Again, this was written a few months ago, but I did tweak a few things while editing. Somehow, the book is still fresh in my mind even after reading other novels. At the time of writing the review, I might’ve given it a 3/5 because I didn’t appreciate the dilly-dallying in the first half, but time must’ve blunted my disgruntledness because if you ask me to rate it now, I’d happily give it a 4/5.
Yomi Adegoke brings a lot to the table and asks us to take our pick. She gives us a buffet, if you will. Her debut novel, The List, is the kind of book I want to be able to write when I grow up.
Really though, I believe that a good book is one that forces you to think. And where do we even start with The List?
The story begins light, with a couple in love and excited about their upcoming wedding unaware of the shit flying happily to the fan. We get a foreshadow, but when the shit does hit the fan, it is so messy and uncontained, you’d probably need to take a breather before going on.
The story takes place on the cold streets of London. Olaide Olajide and Michael Koranteng are the hapless couple in this book, and the vehicles that demand our introspection.
Olaide Olajide is a Nigerian feminist and the chief editor of Womxxn, a women’s magazine. She is the proud author of a viral piece, #McsToo, a longform commenting on some men in the entertainment industry accused of sexual assault. The post brings her a form of popularity, superseded only by her position as one half of a popular #blacklove power couple.
Michael Koranteng is the other half of this couple. He is a Ghanaian brother with a pretty face and charisma for days. He has a podcast with his friends, where they talk about women and rate their physical appearance. If you’re not already seeing an issue, you can wait for it.
Shortly before we are introduced to the story, Michael lands a job at CuRated, after a social media scandal where the company comes under fire for being all white. Michael is damage control. But hey, since it pays the bills and makes him feel deserving of Ola, it goes.
An anonymous spreadsheet surfaces online and it lists men in the entertainment industry who abuse women. It would be a field day for Ola who would’ve merrily written a strong piece about men who abuse their power and status, but for the fact that there is a name in there that she is intimately familiar with.
Micheal Koranteng of CuRated.
The name is wrongly spelt, but even if there was a Micheal Koranteng, how many Korantengs work at CuRated? Not many, I can tell you.
This, of course, opens a floodgate of doubt, questions and anger.
What has Michael done? How will Ola reconcile the man she knows with the man who may have abused a woman at a Christmas party? What happens to the wedding they are planning? Will she get answers before the month elapses and she must decide whether or not to say, ‘I do’?
Oh, she gets answers, but the answers are not so simple. They never are, with things like this and with a man who has shown himself to be as unreliable as they come.
What I liked about the novel.
I liked how fast-paced the second half of the story was. Yes, second half. At some point, the first half dragged and I wondered if I’d ever finish the book.
Then I enjoyed the confusion. It was realistic. With every doubt, every push and pull, I was reminded that these things are never this simple when you’re smack dab in the middle.
We can give advice, point quick fingers (like Ola did with her #McsToo article), and talk about people in horrible situations, but until we find ourselves in those exact situations, we’ll never really understand what it means.
I also loved how the book reminded us to be humane when dealing with people online because you don’t know how damaging your words could be to the person on the other side of the screen.
Michael isn’t exactly a saint when it comes to women and I’m glad he realises this, even though the realisation only happens after he is accused of sexual misconduct.
What’s the buffet I mentioned?
It’s the topics the author touched on in the novel. Here’s a few.
Hypocrisy. Ola was quick to open fire on the #McsToo men and throw vitriol—albeit privately—at the women who stayed with these men until it was her husband-to-be on the list and suddenly, she wanted to fact-check.
Murky feelings and demons not slayed. The author shows us Michael’s feelings of inadequacy, and how these feelings made him hurt Ola. We know he loved Ola, but we know he hurt her too and suddenly love isn’t just black and white.
We also witness Ola’s feelings of inadequacies borrowed from when Michael cheated, her scattered thoughts about the list, her questioning of who she is and why she should still believe Michael after everything.
Love. We see instances of this throughout the novel, from both parties, although with Michael, it seemed more like need and could be interpreted as unhealthy sometimes. When Ola remained at Michael’s bedside after the accident, that was sacrifice, a form of love. When Ola decided love would not be enough, that was another form of love—self-love.
Michael yearning for Ola all through and hating that he kept hurting her—not a sterling portrayal of love, but sweet in a Romeo and Juliet kinda way.
The impact of social media on lives. We are so used to thinking people are just their avatars, or words on a screen, or a username. In this novel, something as flimsy as an anonymous spreadsheet on the internet wreaked havoc in people’s lives because some social media users believed it hook, line, and sinker, all with self-righteous indignation.
Social media isn’t just a leveller—it’s a place where bullies do their thing and no one really bats an eye because ‘it’s not that deep, it’s just social media’.
Finally, we are reminded, in case we forgot, that life isn’t always fair. Papi Danks and his Sweet Like Puff-Puff, the men who got off without much issue, Celie and her lack of closure, Ola.
Honestly, this book takes some getting used to. After the appearance of the list, things drag for a bit and at some point, you might get tired of the push and pull and the fact that the answers are not forthcoming. But hold tight, because The List is a solid book and you’ll get those answers plus more.
