Three Stars

Best for:
Those interested in stories that explore questions of media ethics, morality, how to determine who to believe.

In a nutshell:
Ola (a journalist partly known for here work on #MeToo-esque stories) and Michael (a media presenter) are two people living in London. They are set to get married in a month, with friends and family coming into town. They are Instagram famous, and held up as an example of #BlackLove. Then The List is posted to Twitter, which accuses 40 men of various crimes, from harassment to rape. Michael is on the list.

Worth quoting:
“She refused for love to be something that she endured.”

Why I chose it:
I was at the airport and it looked interesting.

Review:
I usually don’t check reviews before writing my own, but when I looked on Goodreads I see that this book is quite divisive. Some folks love it, and many really, really hate it. And I get that. I am ambivalent, as I did enjoy reading it and think author Adegoke explored some interesting questions, but I think it could have been a stronger story with perhaps a slightly less twisty ending.

The concept of the book is solid in my opinion: what happens to the people accused by anonymous complaints, and what happens to their families? Obviously the focus should be on the victims of crime, but they aren’t the only people impacted. What happens to the people who love the people who may have abused others? And if someone is accused anonymously but publicly, what should happen? What makes sense?

Ola works for a website and is tasked by her boss with investigating the List, as the boss doesn’t know Michael is on the list, accused of harassment and abuse. Michael has started a new job that day, but soon ends up on leave.

The book gives us point of view chapters from both Ola and Michael. We quickly learn that Michael is not a good partner, but to what extent that aligns with the allegations against him remains a mystery for a good while. Ola is focused on trying to figure out if she should believe her fiancé, and if she chooses to, what that means for the career she’s built, calling out accused abusers and demanding their accusers be believed.

As the book goes on, we learn some more about others on the list, and it is clear that some of the allegations are definitely true, or at least based in some confirmed actions. And some may not be – and it has an impact on the accused. Now, does that mean there’s no value in bringing forward allegations? Of course not. Truth is important, and just because something maybe can’t be brought to a court doesn’t, to me, mean it shouldn’t be shared or believed. But there is an impact on so many people, and it’s not just about whose fault that is.

What’s next for this book:
Donate

Three Stars

Best for:
Anyone who is familiar with Hagen’s work; anyone who is themselves pondering the quality of their sex life.

In a nutshell:
Author Hagen explores their history of gender identity and sexuality against the backdrop of not having had sex in many years.

Worth quoting:
I listened to Hagen read the book and know that I found a few lines noteworthy but didn’t end up writing any down.

Why I chose it:
I enjoyed Hagen’s first book Happy Fat and wanted to support their next one.

Review:
What do you know about sex? Like, good sex? If you are a straight person, do you know anything beyond the sort of standard expectations we see in media? How do you view sex and sexuality? How do you view yourself in sexual situations? How do you relate to others sexually?

Hagen (who is non-binary and prefers they/them pronouns) talks through these topics in various ways in their book where they explore why they haven’t had sex in years. It’s not a book about chosen celibacy – they want to have sex. But as they explore their own gender identity and sexuality, they discover that maybe they have some things to work through themselves.

And they spend the book asking questions of experts and it is fascinating to read. They talk to a porn actor, a flirtologist, and put out a call for comment from people that resulted in 1800 responses. They learn to think about what they actually want in a sexual partner, and what those experiences should be like – the safety, the consideration.

The book also spends time looking into Hagen’s past relationships, including a couple that are not great emotionally, which people might find helpful as they think about what they want and need and expect in relationships.

This is an interesting read. I’m not quite sure what I expected but it probably wasn’t this. That isn’t to say it’s bad at all – just different.

What’s next for this book:
Might recommend it to other folks.

Four Stars

Best for:
Those who enjoy contemplative stories.

In a nutshell:
The main character of this book is a novelist whose name we never learn. She lives alone in a world where anything can disappear. But not for everyone.

Worth quoting:
The writing is the book is lovely, but I didn’t find myself underlining anything specific.

Why I chose it:
This was a birthday gift from friends.

Review:
I’m feeling a bit melancholy after reading this book, but I’m not sad, and I’m not disappointed that I read it. I love that not every book is meant to leave the reader feeling happy.

In the world of this book, things disappear. And not in a ‘oh no, Bob lost his laptop’ kind of way. Categories of items just disappear. First they start to disappear from memory, and then everyone takes what they have left of the items and disposes of them, never to be seen again. So, for example, apples. One day, people have apples, and apple trees, applesauce. But then apples disappear, and so all remaining apples just rot away, and people forget the word and what it represented. If they come across, say, an image of an apple, it will look like nothing they’ve seen before; just an abstract object.

But not everyone forgets, and that’s where the Memory Police come in. Their job is to interrogate anyone who appears to not be able to forget things that have disappeared, and if they do retain memories, they themselves are removed from the town.

The main character is a novelist, and the novel she is writing is interspersed throughout the book. Her mother was someone who could remember, and was taken away years ago. She hid items that had disappeared all over the house, showing them to the novelist when she was a child, even though the novelist had no memory and no point of reference to it. Her editor is also someone who can remember, and she is determined to protect him from the memory police. I think only one person in the book has a name that is shared with the reader; everyone else is known by their job, or perhaps an initial, or their demographics – her best friend is the old man.

What stands out most for me is how people can come to adjust to things that from the outside are just unacceptable. How, as more and more things disappear, the people of the town don’t question things (likely for fear of a visit from the Memory Police), and instead figure out ways to adapt and continue living their lives. Some might call it resilience, but it also seems like in this town people are just living with the ongoing drone of trauma and trying to make the best of it. It seems clear that these disappearances are not happening outside of the island, but we don’t hear of many people making attempts to escape. They seem to have accepted their fate, for the most part, and are just interested in living the lives they can.

What’s next for this book:
Keep, recommend to others.