Book Genre Problems: Femicrime Is The New Chick Lit

By Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis for Bookish:

Lisbeth Salander, the rugged yet vulnerable hacker chick who powered Stieg Larsson's trilogy to the top of just about every bestseller list in the world, isn't the only dominant woman in Scandinavian mysteries. Female crime writers have long been bestsellers from Oslo to Helsinki—there's a whole school of Nordic "Crime Queens"—and yet there's a debate raging over here in the most socially progressive corner of the world about so-called "femicrime." The label may sound more grudgingly respectful than "chick lit," but it's still a ghettoizing term that boxes whatever book is tagged with it into a pink corner.

Much the way American fiction has been viewed along gender lines—remember the brouhaha last year around the publication of Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom"?—there's a similar divide even in oh-so-progressive Scandinavia, where the backlash is against femicrime, whatever that is. To some, it is any crime novel written by a woman: One prominent Swedish critic, Ernst Brunner, compared the Crime Queens to a plague of savage birds intent on ravaging his beloved literature, which would surely "perish if this is allowed to go on." Then there was popular Swedish novelist Björn Ranelid, who said that anyone could write like international bestseller Liza Marklund, but "only one man in the world can write like Björn Ranelid."

To others, the label means crime fiction with a feminist attitude. And to yet another group of critics, commentators and fellow writers, it describes the type of mystery that mixes the criminal plot with liberal helpings of the home life and everyday troubles of the female detective. Chick lit disguised as private dick lit, if you like. Yet there's a bias at work here too. When Liza Marklund describes the problems her journalist protagonist is having with her ex, or a hurried meal of fish fingers and mashed potatoes for her children, apparently it counts as froth. No such criticisms are leveled when male detectives go bourbon-guzzling or pub-crawling and rant about the women who've done them wrong. In both cases, we're digging into the private lives of characters—but why should the more domestic version be dismissed as trivial?

To pigeonhole a novel as femicrime solely because it was written by a woman is absurd. Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, and P.D. James, for instance, are considered mystery writers, no special-interest labels attached. Should we be calling books written by men “mascucrime”? If we must use the term femicrime, then it should be reserved for crime fiction with strong female characters and a feminist attitude, like the novels of Sarah Paretsky. Nearly 30 years ago, she marched right into the American boys’ crime clubhouse and showed them all that a PI could be hard-nosed, clever, gutsy—and wear heels. A number of tough Scandinavian investigators have inherited a string or two of literary DNA from Paretsky's famous detective, V. I. Warshawski, and her influence can certainly be felt in our work. We've been fans of Warshawski since her first outing, in "Indemnity Only." If that's what constitutes femicrime, then we will wear the label proudly, right alongside Stieg Larsson.

The dirty old trench coat does not in itself hold more literary merit than the silk blouse; what matters is the character who wears it.

Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis are the authors of the runaway Danish bestseller "The Boy in the Suitcase" [$24.00, SoHo Crime].

Read more about Scandinavian crime queens at Bookish.

Comments

[Mr Philip Swan]

02:00 PM on 12/15/2011

Ruth Rendell is my favorite writer, period. I've met her twice and on my shelves are over 100 signed copies of her books. She most certainly does not write 'femicrime' - she writes disturbing explorations of the obsessive/compulsive mind and personality. From the British reviews I've read of her novels, and the high regard she's held in by other British writers, I tend to agree with those who say that, were she not 'pegged' as a 'genre' writer, she'd have won the Booker Prize long ago. And she's even better when she writes as Barbara Vine - if I were asked to give someone a novel portraying life in Post-WWII England, I'd give them her brilliant A DARK-ADAPTED EYE. Sadly, despite being a critics' darling in the US for 45 years, Rendell still doesn't get the reader-recognition (and thus the resulting sales) that many of her imitators get.

[Raffles Holmes]

03:29 PM on 12/09/2011

I prefer to read about male protagonists when it comes to mystery/crime books. My 'personal opinion' is that men write these male character stories better. As examples, these authors.....Richard Stark, Lawrence Block, Michael Connelly, John Connolly, James Lee Burke.

