"Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal
of Living Alone" is a tremendously interesting and
(perhaps more importantly) helpful read.
Eric Klinenberg uses statistics and the history of
Singletons (people living on their own, as he coins it)
in such an insightful and fascinating way that you never
feel as though you're reading a non-fiction book.
Because it's not a matter of dry textual analysis, but
rather an exploration of the sociology behind living solo,
and it's populated by tales of people in all manner of situations
throughout the past 100 years, delving into minds and
emotions and social trends.
It showed me a whole new aspect of our modern lifestyle
as well as the development of this country over time.
What it also did, though, was make me feel better
about my choice to live single, and solo.
Klinenberg is very adept at walking a middle-ground
with his presentation;
very fair-minded and even-handed with his findings,
even though he does obviously hold his own perspective.
The reasons for the trend in people deciding to live alone is
respectfully handled, and the advocacy for more
understanding of the lifestyle is promoted. By penetrating
the veil of society's (somewhat weakening) antagonism
against people who don't marry/start families/have
roommates (it's still alive and well in many areas,
including the Bible-swamped South where I live,)
there is a new sense of acceptance and tolerance
that has been lacking.
that has been lacking.
This is definitely a reality of our world that has
not seen adequate coverage in media.
(From a non-biased POV, at least!)
Pretty much all aspects of the phenomenon are covered--
from the elderly to post-divorce singles to
the new trend for all kids in a family having their own rooms.
The way this book helped me was to show me that invisible pocket
of humanity that lives and believes and works the same
way as I do. Sometimes the idea of being the only person
on the planet that feels or lives a certain way can be stifling.
There is a definite sense of camaraderie in feeling
'together in our aloneness!'
***
