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kelly_e's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Title: The Authenticity Project
Author: Clare Pooley
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 2.50
Pub Date: February 4, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Crass • Simple • Cliché
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren't really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so he writes--in a plain, green journal--the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It's run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves--and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica's Café.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The Authenticity Project was chosen as my in-person book club pick for the month of May. And I was actually really excited by the synopsis and another story with an elderly main characters and about unlikely friendships - elements I typically love. Due to time constraints, I listened to the majority audio, and it 100% impacted my experience negatively.
The concept was so clever! There were so many aspects I should have loved, but it was honestly a struggle to get through it. None of the characters were all that likeable and it felt like the author simply chose some of her favourite stereotypes and tossed them together to produce this novel. Then through in one flawless character to tie everyone together. Some of the scenarios were just so unbelievable.
I expected the notebook to play a larger role. It is what gets the ball rolling, yet eventually its more about the relationships between the characters than people revealing their painful truths. For me, it would have worked better with smaller glimpses into the lives of a larger number of characters. The character development wasn't all that great with the smaller cast, so I don't see how a larger cast would have changed anything. There's a lot of book here and so much room for emotional depth, but it never went there.
One of my biggest issues was the romance. It felt so grossly contrived and the lack of communication and unhappy relationships drove me to speed things up to simply get through it. I honestly didn't care about the romance, at all.
And that brings me to the audiobook which was cringey. With so many characters, it was a lot to ask of one narrator. I had a hard time differentiating between whose POV I was listening to and the characterizations were that good at all. I honestly wish I hadn't listened to it because it ruined a lot for me.
The Authenticity Project was such a clever idea, yet the execution was poor. I am definitely in the minority, so if it's something that sounds interesting to you, I highly suggest finding out for yourself. I should have switched to eyeball reading, and maybe, I would have liked it better. Although I didn't love this one, I'd definitely give Clare Pooley another chance.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• slice-of-life stories
• endings tied up with a bow
⚠️ CW: mental illness, addiction, drug use, drug abuse, alcohol, alcoholism, death, death of parent, grief, cancer, outing, homophobia, infidelity, cursing, sexual content, suicidal thoughts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The truth often isn't pretty. It's not aspirational. It doesn't fit neatly into a little square on Instagram."
"Surely it would be better to live a messy, flawed, sometimes not very pretty life that was real and honest, than to constantly try to live up to a life of perfection that was actually a sham?"
Author: Clare Pooley
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 2.50
Pub Date: February 4, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Crass • Simple • Cliché
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren't really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so he writes--in a plain, green journal--the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It's run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves--and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica's Café.
💭 T H O U G H T S
The Authenticity Project was chosen as my in-person book club pick for the month of May. And I was actually really excited by the synopsis and another story with an elderly main characters and about unlikely friendships - elements I typically love. Due to time constraints, I listened to the majority audio, and it 100% impacted my experience negatively.
The concept was so clever! There were so many aspects I should have loved, but it was honestly a struggle to get through it. None of the characters were all that likeable and it felt like the author simply chose some of her favourite stereotypes and tossed them together to produce this novel. Then through in one flawless character to tie everyone together. Some of the scenarios were just so unbelievable.
I expected the notebook to play a larger role. It is what gets the ball rolling, yet eventually its more about the relationships between the characters than people revealing their painful truths. For me, it would have worked better with smaller glimpses into the lives of a larger number of characters. The character development wasn't all that great with the smaller cast, so I don't see how a larger cast would have changed anything. There's a lot of book here and so much room for emotional depth, but it never went there.
One of my biggest issues was the romance. It felt so grossly contrived and the lack of communication and unhappy relationships drove me to speed things up to simply get through it. I honestly didn't care about the romance, at all.
And that brings me to the audiobook which was cringey. With so many characters, it was a lot to ask of one narrator. I had a hard time differentiating between whose POV I was listening to and the characterizations were that good at all. I honestly wish I hadn't listened to it because it ruined a lot for me.
The Authenticity Project was such a clever idea, yet the execution was poor. I am definitely in the minority, so if it's something that sounds interesting to you, I highly suggest finding out for yourself. I should have switched to eyeball reading, and maybe, I would have liked it better. Although I didn't love this one, I'd definitely give Clare Pooley another chance.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• slice-of-life stories
• endings tied up with a bow
⚠️ CW: mental illness, addiction, drug use, drug abuse, alcohol, alcoholism, death, death of parent, grief, cancer, outing, homophobia, infidelity, cursing, sexual content, suicidal thoughts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The truth often isn't pretty. It's not aspirational. It doesn't fit neatly into a little square on Instagram."
"Surely it would be better to live a messy, flawed, sometimes not very pretty life that was real and honest, than to constantly try to live up to a life of perfection that was actually a sham?"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, and Outing
Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
thisreadingcorner's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Authenticity Project aka the secret of the traveling notebook, follows a motley crew of unlikely friends brought together by sharing their stories in a notebook and then passing it on (purposefully or accidentally) to the next writer.
