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Book Review: Wendy Tokunaga's No Kidding
By Wendy Blake
Apr 05, 2001 -- No Kidding,a novel by Wendy Tokunaga, takes a long look at the choices a woman faces in her professional, romantic, and reproductive lives. Set in contemporary San Francisco, the novel realistically examines the relationships of Audrey Mills, a contractor for RandallSoft, a software development company with personnel sizing correction issues familiar to many in the high tech industry today.The focus of this book, narrated in casual, readable language, is Audrey's struggle with her own desire to remain childless. Not that she has "anything against babies particularly," but to Audrey, newborns looked "as if someone had smashed a grapefruit into their face," and she simply wasn't interested in turning her life over to the lifestyle wrecking demands of a child.
Her position is empowered by a meeting with Katrina, a friend Audrey remembered as a thin, young, fashion-conscious woman, now visibly transformed by motherhood into something Audrey didn't want to become. Not only had she "put on a good 20 pounds and looked about 45 instead of 35...But now she was sporting some kind of thrown-together jogging suit and running shoes." Once an artist and teacher, this old friend was now a tired, but somehow happy, singularly focused mom. Throughout the book, characters like Katrina pop in and remind Audrey that she would prefer not to breed.
Surrounded by a baby conspiracy, Audrey lives in a state of constant defense against pressure to procreate from Lylah, her former child actress and vintage video store owner mother, and Doug, her software engineer and domineering spendthrift partner. Her co-workers, friends, and relatives are all birthing babies, pushing the joys of parenthood on poor Audrey, who wants only to climb out from under the pressures she feels from others and decide what's right for her.
Tokunaga creates a character in Audrey who is realistic, at times frustratingly so, fraught as she is with impulsiveness and uncertainty; all the insecurities which torment human interaction. The author's conversational tone imparts to readers the sense of listening while a troubled friend unfolds layers of a story composed of decades of interwoven influences.
We are invited to lean in and listen as Audrey confesses: Lylah's camera-ready childhood has warped her sense of individualism. Her sister Pier's grand overseas adventure has unsettled her own career choices. Doug's demeaning--if well-meaning--behavior has driven her into the arms of another man, and Aldo gives her emotional and sexual attention that changes her life and empowers her choices.
Produced by iUniverse.com, No Kiddingis representative of the raw, fresh, and engaging prose of an emerging body of writers employing print on demand companies which allow writers to publish independently in this highly competitive market. These works of independent authors breathe new life into our culture.
No Kiddingis available from several online sources. Visit the author's Web site at www.culturewave.com/nokidding for links and reviews. Wendy Tokunaga is a writer and web producer who lives in the San Francisco Bay area.
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