The List: A Novel

Content Warning: This section contains discussions of sexual assault and racism.

At a private club, Olaide “Ola” Olajide and Michael Koranteng are drunk. Ola asks Michael about the happiest day in his life. Michael teases Ola and suggests that their upcoming wedding day will not qualify, but Michael sincerely loves Ola and believes that the happiest day of his life was either when Ola said she loved him or when she agreed to marry him.

Michael and Ola met during the summer of 2016 at Black Brits, a media networking event. Ola found a picture of him on Facebook wearing a Ghanaian flag as a bandana and sent it to her friends, Ruth and Celie, who made fun of him while acknowledging his “gorgeous” looks. With Michael, Ola felt like she could be herself, although always paying their restaurant bills annoyed her.

In the present, Ola wakes up to over 100 messages. She cannot read them due to #BLOCKEDT—a “weapons-grade” app that limits her screen time. Ola assumes that most of the messages are from Frankie Webb, her boss at Womxxxn—a prominent digital quarterly for women. Ola is the current affairs editor, and Frankie has assigned Ola to create a post focusing on body positivity and on Kalmte Kut, a Danish brand that infuses sex toys with CBD.