The List: A Novel

Michael’s character explores one aspect of men’s perspectives on the #MeToo movement. In Chapter 3, Michael discovers that he is on The List, and although he is innocent of the allegations, many people assume that he is an abuser. The presumption of guilt ruins his career and his marriage to Ola. However, the author maintains a judicious balance when addressing these issues. The narrative therefore stresses that Michael’s experiences do not erase or invalidate the experiences of Ola or the other women in the novel, nor does Michael’s innocence render the other men on The List innocent as well.

Through Michael’s character, Adegoke brings nuance to the sweeping characterizations that people often make about men in the #MeToo era. In the past, Michael did not always act truthfully and considerately around Ola and Jackie, but his conduct is not tantamount to sexual assault or abuse. Likewise, the false charges against Michael do not automatically exonerate the other men on The List. For example, Papi Danks is confirmed to be a predator, and so is Mathew Plummer. When Michael goes to the meeting of The List Eleven, he thinks, “[L]ots of them were guilty without question” (342).

Before he achieved internet fame, Michael lacked a stable job, and he did not have much money. He worked at an Apple store and then a shoe store, so Ola “always had to foot their restaurant bill” (17). By contrast, Ola’s success made him insecure, leading him to conclude that she valued him more for his future potential than his current self. Ola wanted him to be a capable man, not someone who refused to adjust to the evolving gender norms of the 21st century. As Michael created a cult podcast and got a job at CuRated, he obtained visibility on a level similar to Ola’s, and because the couple links their fates together, The List ruins them both.

Michael does not stay defeated, nor does The List compel him to embrace a sexist mindset. Throughout the narrative, Michael remains conscientious and forthcoming. He admits that he has not always treated women with absolute respect, and he concedes that the difference between flirting and harassment is not always clear to him. As he asks, “When did it go from chatting up to catcalling?” (58). After he reads Nour’s essay, Michael realizes what women go through, so he retains his compassion. He never conclusively proves his innocence to Ola, but Aaron’s confession provides certainty within the broader narrative. Like Ola, Michael creates a new life that is not dependent on the online praise of countless unknown people.

Although she is largely absent from the narrative, Jackie is a central character whose relationship with Michael causes his name to appear on The List. Thus, her actions indirectly lead to the downfall of Michael and Ola. Until the end of Chapter 26, Jackie never physically appears in the present-day narrative, and her first lines of dialogue do not appear until the final chapter. For most of the novel, Jackie remains elusive. Because the protagonists believe that she is the person behind @mirrorissa92, they assume that she is haunting them with the echoes of their past choices. Michael and Ola find this possibility unsettling because Jackie wanted to have a serious relationship with Michael, but Michael chose to stay with Ola. Michael’s separation upset her to the point that she engaged in extreme behavior. As the narrator states, “She’d text repeatedly. Call him nonstop, leaving hysterical voice notes and voicemails shrieking about Mikey this, Mikey that” (139).

Jackie’s boyfriend, Aaron, adds to the tumult by using Jackie’s phone to send threats, and he also puts Michael’s name on The List and excoriates him using the handle @mirrorissa92. Because Aaron initiates the public scorn against Michael and Ola, Adegoke twists the gender dynamics of #MeToo. Michael’s accuser is not a woman but the male romantic partner of a woman. Aaron sees himself as an ally who defends Jackie from an uncaring man. As the narrative explains, “He hadn’t wanted to destroy anyone’s life: everything he did was to protect his own” (464). The ending also alters the characterization of Jackie, as she becomes a dynamic character when she tells Aaron, “I know I moved mad in the past, but that was the past” (458). Like Ola and Michael, Jackie changes and finds a new sense of balance in her life.

Celie, Ruth, and Fola are Ola’s three central sidekicks, and they also act as her primary support system. Celie and Ruth are women whom Ola has known since they were all children, and Fola is Ola’s half-sister. Each woman brings a different perspective to the story. Ruth is a contrarian who does not believe the allegations against Michael, while Celie believes the accusations. Ola does not understand why Celie speaks out against Michael until Celie reveals that Papi Danks, who is also on The List, once sexually assaulted her. Celie thinks that Papi Danks’s guilt means that all the men on The List are guilty.

Fola does not pick a side and represents the voice of reason. When Ola finds out about The List and feels overwhelmed, she hears Fola’s voice saying, “Exhale chaos; inhale peace” (42). Later, over Skype, Fola tells Ola, “[W]hatever you choose to do, you have to do something. And fast” (242). Rather than being partisan, Fola is practical and unconditionally supportive. She tries to knock Ola out of her indecisiveness, and after the traumatic hashtag takeover, she gets Ola home and deactivates her social media to protect her from consuming the hostility of the online world.

Lewis is a former soccer star and a current TV personality. His character expands #MeToo and The List into LGBTQ+ issues, as Lewis is on the list for anti-gay conduct and general abuse. Like Michael, Lewis is conscientious and reflective. He does not deny that he has shown anti-gay biases, telling Michael, “I’ve used some language I shouldn’t have. Called people names during fights. Like most blokes my age.” He then reveals, “But I’m also gay, which probably makes things a bit less straightforward” (242). Lewis’s dialogue generates several fraught questions, as he implies that existing anti-gay biases in society excuse his conduct. He also suggests that a gay person cannot be anti-gay or, alternately, that when a gay person uses anti-gay language, the meaning is somehow different even if the world assumes that he is straight. The story does not neatly answer the implicit questions surrounding Lewis’s conduct, but the narrative does imply that gay people should be just as conscientious as everyone else in avoiding the use of anti-gay rhetoric.

Lewis’s death by suicide parallels Michael’s attempt to die by suicide, creating a link between the two characters. The List ruins Michael’s career and relationship, but it doesn’t kill him. From one angle, The List indirectly kills Lewis, generating a plethora of content about the dangers of leveling accusations online. However, Lewis’s suicide note also explains “his struggles with his sexuality” (431), and in this light, his death stands as a comment on the extremely harmful effects of anti-gay bias in society.