Chick-Lit Lives On

Don't label your manuscript a piece of chick-lit, the agents advise, because that genre is as dead as last year's fashions.

And yet....

Cecilia Ahern launched her new book, her sixth, in Dublin and if The Gift doesn't suggest that chick-lit hasn't given up its last breath, then one need only wander along Grafton Street to discover that it's alive and well.

Manolo Blahnik, he of the eponymous shoe, launched his first Dublin shop while Ms. Ahern was celebrating the release of her latest novel. No longer will the smart set have to travel to New York City for footwear, although they're likely to fly over just the same. With the economy tanking, it's good to know that a girl can maintain the chick-lit lifestyle and save on airfare.

The book launch was glamorous, with glitz and champagne and Bertie Ahern in a business suit, greeting the former Mrs. Ahern in a civil manner. When your da's the former taoiseach and you've sold ten million copies, you get champagne and glitz and a book launch, while Colm Toibin is grateful for a cup of tea at the publisher's office.

No doubt the guests at the grand party wore their Manolos, in keeping with the glamorous theme at the Mansion House. While the financial crisis rings down the glory years, there are still places in the imagination where the ladies shop and search for love and no one is worried about how they're going to pay the mortgage.

Chick-lit will live on, albeit under a different code name. There's more need of such fantasy these days. Reminds you of the old movies from the height of the Great Depression, doesn't it? Filled with wealthy people in beautiful clothes, living in huge rooms, looking for love while singing and dancing. Welcome back to the good old days.