Simone and Her Books

I started reading this one because my office book club chose it for March. I put the book on hold hoping that it would arrive before the end of March, but I was gifted a lucky copy and I ended up reading it before we even met for February’s book club. This is also my first book from Dolly Alderton. One of my coworkers raved about her work talking about this release months ago and how excited she was to get into it. She’s not wrong. It was a really funny and well-crafted story about a guy who is going through a breakup.

Here’s more about the book

Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy. And he can’t work out why she stopped.

Now he is. . .

Without a home

Waiting for his stand-up career to take off

Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn’t looking

Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of his ruined relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him. But Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend’s side of the story…

In this sharply funny and exquisitely relatable story of romantic disaster and friendship, Dolly Alderton offers up a love story with two endings, demonstrating once again why she is one of the most exciting writers today, and the true voice of a generation.

Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

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My thoughts

Ah, break ups. It’s a funny time between being in love with someone and then abruptly not in love with them anymore. The brain does funny things. The body does funny things and in Good Material, you realize that those funny things that you tend to do after break ups aren’t too far off from everyone else.

Andy’s breakup from Jen is definitely filled with the hilarious mistakes he makes right off the bat. From eating a giant wedge of blue cheese right before bed in hopes of dreaming of his ex to the photos he takes of his bald spot to measure how badly it’s getting to living on a rickety house boat and then living with a septuagenarian who’s pen pals with Julian Assange, the escapades Andy goes through all seem like “good material” for his shaky comedic career.

Dolly Alderton shows it all. From the late night drinks with friends who are too busy taking care of their families to go out, to the attempts at going to the gym and finding a rebound, Dolly Alderton throws all the break up spaghetti at the wall and a lot of it sticks. Which makes for an interesting read that anyone and everyone can relate to. While you may not be doing all the same things Andy does, you’re relating in some way. It’s funny how universal break ups can be and how they all do the same thing; leave you with a lot of questions and not many answers. All of this exhibited in Dolly’s work.

And just when you think Andy has finally moved on from those events, Dolly Alderton hits you with something entirely different. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the end. In many ways, it was necessary. But at the same time, there’s that slight risk you take when writing an ending like that. What if you fail to show the reader that they had a reason for breaking up? What if the reason is too flimsy? If anything, it was an attempt to show that both Andy and Jen were victims of a relationship that went on for too long and neither are at fault for the end.

Overall, I really liked this one. It was compelling and funny enough to keep you going and the weird quirks Andy endures will keep you entertained until the very end.