Published by RandomHouse, Transworld
Publication Date: 4th February 2020 ebook, 2nd April 2020 Hardback
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Book Description:
Six strangers with one thing in common: their lives aren't always what they make them out to be.
What would happen if they told the truth instead?
Julian Jessop is tired of hiding the deep loneliness he feels. So he begins The Authenticity Project - a small green notebook containing the truth about his life.
Leaving the notebook on a table in his friendly neighbourhood café, Julian never expects Monica, the owner, to track him down after finding it. Or that she'll be inspired to write down her own story.
Little do they realize that such small acts of honesty hold the power to impact all those who discover the notebook and change their lives completely.
My Thoughts:
As a regular reader of gritty crime and thriller novels, every now and then I need to read something more uplifting and "feel-good". As this book came out over a year ago, I've obviously heard quite a lot about it and being as there's a very upbeat vibe to the story it fitted the bill perfectly to give me a lift.
The characters each have their own very different story to tell within the book, starting with the rather eccentric but rather lonely Julian who is the instigator of the Project. He decides that the world needs to be a bit more honest with each other and sits in a local cafe, writes his story and leaves his notebook for someone else to find - and hopefully continue. The baton then changes hands to Monica, the owner of the cafe who duly takes her turn. Never a person to really open up to other people she finds it quite liberating to be so honest - until she becomes aware that someone has actually read what she wrote. The book passes into the custodianship of several others who we meet and get to know in the true spirit of the notebook. The little green book travels a fair few miles in its quest to find people's truths yet we end up back at Monica's cafe where it all began, a group of unlikely friends having come together all due to Julian's brainwave.
I really enjoyed this book; it's an easy to read but unusual concept which exposes just how much we all hide from one another in our everyday lives. From the insta-perfect world of social media influencers to the old-fashioned storytelling of the older generation whose tales can rarely be disproved it goes to show that nothing changes really over the years, just the way we present it. We're all keen to present the best version of ourselves to the world rather than the sometimes less attractive yet more honest version.
I do hope there will be more books from this author as I found her work flowed really well, her characters are so real and I could certainly see bits of myself in some of the various people (I'm not saying which bits!). I'm not sure I would be brave enough to write my story for the world so see though.
About the Author:
Clare Pooley graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge and spent twenty years in the heady world of advertising before becoming a full-time mum.
Clare lives in Fulham, London with her long-suffering husband, three children, dog and a cupboard filled with alcohol-free beer.
Clare is the author of the hugely popular blog, Mummy was a Secret Drinker, under the pseudonym Sober Mummy.
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