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  • Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels by Valerie Weaver-Zercher
  • Lorie Sauble-Otto
Valerie Weaver-Zercher. Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP: 2013. 315p.

In spite of the fact that many or most literary scholars may be prone to dismiss the subject matter of Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels, Weaver-Zercher has made a significant contribution to the field with a very comprehensive and scholarly approach to the “bonnet fiction” phenomenon of the 21st century. The author posits that the shocking demand for so-called “bonnet books” is in part a response from evangelical Christian readership to what Gilles Lipovetsky has called the “hypermodernity” and “hypersexualization” of modern society (xv; 10). Weaver-Zercher also relies on Rosenblatt’s “reader-response theory” and the application of that theory by Radway in her examination of the functions of romance novels to present an analysis of “the uses of Amish fiction” (18). This book is about the ways in which Amish romance novels are used by the readership and by the authors themselves who are not Amish but are evangelical Christians.

One of the best things that Weaver-Zercher’s book does is to focus on the aspect of commodification in regards to the Amish romance and the publishing industry. The author exposes the non-innocence of the industry in its soliciting, via agents, novels in rapid succession from authors who may or may not have considered writing in the genre before. In view of the fact that the vast majority of [End Page 251] the authors are not nor have they been Amish themselves but are self-proclaimed evangelical Christians, Weaver-Zercher takes the time to explain the difference between evangelicals and Anabaptists (both Amish and Mennonite are categorized as Anabaptists). This theological explanation is essential to understanding the author’s keen interest and criticism of the commodification of both the genre and of the Amish. The author aligns the Amish romance novel craze to the general increase in Amish tourism, particularly in Pennsylvania, calling the novels “textual carriages” for non-Amish folks who may not be able to actually visit in person Amish communities (132). These “textual carriages” allow the readers to experience the Amish life-style, as well as it is represented in the texts (and the author does examine authenticity issues).

For an evangelical readership as well as an Amish readership, although the latter is significantly smaller than the former, the author seems to pinpoint three basic characteristics of Amish romance novels that appeal: 1) they do not contain “overt sexuality”--they are a “clean” read in a “hypersexualized” world, 2) they have predictable happy endings, and 3) they have a devotional message. Although Mennonite herself, Weaver-Zercher does not shrink from criticizing the cultural flaws of the genre. There is a chapter dedicated to dealing with representations of women in the novels, often offering conflicting images of women caught between traditional and progressive roles. There is a chapter dedicated to accuracy in the novels in regards to Amish practice, especially the practice of shunning. Weaver-Zercher brilliantly emphasizes the absence of race and ethnic differences in the novels that are written about and for an overwhelmingly white community, the novels themselves being what the author calls and expression of “cultural anxiety” on the part of the evangelical readership and authorship (227).

Thrill of the Chaste is of interest to anyone working with reader-response theories, the uses and functions of popular literature, and the commodification of culture and cultural products. Weaver-Zercher’s book is importantly about the history and evolution of the genre; however, the most significant contribution that the book makes is its examination and evaluation of the publishing industry that is both meeting and creating demand for the genre. [End Page 252]

Lorie Sauble-Otto
University of Northern Colorado
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