The Authenticity Project
Clare Pooley, 2020
Penguin Publishing
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781984878618
Summary
The story of a solitary green notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship, and even love
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 cafe. 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.
The Authenticity Project's cast of characters—including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends—is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It's a story about being brave and putting your real self forward—and finding out that it's not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness.
The Authenticity Project is just the tonic for our times that readers are clamoring for—and one they will take to their hearts and read with unabashed pleasure. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Clare Pooley is a British blogger and author of both a memoir and a novel. She is the daughter of Peter Pooley CMG, a former Director-General of the European Commission. Pooley earned a degree in economics from Newnham College, Cambridge.
Career
Pooley first pursued a career in advertising at J. Walter Thompson, where she attained the position of managing partner and group head. She left the agency, however, after the birth of her third child.
In 2015, Pooley began a blog, "Mummy was a Secret Drinker," about her life following a resolution to give up alcohol. She blogged under a pseudonym until the announcement of her first book, which was published in 2017. That book, The Sober Diaries, recounted her first year of sobriety, as well as an account of her successful battle with breast cancer. Her second book, The Authenticity Project, a novel, came out in 2020.
Personal life
Pooley lives with her husband and their three children in London, England. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2/25/2020.)
Book Reviews
Poole succeeds in persuasively conveying the daily texture of city life, and in creating appealing characters we want to see happy.… [The] cheerful premise demands bite to balance its not-always-believable sweetness.… At times, its overly broad characterization and cliched gestures detract from the story.… And yet, several reversals and a neat twist mean that The Authenticity Project grows stronger toward its end: a rarity for novels.… [A]n enjoyable read that is cozy…in the best sense of the word.
USA Today
This wistful, humorous tale from Pooley… maintains a quick, satisfying pace as the characters’ simple, spontaneous acts affect each other’s lives. This is a beautiful and illuminating story of self-creation.
Publishers Weekly
Not only a charming story of strangers connecting in beguiling ways, this debut fiction by memoirist and blogger Pooley is a thoughtful meditation on authenticity in the age of self-promotion. Recommended for readers looking for a pick-me-up.
Library Journal
The secret sauce that spices this book is that all the diarists are busybodies to some degree, so they wind up interacting in strange and unexpected ways.… The book is composed of fairly short chapters…, and while it moves along at a bracing clip, the thread is always easy to follow.
BookPage
A group of strangers…in London become fast friends after writing their deepest secrets in a shared notebook.… The message is strong, urging readers to get off their smartphones and social media and live in the real, authentic world.…An enjoyable, cozy novel that touches on tough topics
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Julian writes, "Everyone lies about their lives." Is this true? Do you?
2. Julian calls his notebook "The Authenticity Project." Do you think people are increasingly searching for authenticity in today’s world? If so, why? How do they go about it? How do you?
3. We are all connected via huge social media communities, but increased online interaction often comes at the expense of the type of local, real-life community provided by Monica’s Cafe and Julian’s Supper Club. What do these communities give us that virtual ones do not?
4. Most of the characters in the book are lonely, but in very different ways. What are the various forms of loneliness explored in The Authenticity Project?
5. The story is told from the perspectives of six main characters. Who did you relate to the most, and why? Which character is least like yourself?
6. Baz keeps the truth from his grandmother in order to spare her feelings. Julian avoids the truth to protect himself. Are there times when admitting the truth isn’t the right thing to do? Explain.
7. We all make snap judgements about each other, and often they’re wrong. What incorrect assumptions do The Authenticity Project characters make about each other, and what are the consequences?
8. There is a scene in the book where Monica and Alice first see each other through the café window, and both want what the other has. What does The Authenticity Project teach us about envy?
9. Riley is the only character in the novel who doesn’t have an obvious fatal flaw. Does this make him more loveable, or less? How does Riley act as a touchstone for the other characters?
10. If you found "The Authenticity Project," what truth would you tell?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)