What if you woke up, only a few weeks before your wedding, and found your fiance’s name on a list of abusers? What if you were also a public figure and your relationship was constantly watched? 

The List is a book that has generated division among its readers, and has been misunderstood in its complexity and raw discomfort (or maybe I am building it up into something I want it to be.) 

Our protagonist is in a seemingly superficial but neat and ‘desirable’ relationship. Both her and her partner appear to be perfectly successful high profile Black urbanites, after the protagonist encouraging her partner to follow his dreams. (Mind you, he dreams of being a male podcaster, while she writes liberal feminist articles for some magazine) When the List comes out she suddenly has to face her own judgment as well as that of the public and conversation skills go down the drain. Meanwhile, we experience her partner’s processing of his being on the list (SPOILERS INCOMING) when he is invited to a series of gatherings with other men whose names appeared on the list. Whether we like it or not (and trust me, few of the characters are particularly likeable), we are thrown into a world of abuse-apologists and men covering each other, while walking the fine line of racialized peoples’ tension with authorities and media experienced by all involved. This is generally a point of divisiveness, understandably so, but it has reminded me of Houria Bouteldja’s discussion of marginalized communities of color and their relationships to (abusive) men and racist authorities. Bouteldja particularly notes the tension that comes from wanting to protect BIPOC men (not her wording, but it will do to get the point across) from state violence and racial profiling, as well as unequal treatment before the law, and the need for BIPOC women to protect themselves from intimate violence as well. Of course this debate is grounded particularly in communities in diaspora, but I do wonder what some who have condemned this book would add to their interpretation when finally ceasing to be “blind” of racialization.
I actually did not think it was possible to do so, given how in-your-face this book tends to be with its descriptions, to the point where it was one of my critiques.

In its attempt to be inclusive while demanding constant comfort, I fear BookTok has done away with context and begun to whitewash stories.

The List is a deeply uncomfortable book but it does a good job in being so. Often criticized for highlighting a false accusation, The List actually highlights the absolute lack of innocence of the person falsely accused. He is everything but forthcoming about his previous mistreatment of women, and only steps up to his friends misogynistic “jokes” after being faced with the consequence of losing his partner. We see the lack of remorse and consequence many of these men face and the severe consequences one in particular faces, fearing becoming the target himself after being defended by homophobic fans.