Click for Source Image by Charlotte Dibley
Phoebe Henderson may be single but she sure doesn’t feel fabulous. It’s been a year since she found her boyfriend Alex in bed with another woman, and multiple cases of wine and extensive relationship analysis with best friend Lucy have done nothing to help. Faced with a new year but no new love, Phoebe concocts a different kind of resolution.
The List: ten things she’s always wanted to do in bed but has never had the chance (or the courage!) to try. A bucket list for between the sheets. One year of pleasure, no strings attached. Simple, right?
Factor in meddlesome colleagues, friends with benefits, getting frisky al fresco and maybe, possibly, true love and Phoebe’s got her work cut out for her.
Phoebe Henderson may be single but she sure doesn’t feel fabulous. It’s been a year since she found her boyfriend Alex in bed with another woman, and multiple cases of wine and extensive relationship analysis with best friend Lucy have done nothing to help. Faced with a new year but no new love, Phoebe concocts a different kind of resolution.
The List: ten things she’s always wanted to do in bed but has never had the chance (or the courage!) to try. A bucket list for between the sheets. One year of pleasure, no strings attached. Simple, right?
Factor in meddlesome colleagues, friends with benefits, getting frisky al fresco and maybe, possibly, true love and Phoebe’s got her work cut out for her.
Click for Source Image I sped through this book at a rate of knots, managing to finish it in a day. It's by no means short and I felt a little cross-eyed by the end, but it was totally worth it. I thought it would be one of those books that I could drift in and out of but I literally couldn't bear to be parted from it. I cursed the fact that I had to eat and move.
My initial reaction on finishing the book? YES. Bolouri you effing beauty. I was only part-way through when I texted friends telling them to read it. You know when you just get a gut feeling and a gut certainty about a book? Bam. That's what I got with this.
The List is written in the form of a diary, so we don't get "chapters" per se; rather, we have days and dates across the entire year. I liked this device because it immerses you within Phoebe's world and Phoebe's challenge, to the point where you feel like you really are snooping through a friend's diary. Also, if we're being blunt, it means that the "chapters" were never going to be eye-watering in length: there's only so much that characters can fit into a day. So, I found myself doing the 'just one more bit, it's only short' and the next thing I knew it was dark outside and I was punching the air as I read the last page.
It's crude and uncompromising on sexual detail and I LOVED that. I was in awe of Phoebe; I think she's everything that I want to be. She's the kind of friend that I'd love to have so that I could live vicariously through her. Heartbroken over her dickhead ex, Alex, she decides to set herself an unusual challenge, as opposed to the typical "I'm going on a diet" New Year's resolution. What does she do? She creates a list of 10 things that she's always wanted to try in the bedroom department. Obviously, I'm not going to tell you what they are because I want to leave an air of mystery. Instead, I'll let your minds concoct weird and wonderful things.
Phoebe is a cracker of a character, yet it's possible that she is...intimidating? Yes, intimidating. She can be brash, out there and she's very much a capable, modern woman. Then, on top of that, she creates a list and becomes adventurous in bed. She's what a lot of women would hope to be; hell, I'll admit that I'm jealous of her. But, Bolouri manages to walk the fine line between annoyingly exuberant and a genuinely likeable creation. With a character like Phoebe, it would have been easy to make her so outlandish and so overly confident that it would have undermined the entire story. However, I think Bolouri gets the balance just right. Phoebe is brave enough to embark on her challenges and she swears like a sailor, yet there's self-doubt and a core vulnerability about her.
Phoebe is tentatively exploring her sexuality in a pretty grown up way, and trying to learn something about herself in the process. I guess what The List shows us is that sex isn't taboo and neither does it have to be male dominated or explicitly descriptive erotica. It's possible to write a book where the female protagonist is proactive but not overly aggressive; adventurous but within her own set comfort confines; isn't just some submissive sex object; is confident yet isn't afraid to write of her failings and despair and, all the while, remaining completely relatable. Sex is the vessel for her personal exploration and that, to me, is a pretty fantastic way of approaching a story.
My initial reaction on finishing the book? YES. Bolouri you effing beauty. I was only part-way through when I texted friends telling them to read it. You know when you just get a gut feeling and a gut certainty about a book? Bam. That's what I got with this.
The List is written in the form of a diary, so we don't get "chapters" per se; rather, we have days and dates across the entire year. I liked this device because it immerses you within Phoebe's world and Phoebe's challenge, to the point where you feel like you really are snooping through a friend's diary. Also, if we're being blunt, it means that the "chapters" were never going to be eye-watering in length: there's only so much that characters can fit into a day. So, I found myself doing the 'just one more bit, it's only short' and the next thing I knew it was dark outside and I was punching the air as I read the last page.
It's crude and uncompromising on sexual detail and I LOVED that. I was in awe of Phoebe; I think she's everything that I want to be. She's the kind of friend that I'd love to have so that I could live vicariously through her. Heartbroken over her dickhead ex, Alex, she decides to set herself an unusual challenge, as opposed to the typical "I'm going on a diet" New Year's resolution. What does she do? She creates a list of 10 things that she's always wanted to try in the bedroom department. Obviously, I'm not going to tell you what they are because I want to leave an air of mystery. Instead, I'll let your minds concoct weird and wonderful things.