The crew:
* Julian - octogenarian artist finding that his glamorous youth can’t compensate for a lonely retirement
* Monica - compulsive cafe owner wondering if her ticking clock means her best has come and gone
* Hazard - retired finance douchebag attempting to turn over a new leaf
* Riley - wandering Aussie gardener “going with the flow” through life and love
* Alice - girl boss turned IG mom/trophy wife wondering if her best and come and gone
* Lizzie - admitted busybody hoping to alleviate some of the glaring dysfunction in these folks
* Mary - ******’s **** come to set the record straight
* The background cast, especially Mrs. Wu and her tai chi
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book and there’s not too much I can say without spoiling all the fun, but I really enjoyed this. I found myself rooting for Hazard by the end when he was everything I hate at the beginning (it was the grovel for meee). I loved Monica the whole time. Julian was a menace. Riley was predictably self-involved (dictionary definition Himbo), and the other ladies were window dressing. Alice’s sections made me realize I’m good on reading that brand of reflection on motherhood as someone entirely divested 🤷🏾♀️
Read it and tell me what you thought!
The crew:
* Julian - octogenarian artist finding that his glamorous youth can’t compensate for a lonely retirement
* Monica - compulsive cafe owner wondering if her ticking clock means her best has come and gone
* Hazard - retired finance douchebag attempting to turn over a new leaf
* Riley - wandering Aussie gardener “going with the flow” through life and love
* Alice - girl boss turned IG mom/trophy wife wondering if her best and come and gone
* Lizzie - admitted busybody hoping to alleviate some of the glaring dysfunction in these folks
* Mary - ******’s **** come to set the record straight
* The background cast, especially Mrs. Wu and her tai chi
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book and there’s not too much I can say without spoiling all the fun, but I really enjoyed this. I found myself rooting for Hazard by the end when he was everything I hate at the beginning (it was the grovel for meee). I loved Monica the whole time. Julian was a menace. Riley was predictably self-involved (dictionary definition Himbo), and the other ladies were window dressing. Alice’s sections made me realize I’m good on reading that brand of reflection on motherhood as someone entirely divested 🤷🏾♀️
Read it and tell me what you thought!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Death of parent
viwilliams's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
ems_rxlibrary's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity and Outing
Minor: Vomit
atamano's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
imreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I enjoyed the first half of the book, I found the rest of the half took a very different turn. I grew to despise the character I once either enjoyed or liked in the beginning. I usually try to not DNF a book, but at many times I was tempted. I feel horrible disliking a somewhat positive book, but my dislike for the some of the characters made it impossible to enjoy.
I hated how Mary was alive the whole time and the book was build on lies. I did, however, enjoy seeing things through her perspective and she seemed to have agency. I, however, despised the rushed last minute relationship, they (Hazard and Monica) have are the most incompatible pairing in this book. Hazard, who I found infuriating through this book from time to time, doesn't need a relationship. He needs therapy and Narcotics Anonymous! You can't got cold turkey on an Class A drug, it's very dangerous and difficult thing to do.
Riley was done dirty, the only character I really liked by the end. I felt awful for how constantly undermined and patronised he was. The lesson on (just paraphrasing, don't you'd this against me) "just because he's a happy person doesn't make him simple or sweet" whatever it was.
Monica, who I actually liked at the beginning of this book, has some unresolved internalised misogyny. I don't know if I'm misread anything, but I found her hostility to some of the women in this book as frustrating, and her view on feminism is extremely flawed. I can't help but feel bad for her. To anyone who needs to hear this, it's okay if you want a baby; it doesn't make you less of a feminist or a woman if you want those things.
Lastly, as much as I hate Max, Alice deserved to have her ending and leave Max. <\spoiler>
I'm not sure if didn't enjoy this book so much because my expectations of it were too high and I expected it to be something that it wasn't, if so. My bad. This might be the book for you,
I unfortunately didn't enjoy it. And as for the author, I'm sorry for the 1 star review.
Riley was done dirty, the only character I really liked by the end. I felt awful for how constantly undermined and patronised he was. The lesson on (just paraphrasing, don't you'd this against me) "just because he's a happy person doesn't make him simple or sweet" whatever it was.
Monica, who I actually liked at the beginning of this book, has some unresolved internalised misogyny. I don't know if I'm misread anything, but I found her hostility to some of the women in this book as frustrating, and her view on feminism is extremely flawed. I can't help but feel bad for her. To anyone who needs to hear this, it's okay if you want a baby; it doesn't make you less of a feminist or a woman if you want those things.
Lastly, as much as I hate Max, Alice deserved to have her ending and leave Max. <\spoiler>
I'm not sure if didn't enjoy this book so much because my expectations of it were too high and I expected it to be something that it wasn't, if so. My bad. This might be the book for you,
I unfortunately didn't enjoy it. And as for the author, I'm sorry for the 1 star review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Minor: Misogyny
Misogynistic tones can be picked up from time to time. The other content warnings are very detailed and appear very frequently.annir's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Outing
therobinjoyce's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I loved the multiple POVs that we got to follow and how diverse in age, gender, nationality, sexuality and background each character was. Watching the relationships grow between them all and the found family emerge throughout the pages of the book was just wonderful and Clare Pooley’s writing style just tickled me sometimes, really adding life and soul into these characters.
I will say, I wasn’t a fan of Julian even from the start, but the whole cast together was just lovely. I especially adored Monica, Hazard, and Betty Wu. Alice’s story really struck me on a personal note and just made the whole experience that much more touching.
I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who loves a cosy contemporary fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia
wanderingtales's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent
kp_writ's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Death
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship