Diving deep into chick lit
Locked in a lengthy discussion on a recent Wednesday night were lawyers, social workers, educators, and graduate students - all women who ranged in age from early 20s to 40s. The group probably had enough collective knowledge to advise a political candidate or work as a think tank. And the group was a think tank - sort of - except its members were discussing chick lit, books about clumsy single women looking for love, adorned with covers that show high heels and shopping bags.
This was the Cambridge Public Library's official Chick Lit Book Club. They have discussed such novels as "How to Be Single" by Liz Tuccillo, who also co-wrote "He's Just Not That Into You"; "Baby Proof" by Emily Giffin, who also wrote "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue" (yes, those are two books); and, of course, Candace Bushnell's "Sex and the City."
The plots of these books are nice and easy, and their jackets are pastel. But this chick lit book club is not light on the brain. In fact, the group gets deep.
"Is it really all shopping, fashion, nannies, and drama - or can these characters actually teach us something about our lives and ourselves?" group leader Kelly Linehan writes in her description of the club on the library's website.
This psychoanalytical approach to what some might call vapid literature may explain why the chick lit club has become one of the two most popular at the library (the other is the local chapter of the national organization Great Books). After three years of meetings, and despite the fact that the chick lit boom is long over, these women are still finding that Bridget Jones-style subject matter works surprisingly well as a springboard for introspective discussion and self-analysis.
The book on the agenda last month was Leah Stewart's "The Myth of You & Me," which members agreed is "high-end chick lit." That means the writing isn't terrible. The novel tells the story of two close childhood friends who dramatically part ways only to reconnect years later when one of them gets married.
The group started its discussion by addressing the strange intensity of female friendships and how the bond can be more fragile and passionate than romantic partnership. One book club member suggested that men aren't capable of connecting as deeply in their same-gender friendships.
"Not straight men, anyway," chimed in Audrey, a 41-year-old lawyer.
They moved on to one of the book's two main characters, whose protective shell prevents her from having honest relationships. That prompted Jenn, a social worker, to discuss her own defense mechanisms. Like the book's main character, she was once a military brat who was often forced to leave friends behind. She grew up prepared for all relationships to be temporary.
Carol Stern, a textile designer and one of the older members of the club, was empathetic. The older you get, the harder it becomes to maintain friendships, she said. "I feel like I have so many little lives and people from each one of those lives. None of them jibe together," she said.
All the sharing and self-analysis was getting to me. I offered up my own story about a close friendship I lost after I raised doubts about her impending marriage. The women asked for details and critiqued my choices. They told me my story sounded like a book - one they'd probably like to read.
One could argue that the depth of discussion in Cambridge has more to do with the group's members than the book list, but Linehan says some credit goes to the genre. Narratives about friends in trouble and the quest for love are just as relevant to the lives of middle-class, educated women (and perhaps more so) than the more socially acceptable book club-friendly novels about oppression and foreign wars.
When the group has its December meeting next week, it will discuss "Pretty Little Mistakes" by Heather McElhatton. It's a choose-your-own-adventure chick lit book that allows you to pick your own ending. Not surprisingly, the cover of the book shows colorful silhouettes of long legs in high heels. But, as Linehan and the Cambridge group would say, the merits of the book may be in the discussion that follows.
Meredith Goldstein can be reached at mgoldstein@globe.com. 