Faulk, Anne O., Holding Out: A Novel
This is an extremely funny novel--timely, sensational, and also laced with feminist thought. A little like Judith Krantz meets Gloria Steinem.
Holding Out is the modern day version of the Greek play, Lysistrata. Instead of the women of Athens denying their men sex until there is no more war, the modern women of the United States "hold out" until a Supreme Court Chief Justice is impeached. They want him punished for the lifetime of abuse his wife experienced at his hands before she committed suicide to escape from her painful and demeaning existence.
The Congress refuses to impeach and the outcry results in a Women's march where all kinds of female from every economic strata, age group, and sexual orientation join in one voice to demand that justice is served with the removal of the Supreme Court judge from a place of power over other women's lives.
Faulk paints Lauren Fontaine as a sympathetic, wise, amazingly gorgeous, and ambitious stock market wiz who decides to go to Washington D.C. and march after years of struggle to raise her now sixteen-year-old son. She typifies a "real" woman (albeit a little too perfect physically to be "too real" for me) who lives an independent feminist life without being overwhelmed by the rhetoric. She, of course, has friends in the movement (close, perfect, and exquisitely talented friends) who find her idea of a sex strike a plausible way to unite many disparate feminist groups and achieve their goal of impeaching the Chief Justice.
They latch onto her idea, unite (at least in theory) together to show the "power" of womankind, and place Lauren at the spearhead where she naively thinks that one speech in front of the nation is all that will be demanded of her.
The real story begins when this speech and the movement jeopardizes her very lucrative job, her hard-won custody of her son, some lifelong friendships, her sister's marriage, her own "perfect" relationship with the man of her dreams, and her sanity as she becomes the primary symbol and target for all the men who are mad as hell that they are no longer able to get sex on demand.
Is this scenario truly plausible? Probably not, but what a wild ride it is. As a political fantasy it is giddy entertainment with a bit of feminist theory thrown in for verisimilitude. Faulk covers both sides pretty well, allowing you to see both male and female points of view as both genders live without sex and a great deal of frustration. Some of the writing is sleazy and contrived but extremely effective, especially when Jake and Lauren turn up the embers with their fantasy talk.
There are some terrific characters who will touch your heart and mind--Lauren's son Razz rings true as the teenager who hates the inconvenience of his mother's politics yet loves her enough to bring her real comfort; the Reverend Savannah Moran, an archetype of a strong Black woman with political and ecclesiastic clout who provides elegiac examples on the substance of faith, and Queen Esther Lawrence who serves as a moral compass for the story even though her part is the smallest of any of the characters.
This is a great book to look at the male-female debate through fresh and humorous eyes and engendered much thought as I reflected on it later.
I laughed a great deal reading this book. Lauren's voice is acerbic, self-depreciating, clever, and worldly. If you want a swift hilarious read, would enjoy a vicarious victory, or felt even remotely cheated by the OJ verdict, than dive into this book and hold onto your sides.
Leane M. Ellis, April 17, 1998.
Lucius Beebe Memorial Library - This page last updated 4/17/98 - lme.