This was an interesting read, first we hear one side of the relationship and we are definitely on Andy’s side, he seems like a good guy and it’s sad that he’s had his heart broken. But as we learn more, we ask if that’s enough. What does a functioning adult relationship actually need to be successful?
This is relatable, and relevant, it definitely asks some important questions.

I have no words. Literally no words. Makes me think it’s going to be difficult to write a review of this one…

No, but seriously - what a gorgeous book!

Yes, it revolves around broken hearts and endings. Yes, it’s about pain. Yes, it can be devastating at times. But somehow Alderton makes you feel hopeful in the middle of it all.

What can I say? The author really knows how to write and I felt like I was a part of the story from the very first page. She describes situations and feelings in a way that will make the readers feel understood and listened to . After all, who hasn’t had their heart broken?

The characters were relatable and believable. Plus, it was very exciting to read a book written from the protagonist’s perspective: Andy. I don’t know why I was expecting a female narrator but this added a great angle to the story.

Yes, this is a book about heartbreak, about a love story that comes to an end. But it’s also so much more: it’s a book about friendship, about what it means to move on, about flatshares and new families, deep feelings and about finding the courage you need to start all over again. Even when you are thirty-five. It’s, all in all, a book about life. And that’s what Dolly Alderton knows best.

For me, this didn't quite live up to the hype, although it was perfectly decent. I found it hard to connect with Andy and couldn't get on board with a lot of his behaviour as believable - it was actually the perspective switch at the end that I found most compelling and that did a lot of heavy lifting in bringing the book together.

This is a great one from Dolly Alderton! I felt like I was going through the break up with the main character, it was so relatable yet funny.

I read this while ill with Covid and it kept my attention when little else could. Dolly Alderton writes insightfully about relationships with humour and compassion.. Andy, middling stand up comedian and sweet but shambolic human being, has been dumped by the woman he loves and the story unfolds from his point of view as he tries to understand what happened and get his life together. I laughed out loud in parts and also found it really touching. Very enjoyable.

I really loved this. I've always enjoyed Dolly's writing, but I think this is my favourite of hers so far. It was moving, funny, realistic... The characters were so believable, and the relationship so well constructed. It finally got me out of a reading slump, and I raced through it in a day.

I enjoyed this more than Ghosts (which I liked). It covers a similar subject matter (break-ups) but is more accessible and funnier.

I also think it's a very clever book. Good Material can be read either as a pitch-perfect satire of the Nineties 'Lad-Lit' of Nick Hornby, Tony Parsons et al, OR a straight-ahead rom-com.

However, while I think Dolly is deliberately skewering the cliched 'jilted man' narrative that we see in so many books and movies, but sadly this does mean Andy's story is full of cliches and stereotypes. No one writes about the nuance of millennial romance better than Dolly Alderton, but, as with Ghosts, I think more actual plot is needed, as both books became repetitive.

Nothing really happens for the entire book BUT it is very well written, funny and heartfelt. Neither Andy or Jen is particularly likeable, but they both have enough redeeming features to make them well-rounded, realistic characters.

I thought the last couple of pages were incredibly clever, and really hammered the point of the book home: Men win, even when they lose. (and the '2020' twist was just 'chef's kiss')

It took me a little while to get into this, but once I got into it, I remembered why I adore Dolly’s writing so very much. She is funny, without being cheesy. Poignant without being obvious. Modern without making me cringe. A beautiful story of finding yourself again post-break up and the difficulties of miscommunication and assumption.

i've loved dolly's books for a long time and although this one took a wee bit more getting used to as it's from a man's pov, it has the humour and heart and sharpness of her other books and i felt so wrapped up and so seen by it, even though the situation is so different from my own

@currentlyreading__
Book 77 of 2023

Firstly thank you to the publishers @penguinfigtree for sending me access to Dolly's upcoming book and having loved her first foray into fiction with 'Ghosts' I was thrilled to receive this. I absolutely love Dolly's writing style - it is indelibly warm and has a humour about it which could easily turn to sadness within the next paragraph. I laughed and I cried (not in equal measure as I laughed much much more). Having been a fan of Dolly's podcasts and non-fiction, she really has her finger on the pulse of modern relationships. So, Dolly writes about Andy and Jen who have been in a long-term relationship and after a somewhat uncomfortable trip to Paris, split up. Andy is struggling, not only with the demise of the relationship he thought was his happily ever after, but also with the rather fickle world of comedy as he tries to make it as a stand-up comic. Cue some rather uncomfortable scenes of heckling all while Andy's heart is breaking. I loved the fact that Andy had the sort of friends often portrayed in female friendship groups and the support offered by each of them was really refreshing. Also refreshing was that this was written from the perspective of the MMC but in the final few pages we hear Jen's perspective and I wanted another 300 pages of Jen. A beautiful book which will pull at your heart-strings and keep you up past your bedtime.

This is out in November and if you love Dolly (and who doesn't?!), get it on your pre-order wish list.

