“Everyone lies about their lives. What would happen if you shared the truth instead?”
Julian Jessop, p.2, The Authenticity Project
While visiting home during the summer, my mum, Ryan and I went on a wee day out thrifting in Troon. It was a lovely day out, finding hidden gems in charity shops before recharging in The Poppy Room cafe. While in an Oxfam book and music shop, a certain book caught my eye. Drawn in by its bright and cheerful cover and intriguing title, I decided to buy it without much hesitation- it looked exactly like my type of book- especially for £2.50. This was well before The Thrifty Mango Book Club even existed.
This book was The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. The story starts when retired artist, Julian Jessop, leaves a little pale green notebook with his life story in it in Monica’s Café. Then we follow five strangers (and Julian himself) as they stumble upon the book, share their story and form friendships. The novel’s heart-warming message of honesty and friendship is woven through each chapter in a way I haven’t encountered before. The book has common themes but faces them uniquely and uncommonly. So, without further ado, let’s get into the book.
Spoilers ahead!
The Authenticity Project works as a great book for self-reflection. It makes you think about what you’d write in the little green notebook. It makes you think of your own life and friends. How well do you know the people around you? How well do they know the true you?
Each character has their own distinct personalities, secrets and problems. Julian is a man stuck in the past- not even an entirely real past. Monica is a highly-strung café owner who longs for a family. Hazard is an ex-drug addict trying to get his life on track and Alice is an influencer and mother struggling with post-natal depression. This makes each character flawed (and slightly unlikeable)- which is a good thing; nobody in real life is perfect. They all meet, attending art classes that Monica starts for Julian to teach in the café every week. I love how the characters interact with each other and how each unlikely friendship develops.
One of my favourite chapters is one in which Monica cleans Julian’s cottage. Before getting started, she asks him what smells remind him of his deceased wife, Mary, then asks him to return in a few hours when she’s finished. She makes his home smell like her, using her hairspray as an air freshener and leaving a pot of homemade jam on the stove. Upon Julian’s return, he is so touched that he gives her a one-on-one art class at that very moment. Overall, it’s a heart-warming chapter and shows the father-daughter relationship that forms between them.
Addiction (one of the major themes in the book) is tackled in different ways throughout, most prominently in Hazard’s story. When we first meet Hazard, he’s an alcoholic and drug addict. He parties his life away and spends every night in a different woman’s bed. We see him travel to an island in Thailand to escape his addiction- something that takes him months. During this time, he plays matchmaker for Monica, whose story he read in the notebook. This leads to Riley’s introduction. Upon his return to London, Hazard relapses at a wedding after realising that Monica has no idea of the extent of his addiction. It’s a rather raw chapter, with Hazard revealing the darker side of himself that we witnessed at the start of the book and showing regret after losing control.
“‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, ‘I thought I could have just one.'”
Hazard, p.313, The Authenticity Project
Other characters face different addictions with differing severity; Alice with social media and alcohol, Julian with lying and Monica with cleaning. Each one is handled differently, and some are not even fully resolved, as I imagine many addictions aren’t ever fully recovered from. This may be due to the author being an ex-addict herself. Having experienced addiction allows her to write about it realistically. As some of you may know, I don’t drink at all and never have, so I don’t think I can fairly critique the representation of drug addiction in the book.
The only character that I didn’t like was Julian. It becomes increasingly obvious to the reader that Julian is a little self-obsessed and lies about his social status- to the point that even he believes his lies. He even lies about the death of his wife- who is very much alive. It’s revealed at the end of the book that Julian, unable to live with himself for driving her away from him, decided to lie about her being dead. However, despite him being rather unlikeable, he still has a place in the book. Unlikeable characters are difficult to route for, but I found myself happy for Julian for finding peace with himself and a group of friends who care about him for the first time in years.
I liked the plot twist- I honestly didn’t see it coming. It fits into the book and its themes well; it reiterates the message of honesty and authenticity. We also finally meet Mary, who has been heavily spoken about throughout the book. After being exposed, there are no more instances of Julian lying- and he seems a lot more content and happy after the truth is out. There’s no reputation to live up to, no web of lies to remember and no worries of someone tripping him up in his contradictions. Then, in the second-last chapter, he drifts away with the notebook that started it all in his hands, after finally embracing his true self.
The book’s ending is surprisingly good if a little rushed. I thought that, although Monica and Hazard are a good match, their relationship development felt a little sudden. There were hints that Hazard liked Monica in chapters from his perspective, but nothing from Monica’s perspective. I like that Monica helps keep Hazard in check, and Hazard encourages Monica to step out of her comfort zone and loosen up. They are a nicely balanced couple. Alice seems happier with herself and Bunty (her baby). She finally has someone helping her navigate motherhood instead of judging her and has cut down on her social media usage. However, her story isn’t fully concluded; we don’t know if she leaves her husband for good or not. But I think that’s realistic since not everything is concluded in real life, especially not all at once.
Overall, I found The Authenticity Project an uplifting novel that explores themes of friendship, honesty, addiction and authenticity. I liked most of the characters, despite their flaws, and enjoyed witnessing how one little green notebook changed their lives. Have you read The Authenticity Project? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments or on social media using the hashtag #thriftymangobookclub.
Look out tomorrow on my social media pages to find out what my next read will be!
Thank you so much for reading x
Thrifty Mango 