The Endurance of Women's Fiction

There is some truth to the notion that Women's Fiction is ephemeral - especially "contemporary" women's fiction. (I would say though that applies to contemporary fiction in general - things just don't always age well when they are grounded in a certain time period.) Chick lit in particular gets hit hard in this way, because it revolves so much around fashion, and trends, and name-dropping, etc.

Historical women's fiction however, tends to age nicely. Case in point - the recent Dusty Book review on Shelf Renewal of Jacqueline Briskin's The Naked Heart.

In The Naked Heart, bestselling author Briskin crafts a story of war, revenge, friendship, and love. Gilberte and Anne are best friends torn apart by the Nazis in World War I. Aristocratic Gilberte is uncovered as a collaborator while Anne gets to run off into the sunset with Gilberte’s cousin. Years later they meet again, and Gilberte is hell-bent on revenge.  Secrets from the past will get you every time…

You can read the full mini-review here, at Shelf Renewal. 

Shelf Renewal Cross-Promotion

I've been mentioning recently that the March 15 issue of Booklist has the Women's Fiction Spotlight, and I realized I should also note that I am also doing a Women's Fiction theme on one of the Booklist blogs, Shelf Renewal.

For the next 2 weeks, I'll be posting lists like "With Friends Like These, Watch Your Men," and making note of what we call "Dusty Books" (a loving tribute to library books that may be languishing on the shelf), such as today's post featuring Robin Gold's Perfectly True Tales of a Perfect Size 12.

So go and check out Shelf Renewal!

Booklist March 15 Issue: Women's Fiction SPOTLIGHT

I am very pleased to announce that the March 15 issue of Booklist contains the Women's Fiction Spotlight!
This means there are feature articles devoted to Women's Fiction (I'll share one below!) as well as new reviews of nearly 20 new Women's Fiction titles.

If you are not a subscriber to Booklist, you can view some of the content online for free. You can also check with your local library (many public libraries have subscriptions to Booklist, and if they do not have a copy out for the public, they will usually be glad to let you read the staff copy in-house, at least!).

My favorite feature article from this issue is "Rebecca's Rules". Check it out at: http://bit.ly/Y9O12H.

BOL Review: Market Street by Anita Hughes

Cassie Blake is the heiress to San Francisco’s most elite department store, Fenton’s. But instead of flaunting her family’s success, she prefers the simplicity of her life volunteering, and showing off her green thumb, at a local community garden, and taking care of her handsome professor husband, Aidan. But in just a blink of an eye, everything changes and the simple life she cherished is coming apart at the seams. After learning about her husband’s affair with one of the students in his ethics class, she moves out and stays in her rich best friend’s mansion, where she needs to decide...Read the rest of the review at Booklist Online.