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’Net Junkie Shawn "Speedy" Lopes |
Romance novel
fills a needI've never quite understood the allure of romance novels with some women. When browsing through a bookstore, it takes more than a title like "French Silk," "Shattered Lullaby" or "Forever After" to catch my attention.
Most book-browsing men are instead enticed by splashy, screaming graphics and bold, lively photos. Place a magazine emblazoned with a picture of a scantily-clad Paris Hilton stretched over a Ferrari 360 Spider on a newsstand, and chances are I'll do a quick double take. Put a football in her hand, and I'll probably skim the cover story, at least.
When it comes to simple visual stimulation, we men are sad, predictable creatures, I'll admit. But a depiction of a windswept Fabio, done up in a swashbuckler's outfit, dipping a limp, googly-eyed woman, seems a little silly to me.
What is it, then, about the romance novel that has made it a $1 billion industry and an obsession for millions of women?
I've found at least a few answers at members.tripod.com/HealthTips4U/id100.htm, in which Edel Jarboe, editor of the estrogen-charged simplerliving.com Web site, attempts to explain women's attraction to lovey-dovey fiction.
There are the characters: "Regardless of what the physical attributes of the heroine may be, we identify with her," she says. "And, as we continue to read, we feel connected to both the hero and the heroine. We inevitably begin to compare our own relationship with the one in the book."
Jarboe goes on to explain that the plot and sex really don't count for much because it's the "intimate connection" that matters most.
The Romance Writers of America, a national nonprofit writers association that lays claim to being the largest of its kind in the world, seems to agree. At www.rwanational.org/romance.stm, I've learned that every romance novel involves two key elements: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Once these conditions are met, a romance novel can take place anywhere, any time.
I still can't bear to read more than one flowery passage of this mushy stuff, but after browsing through dozens of romance novel-related Web sites, I've come to see that in essence, romance novels are an escape for many women. And that's fine. It gives them something to do while we watch our equally pointless preseason basketball games.
Note: Web sites mentioned in this column were active at time of publication. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin neither endorses nor is responsible for their contents.
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’Net Junkie drops every Monday.
Contact Shawn "Speedy" Lopes at slopes@starbulletin.com.
