OK between reading Jack Kerouac, Chuck Palahniuk, Jeff Noon, and Aldous Huxley, I occasionally read chick lit and romance novels. Yeah I know it is formulaic, thoughtless, and crass. I still read it anyway. I have for the past couple of years or so have noticed that there is a subset of romance novels that caters to black women who are into IR. I would say white men, but I don't know a lot of guys who read romance novels. Now many times I have a problem with these type of books, much for the same reason I hate a lot of "urban" (read black) fiction.
Apparently black people are so obsessed with name brands we must make mention of them from the shoes a girl is wearing, the car she drives, the liquor she drinks.
In all other books a woman would have a dry martini, it would be written. "The woman had a dry martini."
In the "urban" fiction book, "The woman sipped her Grey Goose martini, extra dry as her Tiffany bracelet clanked against the Lalique crystal stemware that came from Neiman's. "
You get my point?
Then there is the matter of I guess small publishing houses aren't into editing books. I have seen the word conversate in more books than I care to admit, over and over again, repeatedly being used. For the record, conversate is not a word. It never was. The word is converse. Seriously. I know. Besides that, why can't you say you were talking? Or had a discussion? Hell even say you were chit chatting?
I understand some typos, hell I am the typo queen!!!!! I admit to it. But it just rubs me the wrong way when I see pages upon pages of typos.
Is it me, or am I judging these books a bit more harsher, than lets say the "classics"?
I know that we should be excited that there are even books geared towards this type of IR, but honestly I wish there were more mainstream books in which IR took place, but was not at center stage. I noticed with Jack Kerouac, who happens to be one of my favorite writers, he mentions his attraction to IR, but it isn't the gist of the story. I honestly think his book was the first book I ever read that even addressed IR between white men and black women. His book also discusses hitchhiking across the country, which for a brief period of time after reading "On the Road" I was eager to do before I got concerned about serial killer truck drivers, and determining I would have to go into truck stop prostitution to fund my endeavor.
Why aren't there more mainstream books or literature with an IR theme?
5 comments:
I had to respond to this, since I'm about to submit my first novel.
Romance is a take it or leave it. And it follows a formula for most, which gets boring, so I rarely read it.
Most publishing houses do a good job with the editing. The ones that don't want to pay the extra for proofreaders/editors/copy-editors, etc. You are going to get a crappy edited novel. And this reflects on the author, although it's out of their hands once it goes to the type-setter.
Blue Ridge by T.R. Pearson was a great lit. Cry For Marsella was a good one also. Envious Shadows, One Mississipi, and I can go on. I've found men in the Romance section. And there are a couple of male romance writers that are actually almost better than the female ones.
"Urban" Fiction is just a play on stereotypes. (50Cent has got his hand in it. I read the first couple of pages and threw it back on the shelf!) But it caters to the hip-hop culture that is full of young men/women. Who reads most of these books though? Black girls/women.
I cannot follow half of the slang/ebonics in it so it gets left alone. The bookstores carry these like it's a given black ppl want to read it.
I've been lucky enough to find some good I/R Novels. Great, in fact. When you start having a popular genre, the publishers jump on it and just put out anything. They just want to see the bottom line. So sifting through the trash gets tiring. I tend to stick with I/R mysteries/action/literature type romance where there is more to the story than boy meets girl.
Dee
I tried, I really tried when I was younger to get into it, but first thing.. I detest chick lit (although I am learning to lighten up on it, but urrgggh, I can't help it)
secondly, 'conversate' is going to make it into the dictionary at some point.. whether we like it or not lol. It's become one of those words that has just taking a life of it's own.
Anon-
I don't get why they think we need books based upon a hip hop video. I do notice that at my borders, you have the "black" section, but more notable black writers (Chinua Achebe, Toni Morrison) will still be in the "regular" fiction section of the store. If Zane, Eric Jerome Dickey, and E. Lynn Harris are involved it is so in the "black" section. I will hang my head in shame and say I have read an E. Lynn Harris book. I will also say I got really scared, I looked at everyone from my husband, to my brother, to my daddy as being DL brothas. In his books every man is open to the option of gay loving.I had to quit reading that.
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Soul-
Don't say that. We have to eradicate conversate from everyday conversation!! We have to, that and the word "mines". For example, "I got mines at Wal Mart." Hello did you get cloned? Mines? Are there two of you?
Girrrrlllll!!!! You are SO funny and dead on. I just found this blog through another link and I love it,love it, love it!!!! You are DEAD-ON about these "Urban" novels....I cannot take it anymore! ha ha ha
Love your blog!
Amen! Preach it girl, preach it. Btw as a writer myself, I stick with IR themes, because I like to date interracial myself and so do a lot of women and men that I know. I feel that I should do my part as an aspiring romance/supernatural writer. :) Also. I hate slang words, but I admit I use them. Not conversate, if I used that I'd shoot myself. I mean ain't and gonna, those are the ones that slide into a conversation despite all of the english courses I've grumbled through.
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