Funny, smart, charming. A sort of updated (maybe a little anti) Bridget Jones. The ending makes the whole book. Part of me wishes Alderton had given us Jen's POV sooner, because without it, it's a little bit of a slog with poor Andy, but mostly, I think she did it exactly right for the end to have maximum impact.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

I tore through this book. Dolly Alderton manages to take seemingly intangible thoughts and feelings and name them: the complexities of being in one's thirties, the idea that no one feels like the "grown up" in the room, being an almost successful artist. I'm trying to stay vague so as not to get in anyone's own experience with this book, but the last 50 pages or so resonated with me so much that I was crying for feeling seen.

One of the best jovels I've read in awhile! A love story about live and breaking up and the navigation of getting over someone told.from mainly the man's point of view which is unique and refreshing. Laugh put loud moments! A not to be missed read of 2024!

I'm a huge Dolly Alderton fan. "Ghosts" remains one of my all-time favorites. I sped through "Good Material" rather quickly, and enjoyed it, but wish we had gotten more of Jen's POV. Andy is insufferable (by design!) and reprieve from him earlier would have been nice. Jen is a more complex character, to me, and I'd prefer to visit her world/live inside her head a bit longer.

A new Dolly Alderton novel, how lucky are we! despite writing in the perfect female voice for ages, in GOOD MATERIAL, Alderton takes on the male perspective as a failing stand-up comedian who has recently been dumped. Andy spends most of the book wondering what happened to the seemingly perfect relationship between him and Jen and, in turn, so does the reader

I have to admit, I missed what I loved about GHOSTS in this one because Andy wasn’t all that interesting to me. I realize this is part of the point of the novel, and Andy becomes a bit of an unreliable narrator once we get Jen’s perspective at the end of the book. I have to say that I think Taffy Brodesser-Akner deserves a bit of a hat tip from Alderton in this case because the structure was very similar to FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE. However, if you liked that book and/or you are a fan of Alderton’s writing, this is a must read.

It was good. A little slow to lift off and definitely not an uplifting subject matter by any means, but over all good writing.

Dolly Alderton has a quirky, cool sense of humor which I don’t feel shone through in this novel. This was mostly due to the fact her main character was such a sad sack of self-pity. Andy is in post break-up feels and good lord does he feel! Over and over, straight on down that woe is me road. I found it hard to read without wanting to somehow get into the pages to smack some sense into him. Fortunately, as the book progressed and time moved on he became bearable. One redeeming feature, he is good to his mum and his landlord. He is also a great godfather.
I really hope Alderton moves back to the female voice for her next book. I don’t think she did a bad job, I just don’t normally read books with the main character being male.
Thank-you Netgalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is a heartbreaking and relatable story of a breakup. I like that it tells both sides of the story and makes it clear that the ending was difficult and necessary. Andy is a sympathetic yet self-centered man who has good qualities, but he doesn't understand that he isn't a good partner. Jen loves him and also realizes that he is not good to her or for her.

Sweet, sad, bittersweet and hopeful. This made me laugh out loud and gut punched me too. Dolly can do no wrong ❤️

Alright, I have to admit something. I was a little scared this would be the first Dolly book that wouldn’t be for me.

I am a Ghost die-hard, an EIKAL devotee, a Dear Dolly stan. But, I found it hard initially to connect with a male protagonist. I won’t lie to you! However, after settling in a little, Good Material is filled with all of the Dolly charm you seek when you pick up one of her books. It makes you feel less alone in your heartbreak, the stalker tendencies in the aftermath of a breakup, and the joy of starting over (mixed with equal parts melancholy). There is a reason Dolly is recommended so much when someone is in the throes of heartache or the maze that is your 20s - she is really fucking good at articulating what feels muddled in big emotions. Good Material is no exception to that and I was surprised how much of myself I could see in Andy at points.

The last chapter really elevated the entire book for me and had me rethinking the entire novel (in a good way) - it quite literally flipped the script. If you are a Dolly fan and you, like me, are wondering if she has lost her touch around chapter six or seven, I urge you to keep going because I think she will really surprise you with this new lens. I promise you don’t have to wait for the last chapter to feel like this book was worth it - it only heightens what worked throughout.

As always I will be queued up for whatever is next from Dolly Alderton!

Thank you to NetGalley for this preview copy. This is the second book that I have read by this author and I have enjoyed both. With this book, I was heartbroken along with the main characters as they endured this universal and yet unique experience of love and loss.

This was so good! What a surprise that I would be so engrossed in a man’s inner dialogue- what that says is that this is a good writer. Both sides of a relationship spelled out in detail made for an enjoyable story.

Dolly Alderton's writing impresses me, and this novel is no exception. We are introduced to Andy in 2019 as he outlines the reasons why he's not compatible with Jen. Sure, Jen seems quite unpleasant, but surprisingly, she shatters his heart when she ends their relationship. Now, before we dive into sympathy, remember, we're getting Andy's perspective here. The narrative begins in 2015 at his best friend Ari's birthday celebration, and everything seems fine until a disastrous trip to Paris. Andy shares his "progress" in a quasi-journalistic style as he navigates the various stages of the breakup.

It's a captivating read, with moments of tenderness, amusement, and keen observations throughout. I appreciate the author's skillful turns of phrase; she can be poignant and droll, witty and downright funny. This blend keeps you eagerly turning the pages.

With confident, intelligent, highly refined prose that never stops morphing as the story progresses, adjusting its tempo and style to the storyline itself, Dolly Alderton left me speechless with this masterpiece.

This year has been the year of Dolly for me- I've been a bit obsessive about her. But even knowing that, I still went into this one with low expectations. She's so excellent at writing female voices, I felt her writing a male voice could only fall flat. It definitely did not. This one is just has funny and heartwarming as everything else she's written and up there with Everything I Know About Love for me.

I read this in one weekend in big luxurious gulps. I love Alderton’s writing on relationships of both the romantic and platonic nature and I think that is what made this novel so great. While I might not normally have been inclined to sympathize with a character like Andy, alderton made his character development worth the journey. I wonder if the book always included the last 20% from Jen’s perspective. It was very interesting and provided a few unexpected twists but I’m not altogether sure it was necessary. The book also had several laugh out loud moments that had my family asking me what’s so funny. Always a good sign!