Being an avid reader there are lots of books that I will read at least once a year. Jennifer Crusie authors a lot of those books. This being the case, I have begun to pick up on something. A lot of her female characters have similar features. Examples are:
Minerva Dobbs from Bet Me - "...her hair cut in short loose curls that glinted in the sun..."
Nina Askew from Anyone But You - "...her short dark curls were rumpled..."
Sophie Dempsey from Welcome to Temptation - "...all that dark curly hair..."
Maddie Faraday from Tell Me Lies - "...all dark curls and warm curves..."
Tess Newhart from Strange Bedpersons - "...but she ran her fingers through her short red curls..."
Tilda Goodnight from Faking It - "...Davy stared at her dark loopy curls..."
Dennie Banks from Trust Me on This - "...Dennie Banks shoved her dark curls from her face..."
Agnes Crandall from Agnes and the Hitman - "...dark curls bouncing..."
Andie Miller from Maybe This Time - "...all those crazy curls yanked back..."
Are you seeing where I'm headed with this? I would have never noticed except that I listened to Maybe This Time, Agnes and the Hitman and Welcome to Temptation all pretty recently and close together. Then I started remember all her other books (that I love) and all her heroines have curly hair. I thought they all might be dark, but there are a few redheads thrown in the mix.Is this one of those rules that only a published author can break? Is it a rule at all? Do we really care?
Have you ever noticed anything like this about one of your favorite authors? Please share.
Happy Monday and all that jazz.
I don't think I've noticed anything quite so obvious before but I HAVE noticed that most books now tend to down play the heroine's looks - to the point they are making sure the reader knows they are NOT beautiful and sometimes, barely pretty. I understand authors are trying to overcome the whole 'stunningly gorgeous' heroine cliche that most readers can't fully relate to but still ... the main reason I read is for escapism and lets face it, we want to experience a HEA as well as a little danger etc. so why would I mind doing it in the guise of someone who is pretty ?
ReplyDeleteBan,
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that too. I've noticed in the book I'm listening to that the author tells you from a friends point of view that the heroine is rather plain. Not homely, but average and then when the hero sees her, he tells you all the things about her that are beautiful. I kinda like the perspective that this puts on it. :)