Title: Family Man (1992)Author: Jayne Ann Krentz (Pocket)
Period: Contemporary (Washington State)
Grade: D
The very nice woman who owns two of the local used bookstores always recommends contemporaries to me. She even gave me a free copy of Family Man in an effort to convert me to the genre. She is such a nice woman and has such great stores, I hoped that I'd love the book, my life long loathing of contemporaries would evaporate, and I wouldn't have to lie to the nice bookstore lady. No dice.
Why are contemporaries more old-fashioned than historicals? Few "contemporary romances" feel modern or realistic. It is like they're all set in some weird Pleasantville type 1950s netherworld that I can't identify. The woman all have a virginal naiveté that is out-dated, bizarre, and culturally inappropriate. Contemporary heroines are too often like Amy Adams in Enchanted. Our heroine, Katy, is supposed to come of as charming, but instead she seems like she's trapped in a time warp. She has been raising her brother since she was 19 but she doesn't know how to talk to him. She seems to think making homemade dinners equals good parenting. And if Krentz believes real teenagers talk like Katy's 17 year old brother she must be getting her "research" from episodes of Donna Reed. Of course, she's never had an orgasm until the hero comes along. She must be handless.
Those that are not of the Christian/baby variety only seem to have two settings, law enforcement (cops, private eyes, FBI agents) or high-powered corporations. The later is always the more entertaining option because romance novelists seem to have zero clue about what occurs in big business. The campy dialogue often reads like the business dealings on Falcon Crest. The company is always something "chick-friendly" like a fashion house, a vineyard, or a magazine.
Family Man, no exception, is set in a restaurant empire. Katy, our heroine, is the personal assistant of the family matriarch, but appears more like a family-fixer. The company is struggling, but she is so sweet and chipper she's sure it is no one's fault. The lesson: women just aren't cut out for the big bad world of business. Delicate flowers that we are.
The whole gender dynamic of strong man protects stupid, defenseless woman occurs repeatedly as Luke knocks heads and fixes disasters on Katy's behalf. Business, family, sex. Luke and his Y-chromosome is here to save the day. It is creepy. Why a successful man would be attracted to a woman who can't tie her own shoes is a mystery. I can suspend disbelief with historicals because social mores existed that prevent women from asserting themselves. That demanded they limit their sphere to home and family. And yet many historicals, including Krentz’s own, have smart, funny, and career minded women. I know feminist romance is an oxymoron, but contemporaries too often reflect Phyllis Scafly's view of womanhood and the world.
Those that are not of the Christian/baby variety only seem to have two settings, law enforcement (cops, private eyes, FBI agents) or high-powered corporations. The later is always the more entertaining option because romance novelists seem to have zero clue about what occurs in big business. The campy dialogue often reads like the business dealings on Falcon Crest. The company is always something "chick-friendly" like a fashion house, a vineyard, or a magazine.
Family Man, no exception, is set in a restaurant empire. Katy, our heroine, is the personal assistant of the family matriarch, but appears more like a family-fixer. The company is struggling, but she is so sweet and chipper she's sure it is no one's fault. The lesson: women just aren't cut out for the big bad world of business. Delicate flowers that we are.
The whole gender dynamic of strong man protects stupid, defenseless woman occurs repeatedly as Luke knocks heads and fixes disasters on Katy's behalf. Business, family, sex. Luke and his Y-chromosome is here to save the day. It is creepy. Why a successful man would be attracted to a woman who can't tie her own shoes is a mystery. I can suspend disbelief with historicals because social mores existed that prevent women from asserting themselves. That demanded they limit their sphere to home and family. And yet many historicals, including Krentz’s own, have smart, funny, and career minded women. I know feminist romance is an oxymoron, but contemporaries too often reflect Phyllis Scafly's view of womanhood and the world.
Now I have to lie to the nice bookstore lady.
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