Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Girls On the Run

I am reading THE SISTERS CHASE where two sisters are on the run. It seems like every book I read lately features girls on the run. This was true of SUNBURN (Lippman). This was also true in THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS (Robotham) and to some extent THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER.

Has it always been like this? In the past, were girls on the run so much in crime fiction.

10 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Girls has been used a lot in movies of late too, girl on the train, girl in the water.etc

Jeff Meyerson said...

There has always been an element of this, but it does seem everywhere lately. I dislike those stories, as a rule, and skip a lot of them on principle.

Steve Oerkfitz said...
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Bill: a retired bookman said...

Where is Jane Whitefield when we need her most . . .
http://www.thomasperryauthor.com/Thomas_Perry/The_Jane_Whitefield_Novels.html

Jane was a terrific character from Thomas Perry. I think that Perry may have tired of her too soon, but readers always want more. Writers need to escape the need to commercially survive and somehow find a way to creatively survive.

I hope that all the girls will get away.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I have never read that series. Thanks, Bill.

Bernadette said...

I think crime fiction has always featured people on the run - John Buchan and David Dodge and that era of writers probably started the trope - but in those instances the people on the run were invariably men. What women or "girls" visible were bit players - mothers, vacuous wives, the occasional prostitute or dead body. The difference is that now females are taking centre stage somewhat - although still being infantilised by the whole "girl-instead-of-woman" thing but I won't get on that hobby horse here

pattinase (abbott) said...

For a while, 20 years ago, the use of girl for anyone over 18 was disappearing. But now it is back. Not sure why.

Anonymous said...

It's an interesting phenomenon, Patti. I do think tropes like this become popular for a while, and then wane. It'll be interesting to see what comes next.

George said...

The most famous example for me is THELMA & LOUISE. Girls on the run who meet Brad Pitt. What could go wrong?

neer said...

Hi Patti

Here's my entry for this week's FFB:

http://inkquilletc.blogspot.in/2017/08/forgotten-book-gossip-to-grave-by-john.html

Gossip to the Grave by Johnathan Burke.

Thanks.