Engleski A - 2019. jesen, reading 2.

Romantic Fiction

Sometimes when I’m in town with enough time on my hands, I like to pop into the nearest bookshop for a jolly good browse among the shelves. I could say it’s a cheaper option than buying a cappuccino, or a more interesting one than catching up on my Facebook page, but the truth is I am, and always have been, a bibliophile, with broad tastes, which range from chick lit at one end of the scale, to more intellectual stuff at the other. However, I have noticed I am changing.

I like to start with highbrow culture, checking out the latest hardbacks from real authors of real literature. I studiously read the promotional descriptions on their jacket covers, and thumb through them, trying to form an impression, hoping that other browsers will appreciate how clever I am. But quite soon such serious books become rather heavy, with their complicated storylines and big ideas, and my back starts to ache, and I find myself moving towards the romantic fiction shelves.

At my stage of life, I find sitting down with a romantic novel is like joining a friend who is always interesting and reassuring. Yes, you can be exposed to suffering and heartache, but they don’t belong to you, they are someone else’s pain. And you know that, despite the obstacles, love will win out. It can be a shock returning to the real world after the delicious enjoyment of a story. Our own lives can seem disappointing by comparison.

So, is reading romantic fiction good or bad for us? This question was the topic of a two-part television documentary I read about recently. Numerous authors, psychologists, and media personalities warned of the dangers. Reading too much of it was likely to cause you to inhabit a land of fantasy, in which you too will find love, just like the characters in the stories. But personally speaking, I am a big fan of escapism. No matter how difficult our own lives might be, a good story can push all our troubles away. And the sales speak for themselves.

There are many ingredients in a good romantic novel. But most important for me is that the characters are easy for us to identify with. We want to be able to relate with what happens to them, which should reflect our own lives. What girl has not wanted to impress her boyfriend’s parents? What girl has not kept a journal, recording her resolution to be friends only with sensible men? And who has not suffered the anguish of a relationship breaking down?

Many people say that women like romantic fiction because it’s all the same, we know what we are going to get. But this ignores the variety within the genre, espionage, historical fiction, legal dramas, workplace dramas. Other people say we read romance because the male heroes are more considerate and attentive than the men in our real lives. And some are even of the opinion that we read such books because they don’t make us think too much. Many of these views are patronising, and miss the mark. The point is that reading romantic fiction is the equivalent of eating a bowl of your favourite potato chips while watching your favourite programme on TV. It might not be nutritious but a part of you cannot resist it. And as noted earlier, the sales speak for themselves.