The List: The instant Sunday Times bestselling debut novel – ‘The perfect summer read’ Paula Hawkins

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There were aspects of this novel I liked; I believed in Ola and Michael's relationship, I cared about Ola, and I thought the choice she makes near the end of the novel is brave, both on the part of the character and the author. However, even this was undercut by a final twist that I felt was a real cop-out, like many a final twist at the end of a thriller (though this book isn't a thriller, at least not up to this point). It offers too neat a solution to the novel's central dilemma, and forecloses some of the interesting questions that it does raise. I think there will (and have already been) better things written on calling out and cancellation.

All of this is important material but I found the writing foggy and messy at times with extraneous exposition and descriptions that could have been cut or better integrated. There are also holes in the characterisation as people do things for the convenience of the plot: jarring instances are the opening scene where Ola and Michael are club-hopping, drinking champagne to celebrate their upcoming wedding, don't get home till 3 am... and then he doesn't stay the night as he's starting a new job the next day? All this just to separate the two protagonists when The List drops on social media. Intelligent, funny, topical, and impossible to put down.”— Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train This astute debut about the Internet and reality’s gray areas leads to a disturbing twist." — PeopleNo one needs a defense of the bad perpetrators, especially when the victims rarely receive any justice. Two very entitled British celebs are about to get married. Are writers for The Guardian actually famous? The guy is put on a list of #MeToo predators, and that puts stress on their lives and their relationship.

With their future on the line, Ola gives Michael an ultimatum to prove his innocence by their wedding day, but will the truth of what happened change everything for both of them? Even though the plot twist pointed to the fact that men were at the root of the problem at nearly every side, it was annoying, unrealistic and fell flat. Compulsively readable, wildly entertaining, and filled with sharp social insight, The List is a piercing and dazzlingly clear-sighted debut about secrets, lies, and the internet. Perfect for fans of Such a Fun Age, Luster, and My Dark Vanessa, this is a searing portrait of these modern times and our morally complicated online culture. I see many new novels falling into this pit. Many themes are crammed into the read—#Metoo movement, anonymous sexual allegations, judgement passed on social media, relationships in the digital age, journalist life and scoops, rape, legal system, etc.the list follows ola, a high profile journalist and influencer (along with her fiancé michael), as she grapples with a list that challenges her relationship and her trust—a crowdsourced list of abusers in the uk media industry that contains michael's name on it.

Throughout this book I truly couldn’t figure out if any of these characters were meant to be likeable which I must admit kept taking me out of the flow of the book; the pacing was also off with the story lagging at some points. But most importantly, I found that the book at times teetered on feeding into very harmful rhetorics about women making false accusations for vengeance purposes and that last chapter didn’t help my feelings about this at all! It began as a list of anonymous allegations about abusive men. Now it has been published online. Ola made her name breaking exactly this type of story. She would usually be the first to cover it, calling for the men to be fired. Except today, Michael’s name is on there. I also loved how this novel explores that an act on the internet can affect real lives, friendships, careers and mental health of not just those who are directly involved, but also people close to them. Adegoke delivers a thought-provoking account of the power of social media to amplify and to silence, as well as the devastating effects of online pileups that catch innocent bystanders in their wake. This timely novel demands to be discussed.”— Booklist (starred review) I can only describe this book as callous. Geez I’m surprised 11 editors bid for this story. Indeed, publishing is highly subjective.Ola Olajide, a feminist journalist in London, is preparing for her wedding to Michael Koranteng, a podcaster who’s just landed his dream job, when his name appears on a list of abusers in the media industry.

Compulsively written, Yomi Adegoke’s debut has all the tension and build of a thriller, but swaps its typical tropes and themes and instead delves into the depths of race, infidelity, cancel culture in the wake of the Me Too movement, and virtue signalling. It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media. Ola would usually be the first to support such a list—she’d retweet it, call for the men to be fired, write article after article. Except this time, Michael’s name is on it.First let me say, I did speed through reading this novel because I just HAD to know if what was on The List was true. Halfway through the book I felt it should be rounded up and got bored. I had to force myself through a lot of things I thought were unnecessary. cheap thrills). Is fiction alright, but for a book that can arguably be based on real stories (examples) of women speaking up about sexual abuse/assaults, to be told false accusations to be vengeful, is just harmful. Considering there are cases where these women aren't believed. That's where I begin to have problems with this book because even while it tried to do it with surprisingly interesting points of view and debates, it became boring, superficial narrating, annoying underdeveloped characters, and what the main point was.