In January, I began a challenge designed to stretch my reading boundaries. I chose 3 - 4 books in each of several genres. Last week, I finished the last of the romance books I'd chosen.
What I read:
JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte (1847) - chosen as an example of "classic" romance
A DUKE OF HER OWN by Eloisa James (2009) - chosen as a recently published work
THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks (1996) - chosen as a mid-range work, published between the other two
Thoughts:
Except for JANE EYRE, I was embarrassed to buy these. I totally buried them under a western! I wasn't justified; some romances are crap, but others are well-written. I shouldn't avoid a whole genre.
Nicholas Sparks writes love stories, not romance novels. Those are his words (paraphrased) and, as far as THE NOTEBOOK goes, correct. Romance implies courtship, and typical romance stories throw in complications as well, such as an initial mutual dislike between the two potential romancers. But Sparks' NOTEBOOK characters got together really early in the book and were sympatico from the start. In retrospect, I should have chosen a work of, say, Sidney Sheldon or Danielle Steele.
Complications should be compelling. Not trivial. Not contrived. For any genre.
I fall for the remote-but-flawed romantic hero. They're called Byronic heroes, and they're everywhere: Mr. Darcy, Rhett Butler, Han Solo. Arrogant. Damaged. Totally hot.
I'm likely to enjoy other romance books, if they're well-written and historical -- the types of books I love to fall into.
How about you? Do you enjoy romance novels? What do you like about the genre and its tropes?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Jack of All Genres: Romance
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4 ate pie:
Hi, Shannon! I hopped over from Christine Fonseca's blog. It's always fun to "meet" another Shannon! :-)
Howdy, Shannon -- Thanks for sharing the pie with us!
Answer: it depends. As you said, as long as they are well-written I like them. But I, like you, do not gravitate toward them naturally.
Having said that, I read Jane Eyre for the first time last year and LOVED it!!
I can't believe it took me so long to read it. Well, I can, but still. :)
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