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avosage18's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Outing
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
beccamarriner's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
2.5
As a concept I think the story had so much potential but I found it very hard to like a single character. Monica was the only one that grew on me but I felt like her character development was lost at the end. her relationship with Hazard felt rushed and unnatural, especially because I feel like in the real world, a random postcard from a stranger is threatening, not worthy of being pinned to a wall. It meant that their chemistry was lacking and unbelievable for me. Julian was also just a manipulative liar and had an ending that felt like a cop out as he died for no reason and without facing the consequences of his actions to the full extent. The redeeming qualities for me were the side characters such as Benji, Baz and Betty (Mrs Wu) and I believe the Authenticity Project could’ve been so much better following their authentic selves and the journey of open sexuality in a traditional Chinese family rather than a mommy blogger who’s addicted to her phone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death and Suicidal thoughts
eloiseisreading's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was hooked from the moment I read the summary on the back, and I ended up finishing it over the course of two days!
The characters feel extremely real. They talk, look, think, and feel in the most crystal clear way I have ever read in a fiction book. The characters grow on you, even when their actions are down right cruel. You root for then when they do something right, and you keep your fingers crossed for them when they struggle.
The premise is that a group of unlikely friends become each other's found family. There is love, loss, heartbreak, romance, happiness, and healing dispersed throughout. You can tell the author really poured her soul into this book.
This book feels like being wrapped up in a warm blanket with a cup of tea.
The characters feel extremely real. They talk, look, think, and feel in the most crystal clear way I have ever read in a fiction book. The characters grow on you, even when their actions are down right cruel. You root for then when they do something right, and you keep your fingers crossed for them when they struggle.
The premise is that a group of unlikely friends become each other's found family. There is love, loss, heartbreak, romance, happiness, and healing dispersed throughout. You can tell the author really poured her soul into this book.
This book feels like being wrapped up in a warm blanket with a cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent