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The List
Ola Olajide, a celebrated journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is set to marry the love of her life in one month’s time. Young, beautiful, and successful—she and her fiancé Michael are considered the “couple goals” of their social network and seem to have it all. That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message: “Oh my god, have you seen The List?”
It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media. Ola would usually be the first to support such a list—she’d retweet it, call for the men to be fired, write article after article. Except this time, Michael’s name is on it.
Compulsively readable, wildly entertaining, and filled with sharp social insight, The List is a piercing and dazzlingly clear-sighted debut about secrets, lies, and the internet. Perfect for fans of Such a Fun Age, Luster, and My Dark Vanessa, this is a searing portrait of these modern times and our morally complicated online culture.
These book club discussion questions were provided by HarperCollins.
Book club questions for The List by Yomi Adegoke
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
What did you think when you first read that Michael’s name was on The List?
Did you feel more sympathetic to Ola or to Michael? Did that change as the book went on?
How did reading their alternating perspectives shape how you saw the story?
Were you familiar with lists like the one on which Michael’s name appears before reading the book? What do you think of the discussion of it in the novel?
From call-out lists to online harassment, do you think that the ability to be anonymous online is a good or bad thing?
How did you feel about the portrayal of Michael and Ola’s relationship in the novel?
Do you consider Michael guilty of any wrongdoing–and why or why not?
Ola identifies as a feminist but begins to doubt her claim to that identity in the wake of Michael’s name appearing on The List. What did you think of her navigation of that dilemma?
If someone close to you was subject to anonymous accusations, how do you think you would handle it?
What did you think of the way of the way that Celie responds to The List and how did that change as the novel went on?
Discuss the portrayal of the mental health challenges faced by Michael, Lewis and other characters in the novel.
The novel explores the relationship between the online and offline lives of its characters. Do you think the two worlds can be separated?
How did The List make you consider the possible routes to justice available for survivors of sexual assault?
How much did you sympathize with Lewis, and to what extent is his fate a product of the internet?
How did you feel when you read the ending?
The List Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the The List discussion questions