No tags yet.
The List by Joanna Bolouri is the updated Bridget Jones we all needed. Written in the form of a diary this hilariously relatable book follows Phoebe Henderson, a 30 year old Scottish woman working in sales, as she goes from bore to whore- low key whore though.
The tale begins a year after she found her boyfriend cheating on her with Henderson STILL pining after him. To drag herself from obsessing over her nauseating ex she makes a list. A list of 10 sexual adventures she wants to go on. She chooses her best friend, Oliver, an Irish womanising bachelor, to help her on her quest, which is at times successful, at times disastrous, but at all times hilarious.
I became obsessed with this 391 page novel and managed to finish it within three days. It would have been 2 but work just HAD to get in the way. Bolouri created a novel that had me hooked from the very first line- “I emerged from my bed like Nosferatu about an hour ago with a mouth like a stable floor”- with characters that I immediately empathised with. Why?
Phoebe Henderson represents every woman. It is impossible to read this book and not think that you have been in at least one of her positions (sexual or not). Whether it’s shagging your best mate, getting ridiculously drunk the night before work, or being 30 with no clue what you’re doing in life. Phoebe Henderson is every woman.
The reason I was so enamoured by this book, other than the leading lady herself, was because I saw it as an updated feminist version of Bridget Jones. Just like Bridget Phoebe is single, a borderline alcoholic (but who isn’t?!), and feeling very lonely. However, unlike Bridget Jones, Phoebe doesn’t decide that the answer to her problems is in a relationship. Instead she makes her list of sexual activities which she enters into with a no-strings attached friend. She took her sexual unhappiness and liberated it by taking charge of her sex life and making it better. Some people might read this book and just see her as a slut whoring around, but isn’t it better to be whoring around to heighten your own pleasure than to be an unhappy and boring relationship?
Another great thing about this book is the role of Phoebe’s friends. She has a small group of friends who she meets up with to get wasted of a weekend, with a core two friends for moral support. Her best friends (minus her best friend turned shagging buddy) Hazel and
Lucy are an excellent representation of why female friendship is key in life. Phoebe really does get herself into a mess throughout the book, some worse than others. She has her ups and her downs, like any literary hero does, but throughout them all Lucy and Hazel stand by her side. The motherly figure who hugs her when she’s at her lowest and tells her that she’s not completely fucked (Hazel) and the reality check who slaps her when she’s being overly sensitive and wallowing in self-pity, but who also tells her that she’s fit as fuck and will get over her scum bag ex (Lucy). These women represent the support that everyone needs in their lives, and show the true power of female empowerment.
Despite my obvious love for this book I did have an issue. Underneath all of the initial female empowerment laced within the story essentially it is a classic chic lit book. She ends up falling in love and getting the man of her dreams and living happily ever after. A satisfying ending yes, but a realistic one? NO! Finally I thought I had found a book that showed how women were capable of sexually liberating and taking care of themselves rather than relying on men. I guess not though. We will just have to settle with the subtle feminist hints in chic lit for now.
Even though I was slightly disappointed with the ending I was truly distraught when I got to the end of this book. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Phoebe for the rest of her life and whether she continued to stumble her way through adulthood. I needed to know what would happen to this woman who reminded me so much of myself and the women I knew. Luckily there is a sequel! Life After the List. I’ll tell you how it goes.
A tremendous book that will have you crying with laughter and crying with fear when you realise how similar your situation is to Phoebes.
Get it now from Amazon: £7.99