On a final note, I believe that women make up the majority of book buyers. If they supported female authors on a larger level, there wouldn't be a gender gap. I guess the question is why don't they?

[BettyEverdene]

11:31 AM on 12/09/2011

My reading group just finished the e-thriller When Two Women Die by Patricia Goodwin. We were very impressed by the close male and female friendships in the story, how they were developed through language and action. The ease the characters had with each other. Honestly, we could not have told you whether the writer was male or female. The author has a great hold on how people express themselves to their friends and lovers.

[psf]

10:49 AM on 12/09/2011

I'll often watch tv with the closed captioning on and often there is a note "male (or female) announcer," and i always wonder why it matters to someone who is truly hearing impaired or has the sound off. and i can't figure out the answer of why it makes a difference.

[MJinCanada]

10:07 AM on 12/09/2011

Very, very true. Women writers also get somehow shunted aside in SF as well, because they focus a little more on the home life or the social consequences behind the action and the science. I've found their books in the library, but less so in book stores.

[QuercusQate]

10:27 PM on 12/08/2011

There ARE gender-based stylistic differences. When reading anything, I often read a few paragraphs before looking at the author's name--just to see if I can determine if the writer is male or female just from the writing. I should perhaps devote similar energy to determine why I usually correctly guess the gender.

I must say that I am predisposed to choose to read female authors because I want to support them, and as a woman, I identify more with female protagonists and the view from a woman's eyes (Nevada Barr, Ruth Rendell). I would expect men to do the same with authors of their gender. However, there are also numerous times when I choose the male over the female (Jonathan vs. Faye Kellerman). I'm glad we have both from which to choose.

[spkninglsh]

07:18 AM on 12/08/2011

Ghetterms are the new boxlit

[GoodBoySunshine]

06:02 AM on 12/08/2011

Personally , I just like a good story from whatever sex of writer it may come from .

It's just like anything else regarding the arts -- being a matter of taste and whatever mood you may be in ( just on a slower pace and longer time frame as say compared to picking music )

Like all things in life , where you have a male dominated world and practically everything in it , you are going to get a cascade from the top down bucking change and pidgeonholing anything from the norm that may deviate or threaten the hierarchy.

Write it ( good ) women , and we will come to read your wares.

[Rene Mullen]

11:29 PM on 12/07/2011

It's a disturbing but common trend, not just in the world of fiction. I read books by male or female writers. Men are just as capable of writing overly adjective-driven sentences just as much as women (I'm thinking John Irving). Women can be just as abrasive and creepy as the next man (I'm thinking Shirley Jackson).

These stereotypes are what keep women from succeeding. Ever wonder why it's "Hilary" and not "Clinton"? Who in the world calls Newt Gingrich "Newt"? Women are assumed as nurses, men as doctors in Physicians' offices.

You both point out a disgusting truth about most societies. Then again, you are women, therefore you're only complaining. Right? *sarcasm*

[Rich Cash]

10:49 PM on 12/07/2011

I read 2-3 books a week and have for the last 50 years. Early on, I probably read as many female authors as I did male authors. I eventually stopped reading women authors because at the time there was a distinct difference in writing styles. I simply got tired of all the descriptive prose. I was more interested in the story than I was in a 3 page description of the house the protagonists lived in or half a page describing someone's dress. There were exceptions. I never stopped reading Agatha Chrisie, for example. When Anne Rice became popular in the '80's I had to read all those and when Colleen McCullough began her series about ancient Rome I couldn't wait for the next volume; some I bought in hardback because I was too impatient to wait for the paperback.

