3 - Marketing Lad Lit, Creating Bestsellers: The Importance of Being Chetan Bhagat

Summary

if chick lit is popular fiction by, for and about young women (or ‘tweens’), then lad lit can be explained as a fictional genre with books written by men and focusing on twentysomething male characters, particularly about those who are self-absorbed, nonconformist and afraid of commitment. While some critics may object to the general candy floss nature of the genre, what remains unchallenged is its enormous popularity among target readers, occasionally resulting in successful films. Notable examples include Bridget Jones's Diary (1996), Sex and the City (1997), The Devil Wears Prada (2003) and, to an extent, He's Just Not That Into You (2004) – all produced by big Hollywood studios, featuring major box office stars. Quite similar in tone are the ‘guy's books’: Nick Hornby being the accepted big daddy of the genre, along with Matt Dunn, Michael Weinreb, Michael Chabon and Eric Jerome Dickey (and to some degree Toby Young and Aaron karo's selected works). Some common themes that readers of this category are familiar with include masculine insecurities, competition at college or the work place, sexual fantasies, drug addiction, relationships, heartbreaks, family issues and obsession with sports. Like chick lit, lad lit too has a cult following, and some of the notable screen adaptations are High Fidelity (2000), How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (2008), About a Boy (2002) and Wonder Boys (2000), featuring A-list names such as Michael Douglas, Toby Maguire, Hugh Grant and John Cusack, in roles reinforcing the belief that ‘boys will be boys’.