A modern Cinderella story: Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld, reviewed

Romance, and romantic comedy, make up a third of all novels sold – by far the highest-earning genre of fiction. They outdo crime novels 2:1. They are very rarely reviewed, and are generally excluded from year-end round ups, awards, gongs and TV book shows. They do not have their own festivals or celebrations; romance writers are extremely thin on the ground at Hay. They suffer from a triple bigotry (in an industry that likes to think itself terribly progressive): they are read by women; they are read by older women and they are read by working-class women. So it’s a landmark that the critically garlanded Curtis Sittenfeld is having a go. And what’s this? A ‘subversive’ novel, says the book’s jacket.

‘Coming here takes my mind off all the potholes in my road!’

Sittenfeld is a marvellous writer. Her novel Prep is a tremendous book; American Wife (a fictionalised account of the life of Laura Bush, if you want an unpromising premise) is even better. And look at her latest title – that really is ballsy. Imagine writing a book just called Thriller. You’re certainly putting your cards on the table. Surely, I thought, this is going to upend the entire genre with power and humour and passion; crack open and really examine the desperate desire – of most humans, not just women – to meet the one person who will make them happier, and bigger, than living life alone. I was rubbing my hands.

And… I kept on rubbing them, right up to the last five pages. This can’t possibly be it, I thought. Something is coming which is sure to turn the plot (your classic average girl meets rich, handsome guy who, unlike all actual rich, handsome guys in the world, is looking for someone average to ground him) on its head; to pull everything apart, just as Kate Atkinson’s A Man in Ruins deconstructs historical fiction, or Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life forces us to take a long hard look at ourselves and how far we will wallow in misery.