The Plight of the Christian Single Woman

I generally stay entirely away from "Christian fiction," for reasons I have explained here on more than one occasion. The short version is, it just isn't any good. It seems like Christian writers are interested in very little beyond using words from their cultural lexicon as often as possible and doing book signings at Family Christian stores. Writers who do not identify as Christian, on the other hand, write incredibly beautiful and moving stories that teach me a great deal more about life.

All that to say, I do dip into the Christian fiction list from time to time. Most recently it was to read the "Ashley Stockingdale Trilogy," by Kristin Billerbeck. My mom bought me these books a few years ago and I read them then. They'd been sitting on my shelf long enough I thought a re-read couldn't hurt. I think the reason my mom gave them to me when I was 24 is because they are about a 31-year-old patent attorney who wants to be married and can't seem to get a date. As in, "Honey, at least you're only 24." Well, now I'm 27 and ... anyway.

The best thing about these books is that they are quick and fun to read. Billerbeck is skilled at putting enough conflict in front of her character to keep the story moving. She has several subplots going at all times, and just when it seems that one has been resolved, another flares up again. This is an extremely important skill for a novelist, especially when you're opting not to give your characters a lot of psychic weight. Perhaps Ashley Stockingdale goes to jail one too many times for it to believable, and not all of the supporting characters ring true (her Southern belle future sister-in-law is particularly loathsome). But at least I wanted to find out what would happen next, and any book that I can read 100 pages of in a day is enjoyable.

However, I found these books fell into the same trap that almost all Christian fiction does - the dilemma of how to present "Christian values" while still producing world-friendly entertainment. I'm at a point where I'm not sure this is possible, and in my own writing none of the characters necessarily identify as Christian, and I prefer the themes to come out a bit more subtly than Billerbeck's (Ashley's pastor frequently preaches sermons that just happen to coincide with what she's struggling with at the moment). And I find that even the parts of the story that the writer tries to infuse with Christian values have very little of the actual gospel in them. Instead, they are just vaguely guilt-inducing references to morality and how we ought to be behaving. For example, when Ashley receives a call from the brother of an old high school friend whom she doesn't particularly respect, she says to him, " 'She's just darling, your sister Nancy.' Sticking my finger down my throat. What was that about Christian integrity and honesty? That bolt of lighting is coming any minute now." This used to be how I understood Christianity (probably due to a consistent childhood diet of books like these), but it's nothing like how I view it now. The suggestion that God is at the ready with lightning bolts for every time we screw up is religion, and there's no gospel truth in it. Ashley tries her hardest to be a good person, but never seems to stop and breathe a prayer of gratitude that all her efforts are both useless and unnecessary because of Christ's sacrifice for her. It's tough to convey that literally.

On the other hand, Billerbeck is very adept at revealing the secrets of the single woman's mind, which really isn't that different for Christians or non-Christians. Ashley frequently has hypothetical conversations with the men in her life, and just about every woman I know does that. I do it to a fault. Billerbeck also lets loose with the occasional stunning insight about the nature of dating in the church. Here's the best one: "The Bible outright tells men that beauty is fleeting, but yet they seem to chase after it like a leaf in a rogue wind, stumbling and grasping, while another more intricate and colorful leaf dangles on the tree." Amen sister.

I suppose this kind of chick lit has a place in the world now that so many women are writing it, and I appreciate the Christian arts industry's attempts to meet culture where it's at instead of pretending that we exist in an entirely different world. For what they are, the Ashley Stockingdale books are enjoyable and escapist. And every so often I found myself identifying with and even rooting for her. But I think I'll stick with the truly talented storytellers, who don't try to tell me the gospel so much as show it to me, whether they know that's what they're doing or not.