The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

THE AUTHENTICITY PROJECT by Clare Pooley is a new, entertaining novel which is the top pick for the LibraryReads list for February 2020. The story revolves around a journal which Julian, an elderly lonely man, leaves at Monica’s London café. Moved by reading about his plight, she arranges for art classes and thereby provides purpose and even some excitement to Julian’s life. Eventually, Monica adds her own thoughts and desires to the journal which, in turn, ultimately travels around the world with entries appended by Hazard, a former trader, Riley, a carefree Australian, and Alice, a weary new mother. References to Emmeline Pankhurst, tai chi, and Instagram frame questions about truthfulness and life’s meaning for the characters. Friendship, adventures, and romance feature in this “feel good,” escapist story.