I have a real annoyance for romance novels. I used to devour them like an irrisistable bag of salt and vinegar potato chips. No more! Does this sound familiar?
A.) Lonely girl has a difficult life. Her one redeeming quality? She's BEAUTIFUL
B.) Handsome dude lives out west on a ranch by himself. He's mysterious...and misunderstood. His one redeeming quality? He's GORGEOUS!
C.) The two meet in a highly implausible way.
D.) All troubles and misunderstandings are blown away once they look in each other eyes! Loneliness is a thing of the past! Troubles? What troubles? Love conquers all.
E.) The End!
Am I being a little cynical? Yes, I suppose I am. However, what really bothers me with your standard run of the mill christian romance novel is that the end of these novels always end in the couple falling in love. End of story. In essence, the authors are saying that if you just find the right guy/girl, all your problems are solved! This perpetrates a totally unrealistic view point in life and basically says that you can find happiness and fulfillment in a mere human being.
Now, not all romance novels follow the above theme. There are deviations, of course. However, the number of "good" christian romance novels are few and far between (in my opinion). Every once in a while I try to read one for old time's sake, and I never can get past the first chapter. First of all, many of them are poorly researched. Just because you throw in some cowboy lingo don't mean you know what you done be writin' about. Secondly, what's with the penchant for romance novels taking place in the past? Is it more romantic if some guy comes riding up on a horse? So yeah, show me a good christian romance novel and I just might fall over.
There is another point I will get to at some point...that of the argument from Momma's who don't want their girls to read romance novels of the harlequin sort. Better a CHRISTIAN romance than a secular one, full of all sorts of titilating scenes!!!! So, maybe next time I'll toss in the other side of the story.
I totally 100% agree with you! I used to read romance novels too but now I can't stand them. They promote a very unrealistic picture of real life and encourage young girls to fantasize about something that will probably never happen. When reality hits, there's a temptation to resent your husband who "isn't quite like the guy in the book," when you could have been better prepared for the tough situations by reading some great Christian books on marriage like "When Sinners Say 'I do'."
ReplyDeleteGood post!
hey, nic~let's write one on reality romance!! ;)
ReplyDeletethe chip bag comparison is right on: you feel the same after reading a romance novel as when you gobble a whole bag of chips! i totally relate to everything you wrote. although there are some christian romance novels that come closer to reality but they are far and few between. the question is why? why the demand for unrealistic christian literature? is the average christian woman out there discontent and seeking contentment and a fantasy world through these books?
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