[Max Vohra]

12:29 AM on 12/08/2011

"I eventually stopped reading women authors because at the time there was a distinct difference in writing styles. I simply got tired of all the descriptiv­e prose."--Did it ever occur to you that maybe it was because the author was bad writer and not because of being female? Descriptive, long and overblown prose used to be a big thing in the past. If you've ever read (the great) "Count of Monte Cristo," you'll find plenty of this. And it was written by a man? :O

[Rich Cash]

01:08 AM on 12/08/2011

I wasn't trying to excuse my choices, I was simply giving a reason for why I made those choices at the time. When I was young, I tended to read the best sellers, Jacquelline Susan, et. al. I rarely read anything that had been written before I was born unless it was science fiction...lol

[RichardWad]

10:19 PM on 12/07/2011

Occasionally I've read books by female authors that weren't too bad. Usually the characters, however, just do very unrealistic things and talk WAY too much. Another tendency of female authors is, for example, where a male author might say "when she walked in, John looked down at the floor to avoid eye contact", whereas a female author would say "when she walked in, John looked down at the floor to avoid eye contact because he felt guilty and knew she would see it in his eyes". The first example IMPLIES the feeling without saying it, whereas the second has to spell everything out, JUST IN CASE you missed it. It's just less interesting when everything is spelled out explicitly.

[Max Vohra]

12:25 AM on 12/08/2011

Riight. All female authors from Toni Morrison to J.K. Rowling do that. And, oh my gawd, how much better and shorter would Harry Potter have been if the author had been male? You are like a personalization of these stereotypes.

[Amber Troska]

10:20 AM on 12/08/2011

This does not deserve the compliment of rational opposition.

[shewolf2002]

10:12 PM on 12/07/2011

Just read "The Likeness" by Tana French and enjoyed it. Have also read all of the crime novels set in Istanbul by british writer Barbara Nadel and am hooked.

[Liberalibrarian]

09:29 PM on 12/07/2011

I just finished the first of Stieg Larsson's books : The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I'm hooked!

I read a lot. Really. A lot.

Ruth Rendell, PD James, Sara Paretsky (and I actually read very little crime fiction, comparetively speaking. (Read In the Garden of Beasts if you want a really creepy true story told in a can't put it down way...Erik Larson).

Hopefully the US movie of Tattoo will be half as good as the book, because that would be saying a lot.

[LittleStream]

08:07 PM on 12/07/2011

If you like fem-crime writers do check out J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)http://www.alibris.com/stores/read2001/search?mtype=&searchtype=author&searchquery=J.D.+Robb
and J.A. Jance. http://www.alibris.com/stores/read2001/search?mtype=&searchtype=author&searchquery=J.A.+Jance;
Both write books so you can become friends with the main character.

[LibrarianBarb]

02:22 PM on 12/07/2011

I think there is a difference between female characters who are doing work men usually did and female characters who 'act just like a man' - they are 'bourbon guzzling, pub crawling' PIs or cops who rant about the guy who did them wrong. I love mystery novels but too many of these hard boiled women who embody everything we hate about male characters - who needs that? Give me a Bubbles Yablonsky, Mama and Simone, Cat Austen or Rina Lazarus any day.

[Max Vohra]

12:31 AM on 12/08/2011

Most these novels try to overturn the notion that if a woman is doing a job traditionally held by a man, that she is trying to "be a man." If a woman swears, wears pants, likes being a cop and solving problems, she's just being herself not trying to grow a penis.

[MJinCanada]

10:33 AM on 12/09/2011

Sara Paretsky has written about the trickiness of getting that right in her V.I. Warshawski series. V.I. has become both softer and edgier in the novels -- someone who, yes, can down a glass of good scotch, pick locks and mouth off at a police detective, but will try to run back into a fire to save the Venetian glass wine goblets her mother treasured, imagine her mother nagging about the mess in her apartment, or get guilt-tripped into taking on a case for a family member or family friend.

Have you ever come across C.J. Cheryth's "Chanur" series? It's an interesting case of perspective because a) of all the various peoples trading across the galaxy, it's lone human castaway who is the alien and it isn't written from his point of view, and b) among the Chanur families' people, the Hani, it's the women who travel into space and run businesses. Over the centuries, Hani men have been pidgeon-holed into being useful only for sex and fighting, and are too "unstable" to take into space. Tully, the human spacer they rescue, constantly surprises them because he's obviously male yet apparently has the practicality, self-control and logical thinking of a female.