Phoebe is a cracker of a character, yet it's possible that she is...intimidating? Yes, intimidating. She can be brash, out there and she's very much a capable, modern woman. Then, on top of that, she creates a list and becomes adventurous in bed. She's what a lot of women would hope to be; hell, I'll admit that I'm jealous of her. But, Bolouri manages to walk the fine line between annoyingly exuberant and a genuinely likeable creation. With a character like Phoebe, it would have been easy to make her so outlandish and so overly confident that it would have undermined the entire story. However, I think Bolouri gets the balance just right. Phoebe is brave enough to embark on her challenges and she swears like a sailor, yet there's self-doubt and a core vulnerability about her.
Phoebe is tentatively exploring her sexuality in a pretty grown up way, and trying to learn something about herself in the process. I guess what The List shows us is that sex isn't taboo and neither does it have to be male dominated or explicitly descriptive erotica. It's possible to write a book where the female protagonist is proactive but not overly aggressive; adventurous but within her own set comfort confines; isn't just some submissive sex object; is confident yet isn't afraid to write of her failings and despair and, all the while, remaining completely relatable. Sex is the vessel for her personal exploration and that, to me, is a pretty fantastic way of approaching a story.
Click for Source Image I loved the mixed bag of men that we are presented with. There are a great selection of male characters who are everything in-between the usual male literary stereotypes: the good, the bad and the ugly, to copy Clint. A real cross section of personalities and uhm, you know, capabilities. Aside from the list and the men, Bolouri also does a sterling job of creating funny and realistic friendships, as well as a hilarious working environment. This book really does have it all.
While we're on that topic: when it's proclaimed that a book is "funny", I tend to roll my eyes and grit my teeth, expecting to be disappointed. I've never been one to laugh hysterically at literature and I doubt I ever will. Do I have some sort of internal malfunction? Anyway, the point is, it's not often that I physically laugh out loud at books but with The List I certainly laughed loudly and unattractively every couple of pages. Bolouri has a wonderfully witty way with the written word. (Accidental alliteration).
The List isn't sickly sweet and "polite" romance, oh no. It's realistic emotions and vigorous, bent-over-a-kitchen-worktop kind of sex. I hate this cliche, but it really was a breath of fresh air. Don't get me wrong, I like the lovey dovey stuff, but this was on the dirtier end of the "wholesome, lovely romance" scale and I hadn't realised how much I needed it. The story isn't particularly conventional, the setup of romance isn't hugely conventional, the characters aren't necessarily conventional either in the chick-lit sense. All of this should spell disaster, or should sound alarm bells. However, The List is indicative of a new age of women's fiction that is both relevant and feisty. Slowly, we're starting to see more and more books where empowered women are taking charge of their own sex lives, rather than being a startled faun to a man's impressive...ego. We've all read books where the men are generally domineering and yes, we kind of like that in a sexy way. Dare I say it though: it gets tiresome after a while. Phoebe's vulnerable and makes silly decisions, but she's got balls. She isn't meek. She's proactive and follows through on her challenges. I'll say it again: balls. I had to admire her for it.
Certainly, this will not appeal to everybody. I can already imagine what criticisms will centre around: bad language, crude discussions on sex, bit too much description, lewd, women who are almost "laddish". It's precisely because of all this that I loved it so much. It goes against the grain of books that usually have this kind of sexual exploration story. I guess the nearest comparison is Sex and the City if you were to put me on the spot.
I cannot wait to see what else this author can do. Her work screams ability and endless possibility. A fantastic, stupendous debut. A genuine pleasure (ahem) to read. Here's my very own list for The List: daring, bold, original, superb humour, a variety of men, liberating, complex, great sense of sexual freedom and at the heart is a girl who could be your best mate. What more could you want? Everybody should read this.
While we're on that topic: when it's proclaimed that a book is "funny", I tend to roll my eyes and grit my teeth, expecting to be disappointed. I've never been one to laugh hysterically at literature and I doubt I ever will. Do I have some sort of internal malfunction? Anyway, the point is, it's not often that I physically laugh out loud at books but with The List I certainly laughed loudly and unattractively every couple of pages. Bolouri has a wonderfully witty way with the written word. (Accidental alliteration).
The List isn't sickly sweet and "polite" romance, oh no. It's realistic emotions and vigorous, bent-over-a-kitchen-worktop kind of sex. I hate this cliche, but it really was a breath of fresh air. Don't get me wrong, I like the lovey dovey stuff, but this was on the dirtier end of the "wholesome, lovely romance" scale and I hadn't realised how much I needed it. The story isn't particularly conventional, the setup of romance isn't hugely conventional, the characters aren't necessarily conventional either in the chick-lit sense. All of this should spell disaster, or should sound alarm bells. However, The List is indicative of a new age of women's fiction that is both relevant and feisty. Slowly, we're starting to see more and more books where empowered women are taking charge of their own sex lives, rather than being a startled faun to a man's impressive...ego. We've all read books where the men are generally domineering and yes, we kind of like that in a sexy way. Dare I say it though: it gets tiresome after a while. Phoebe's vulnerable and makes silly decisions, but she's got balls. She isn't meek. She's proactive and follows through on her challenges. I'll say it again: balls. I had to admire her for it.
Certainly, this will not appeal to everybody. I can already imagine what criticisms will centre around: bad language, crude discussions on sex, bit too much description, lewd, women who are almost "laddish". It's precisely because of all this that I loved it so much. It goes against the grain of books that usually have this kind of sexual exploration story. I guess the nearest comparison is Sex and the City if you were to put me on the spot.
I cannot wait to see what else this author can do. Her work screams ability and endless possibility. A fantastic, stupendous debut. A genuine pleasure (ahem) to read. Here's my very own list for The List: daring, bold, original, superb humour, a variety of men, liberating, complex, great sense of sexual freedom and at the heart is a girl who could be your best mate. What more could you want? Everybody should read this.
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