| Abstract: | A number of new popular writers have emerged in the last decade in India, of whom Chetan Bhagat is probably the best known, but there are many others who sell in unprecedented numbers. Appealing to that vast segment of readers for whom English may be a second language (unlike the literary successes of the last decades, who wrote for a global and local audience), this group of writers has their gaze and concerns focused on India. Yet, the new genres (such as chick lit and techie lit) reveal a striking reliance on an American (US) idiom. While the chick lit novels have a distinctly Indian flavor, they, and the other new genres, promote the valorization of entrepreneurship, easy urban relationships, and consumerism. My essay examines the language of Americanness used in these popular fictions. |
