None of This Is True: A Novel

Although the novel begins and ends with Josie, Alix Summer is arguably the protagonist of the story. She is the one who tells the story after the fact and pieces everything together through interviews. Alix is a “reasonably well-known podcaster and journalist” (18) who has 8,000 followers on Instagram and Twitter. Before embarking on her project with Josie, she hosted a podcast called All Woman, on which she interviewed successful women about their life journeys. Alix’s life is firmly rooted in The Sisterhood of Women, from the subjects of her podcast to her close relationship with her sisters, Zoe and Maxine.

When Alix is first introduced, it is through Josie’s eyes: “Her hair is winter blond, cut into a shape that makes it move like liquid. She wears wide-legged trousers and a top made of two pieces of black cloth held together with laces at the sides. Her skin is burnished. Her smile is wide” (9). Alix represents everything that Josie is beginning to wish that she herself could be, and the juxtaposition of the two characters extends to their respective birthday parties as well. While Josie is quietly celebrating with Walter, Alix’s party is much different, as “bottles of champagne are popped and poured into fourteen glasses held out by fourteen people with tanned arms and gold bracelets and crisp white shirtsleeves” (10).