Slice of life graphic novels are always interesting because they can truly open up the soul of their creator. Please God, Find Me a Husband, as you might gather from its title, is about a 33-year-old Christian woman who has yet to settle down and find herself a man worthy of building a family around. Her biological clock is ticking and, being a Christian, she can’t quite understand why God hasn’t fulfilled her calling to motherhood. What you might not be quite so prepared for is that the main character is Lia herself.
It’s hard to know what kind of an audience the book is aimed at, although I suspect it’s not at a male, nearly 40-year-old, atheist father-of-three like myself. I understand the science behind the strong hormonal urges that nature (or God, if you prefer) has built into women, but I’m never going to know what it really feels like. By clouding her psychological reaction to these impulses with religion, I’m none the wiser having read this book.
What is clear is that the mix of hormones and faith is tricky to resolve. Lia’s devout faith that God will provide, and the disappointment and confusion that accompanies his failure to do so, leaves the book in a knot of conflicting emotions.
Lia’s character seeks solace amongst some nun friends, which doesn’t seem like the best of ideas to a non-Christian. What she finds is a certain peace and acceptance of her lot. She gets reaffirmation that God has a plan for us all, which nicely dissolves all stress and panic, but does little to sort out her natural over-whelming desire to build a family.
It might have been a more interesting mixture of faith versus biology had Lia spent any time questioning her faith in God. Instead, she doesn’t question his existence, but whether he’s deserted her. It’s a subtle difference but it makes the book less edgy, and tinged with sadness. I expect that a Christian reader might find something uplifting about Lia’s overwhelming faith in the face of romantic adversity, but as a non-religious reader I find myself feeling sorry for Lia. It’s not an emotion I get because she can’t find a husband, but because she thinks that this is largely to do with the involvement of a God who isn’t providing her with what she needs from life. I couldn’t help but wonder if her belief in God isn’t exasperating rather than smoothing her path through life.
Like a Christian Bridget Jones, I’m sure this will find an audience. If you are a thirty-something, unmarried Christian woman with an overwhelming desire to find the right man, this might tick all the right boxes. It’s gently comedic and full of character. However, while it doesn’t preach in any way, I found it just too unquestioning to satisfy my sceptical point of view.