#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #book #booknerd #bookstagrammer #kindle #instabook #reader #bookobsessed #bookstagramuk #readersofig #bookreview #netgalley #dollyalderton #goodmaterial #dollyaldertonbook

I enjoyed this book. It’s mostly from Andy’s point of view, but at the end we hear from Jen and I think it really finishes off the story. After four years together Jen and Andy have broken up and the book follows Andy in the aftermath and how he tries to sort his life out. A good plot that flows well. Dolly is so good at writing believable characters. I recommend this book, thank you #netgalley

While I found Good Material enjoyable, I found it somewhat challenging to fully connect with the hype surrounding Alderton's work, this being the first book of hers that I have read. The story took a while to draw me in, perhaps the writing style just isn't for me. Despite this, exploring the male perspective was a refreshing change, adding a fresh layer to the narrative. In the end, I give it a 3-star review.

4.5 star

Andy has just been dumped by his girlfriend, Jen, and his drowning his sorrows whilst staying at his mum’s.
He is 35 and he is the only single one amongst his friend, he is a comedian who can’t afford to live on his own in London. So he moves into a narrow boat, for a few days.

He is navigating being single again, adjusting to life without Jen when even a visit to his best friend, Avi, and his wife reminds him of her.

Loved reading this book, superb writing and interestingly written from Andy’s point of view.

I mean we don’t have to talk about how much I love Dolly Alderton. She’s bloody funny and I appreciate every moment of it. So here she is writing a break up novel from the point of view of the male? A break up he didn’t know was coming and the result? A sad sad guy and a bloody good story. This really is a great read. Andy’s character is everything. The guy who works multiple jobs to make ends meet, a circle of mates, previous relationship history but of course then there is the one he thought was forever. But wasn’t. I appreciate reading from this POV and I think Dolly nails it.

The relationships which dwindle, new ones that are formed, the low point of careers in the arts and generally asking ‘how the fuck do you move on from the one you thought was the one?’ All the things.
I’m a Dolly fan. I’m a Good Material fan. Get around it.
Out next month!

This was my first, but definitely not the last Dolly Alderton book that I have read, I have been eyeing with her books.

In this book we follow Andy, who is definitely a man, who needs to look around himself a bit more and see the world the surrounds him. He is after a somewhat rough breakup, and he is trying to find reasons and what to do with his life. His comedian career let's just say is not the best.

This book was a good book, I loved getting to know our characters more and more and getting insight into their lives and thoughts and feelings.

I would recommend it to fans of Sally Rooney!

Alderton’s Good Material is to her Sunday Times columns as Ghosts was to her lovely Everything I Know About Love; Smart, funny, sensitive writing, drawing on the experiences she has had or given advice on. It’s a book you need to settle into, allowing it to accelerate at a pace that underpins the heartbreak of the plot. Andy, who we sit with for the first 80% of the story, can be very intense, as he spirals, having been dumped by his partner Jen – elements of the story and of his madness reminded me of Monica Heisey’s Really, Good Actually.
Every line is thoughtfully or truthfully or hilariously phrased in its observation. Alderton brings what she’s learned from her own relationships, break-ups and dynamics as the single friend among couples, and the strength of that is clear on the page.

This book left me with a smile on my face. I really struggled with Alderton's last book Ghosts, and I was semi-reluctant to give this one a go. But I'm really pleased I did, it was the right side of heart-warming without being cloying. There were a few moments that didn't quite work but all in all, a lovely ode to the lasting marks we leave on each other's lives.

Another brilliant read from Dolly.

Andy loves his girlfriend Jen. He completely believes they are meant to be together. He can’t think of anyone he would rather be with.

Except that Jen has dumped him, out of the blue, fresh off the Eurostar after a weekend in Paris.

Now Andy is single, homeless and his career as a comedian isn’t going quite as planned…..so what’s next?

I couldn’t put this book down. I felt so involved in Andy’s story but must admit that the end of the book made me think.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

I love Dolly's writing - it's like chatting to a very good friend, hilarious, heart warming and refreshing. Good Material was fantastic. A fresh take on breakups, and from a completely different perspective. There were so many relatable moments. I loved Andy, I wanted to shake him at times but that's because he was such a believable character - I felt like I was actually travelling around in his brain. I thought the switch in perspective near the end was genius and wrapped the book up nicely.

Some parts of pure comedic gold - Morris and the boat were highlights for me and had me laughing out loud. I have selfishly never thought of breakups from the male perspective and not often do we get books from the male point of view that aren't thrillers so this was genius.

This was such a clever, funny, honest book, I wasn't ready to leave Andy behind. Dolly is just so clever.

INCREDIBLE!! This book was a fresh and different take on the break-up. Feeling real and relatable with every new phase our characters Andy and Jen go through with their breakup, and grieving your ex. You read it with the nostalgia of feeling that way, and all the girls that read it will now have a common language for how we talk about “the madness”.