Sugar, Baby, Celine Saintclare
‘A career out of lunches and champagne… Being irresistible is easy when you know how.’
A rich, provocative, and layered pastry; a decadent dessert; take a bite and become intoxicated. Sugar, Baby details the pursuit of female pleasure, capturing the bold exploits of a group of young women in London who are ‘sugar babies’. By definition, a ‘sugar baby’ is a person in a romantic relationship for financial benefits. Saintclare’s forceful debut follows 21-year-old Agnes, who has come to that pivotal point of womanhood where she asks herself, ‘What now?’ A cleaner in her small town affectionately known as The Wasteland, Agnes feels suffocated by her life, her prospects, her mother and the restrictive religious rules she abides. So, when she meets Emily, the allure, success and beauty of the young woman draws Agnes into the realm of ‘sugar dating’, a cosmic portal of sex and financial gain which transforms her forever.
Agnes soon becomes Emily’s prodigy; she goes from being controlled and taught by her mother to being taught by another headstrong female figure in her life. However, throughout the novel, Agnes displays some complex characteristics. She wrestles with guilt and shame that stem from her relationship with Christianity, but still willingly partakes and enjoys sex with men. She often ruminates over the ethics of what she is doing and the transactional nature of sex – an envelope softly slid over the tabletop, a new designer bag, or three. Her narration is intimate and honest, which makes her character darkly funny and likeable.
With sharp commentary on the female body and the intersection of shame and pleasure, Saintclare’s debut is smart, sexy, and peppered with wit. Both entertaining and deeply thought-provoking, Sugar, Baby is potent with the essence of desire and sexuality.
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