A sharp, strange feminist satire of power, sex, and survival in a man’s world.

A list of lovers, ambitions, betrayals, and opportunities slowly unfolds into something darker and more revealing: a portrait of how women are forced to manoeuvre inside systems that were never built for them.

Part social comedy, part feminist parable, the novel moves between wit and unease as its protagonist learns how easily freedom becomes performance. Mackey writes with a sly, observant humour, exposing the absurd rituals of romance, status, and intellectual life while asking who really benefits from the rules.

McCarthy’s List remains one of her most provocative early novels.