural shock etc… is behind me. Or so I thought, until I started dreaming about them. I must have locked them away somewhere in the subconscious because they leak out at around 3-4am in the morning. They’re not bad dreams. In all the dreams I am quite calm and feel okay about things, but I’ve been waking up in a bad mood because it’s like I’ve had to go back to that place two weeks before I actually have to set foot there.
I read Sophie Kinsella’s book about the lawyer who thinks she’s lost 50 million pounds for her firm and ends up being a housekeeper for a nouveau riche couple. It’s typical rom-com and it’s the same formula – does the single girl choose hot shot career or life. I really don’t like chick-lit because it always seems to be either-or. I enjoy chick-lit mainly because I like the glamorous big city world depicted and the comedy. Also when I’m feeling rather unsure of myself, I like the reassurance that there are people out there on the verge of nervous breakdowns and worry about the same inane things that I do. I also started reading Marian Keyes Sushi for Beginners. I’m not sure about the “exotic Asian” girlfriend character – Mai. I wish she didn’t include her because it’s taking away from my enjoyment of the book as just a bit of fun fluff. I know Keyes has included her in there as an anti-stereotype because the character (half Irish/Chinese or Vietnamese – she mentions she’s Chinese in one part and Vietnamese in the other – typing/editing error?) draws attention to the “ping pong” ball stereotypes and she plays on her exoticism to keep her boyfriend. Really she’s a down to earth, confident, sassy Irish gal who sells mobile phones – though she tells everyone she’s an exotic dancer. I know what the author is trying to do, but I’m not sure it quite works. Also sometimes the narrator speaks from Mai’s p.o.v which doesn’t quite work for me either because at all other times the narrator only tells the story from the perspective of the three main characters. Maybe it is impossible to mention a character’s ethnicity without drawing attention to it and all the other stereotypes. Maybe in order to just “be” and not engage in conversations about identity/race, these characters have to be white.
I know there’s a growing genre called “ethnic chick-lit” and this is taken more seriously because the characters talk about issues of race/identity. I’ve had a glimpse through one of these books and I don’t find it any more serious and in fact find the talk about race/identity a bit 101. Having said this, I wrote a story recently that treated my readers like retards where I spelt out everything explicitly. “It’s like you don’t trust your readers,” was one comment and the fact is I don’t.
Damnit – my baby is up and needs the loo.