Book Review…A sassy look at Society, Gender and Romance

Nov 24, 2013 News

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BOOK: Singleholic by Katherine Bing

CRITIC: Dr Glenville Ashby
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Oftentimes, we are told to judge a book by its merits, not its packaging. It’s an axiom applicable across the board. In the case of Singleholic, such counsel never proved so true. At the outset, this literary teaser can easily be misconstrued as a whimsical chronicle of a woman’s search for Mr. Right. And while a cursory read may bear this out, there is an undeniable message of philosophical depth.

Katherine Bing has penned an urbane, stylish, overtly contemporary work that takes a bohemian and paradoxically flippant look at dating, love and marriage.
Sarah, the protagonist is a thirty-year-old professional, professedly at the cusp of irrelevance without a beau. She is obsessive, self doubting – a bundle of nerves when encountering a prospective suitor. Her biological clock is ticking, ticking. Her ruminations are hilarious: ”YESSIREE…I am IN DEMAND now. Guys are ringing, begging to see me. I am doing OK. Chibu, Sam, and Charlie… Guys really want me. I have too many men and too little time.”
Her prognostications are desperate and irrational. ”By the time next year,” she mulls, ”I will have an engagement ring on my finger.” She goes on to envision ”the most fabulous wedding of the century,” after a chance meeting with an attractive gentleman.
Bing impresses as a writer, flirting with a range of colour and tone. She imbues vigour into a subject that’s potentially banal with a short shelf life – at least on paper. Her work is vivid, entertaining. The strength of her undertaking is its broad appeal.  For women, Sarah becomes a reflection – a mirror that deciphers self worth and identity.
On human behaviour, there is so much to be gleaned. Strengths and weakness are laid bare. This is a literary joyride, no doubt, but its clinical worth is unquestionable. Bing offers a panoramic view of romantic indulgence within a contemporary framework. No writer has done it with such raw honesty and candour.
It’s Sarah’s stage, but all the characters come alive. Georgina, the perfect doyenne; Manuele, the sexual libertine; and Sarah’s friend, Jacqui, who is the poster child for the modern woman, or, is she? A professional and top of her game, she offers a crash course on dating. ”Men are children really children,” she asserts, as she counsels Sarah on the commandments of dating. ”Men need to feel that they have worked to get you or they will never adore you…don’t always pick up the phone. Let them think that you are out having a ball. And always make sure you end conversations first…”
We later learn that Jacqui’s history with men, including her father, has all but coloured her view of the opposite sex. Her defence mechanism is a bi-product of social expectations…the emergence of a new system of mores. But it also stems from painful experiences.
Interestingly, Sarah, a teacher and well heeled, proudly wears the badge of the traditional woman, seeking that knight in shining armour, white picket fences, and children to be whole. She recoils at the young generation’s flippant, nonchalant view to marriage. ”We,” referring today’s women, ”are like seventeen-year-olds in terms of out career ambition, but we still hang on to the romantic notion of love and marriage from our mother’s generation. Is it possible to have both?” she asks herself. It’s an interesting observation that invites sociological debate.
Bing’s work is not without some culturally sensitive moments. It is tinged with stereotypes about race and ethnicity. In a multicultural society such as Brixton, and biracial (British father and Jamaican mother), Sarah is liberal in her selection, but she prefers black men, if only they were more culturally palatable.”So many of them wear loads of gold….YUCK…”
And later, when Sarah dates Chibu who is of Nigerian heritage, she muses, “he sits up straight as he drives. What a relief. Ever notice how many black guys drive almost lying down?”
Throughout, there is a definitive message that takes, oh, such a long time for Sarah to grasp. The key to happiness is always embedded within. Sometimes lessons learned are painful. And Sarah has sure had a fear of anxious, doleful episodes. In the end, she realizes that what she so aggressively sought was never really far away.
Singleholic bubbles with the best of pop culture – speed and internet dating, multicultural trysts, and of course, “female empowerment.” It’s an intriguing mix that packs a hypnotic punch.

Feedback: glenvilleashby@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter@glenvilleashby

 

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