Book #85: Singleholic

Mixed-race 30-year-old Sarah is dumped by her Muslim boyfriend and finds herself single once again. Fed up of being alone, she gives herself one year to find a man. With the help of her friends, Georgina the happily married blonde, and Jacquie, the single black diva, Singleholic Sarah learns to alter her game with hilarious consequences.

Chibu, the Nigerian banker is sexy, but Arthur, the plum English Internet King is charming. And will Sam the tanned, trendy toy boy ever ring?

Join Singleholic Sarah on a sassy Sex and the City multicultural dating spree across London. She goes from dancing through fountains at Somerset House to having a boogie in bars in Brixton. Singleholic plays with race like never before and toys with all those questions you’ve always been afraid to ask …

Author: Katherine Bing
Publisher: Hansib Publications Limited (April 1, 2009)

First, I have a confession: I’ve never watched Sex and the City although I have a very good idea what the show was about. Secondly, this is what I think of this book: With a stereotype there, a stereotype here, there a stereotype, here a stereotype, stereotype there, here. Religious and racial stereotypes! This book was not full of questions we’ve always been afraid to ask, it was full of those very same stereotype questions that (most) black/mixed women have always been asking or thinking about.

^ He’s the perfect age, perfect height, perfect color. If truth be told, I prefer them black. Can’t betray the race. I want to belong to the club. With a white guy, I walk down the street and black guys stare in disgust (page 34)

Some black/mixed woman can’t see themselves with a man from outside of their race and it causes them to miss what another man could have offered them. I don’t want to belong to any club. If I choose love, how am I betraying my race?

I was irritated by the author using too MANY CAPS throughout the book. I almost threw it in the bin. It was also repetitive. 

The book is a light and quick read about a self-centered protagonist who’s desperate not to be single, but the characters were too shallow. The characters were super unlikable (except Sam and Arthur). Sarah is a teacher, but the author only shows her about twice in the classroom and she didn’t even teach anything remarkable about history, just some racist stereotype issue.

At one point, I even wondered if the author was bitter about being a mixed woman and if she has been hurt by too many men. The story had potentials, but the author was too lazy to explore any of it.

VERDICT:

NEXT UP:

Mr. (Not Quite) Perfect by Jennifer Hart