An insightful foray into the workings of a man’s mind post breakup, and the ways in which he can never truly understand the woman’s point of view. We travel through our main characters crisis of self outside of his relationship, his attempts at flings with younger women, and his breakdowns of cluelessness and lack of control. A good easy read, and unique premise of a heartbroken man written by a woman.

i really liked the first third with andy describing things and the last 2 chapters when it was jen's perspective on the breakup and after the fact. everything in the middle bored me out of my mind.

Alderton did it again! I think this book is brilliant. She tells as the story of a breakup from the perspective of the man. Andy is a stand up comedian that takes menial jobs to make ends meet. He is madly in love with Jen. After years of being together, and after a trip to Paris, she dumps him. He is not only brokenhearted, he seems to have lost his North, his passion and purpose in life. He starts to acting out, and making bad decisions that not only involve his living arrangements, but also his career and relationships. I loved this character: his voice, his vulnerability, his awkwardness. It starts being a little over the top but he evolves as a character and becomes so lovable. His voice is fresh and humorous. But towards the end we have Jen’s perspective and dullness ensues. I didn’t like her , I didn’t believe her decision were justified and I found her selfish and boring. The ending is perfect. Say no more, we can guess what happened after.
I enjoyed this book so much I didn’t want it to end. Alderton is one of the most interesting voices of her generation, along with Sally Rooney. I will read avidly everything they write!

Dolly Alderton fans will love this smart & funny romance-y book! She writes a 35-year old man brilliantly and I'm glad I stuck around to the end.

✨ Review ✨ Good Material by Dolly Alderton; Narrated by Arthur Darvill, Vanessa Kirby

**Thanks to Knopf, PRHAudio and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!**

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Did I pick this one up primarily because it had a cool, vibrant cover? Yes.

Did I enjoy it anyways? Yes.

Andy, a comedian and odd jobber, is fresh off a breakup from his girlfriend of several years. We follow him grieving and joking and trying to figure out why his gf dumped him and what the heck he's supposed to do next.

A break up story but written from a man's perspective -- this provided a different but yet still deep reflection on break ups in your mid- to late-30s, dating in a transformed app-based world, and just general mid-life crisis and unsettledness.

While Andy's story is far from my own, there were places that had me laughing out loud. As they tried to analyze the baffling instagram profile of his 23-year-old maybe girlfriend, it all just resonated. While this is far from my own life trajectory where I have kids and have been married for a decade and not alone for almost all of my adult life, I found something here that still just clicked for me.

Downsides: Andy is a big annoying baby sometimes and I'd find myself going back and forth between annoyance and full engagement. Maybe this was just part of the vibe, but it didn't always work for me. The side cast of characters was fun and lovable and quirky (Team Morris!)

I loved the main narrator - he adjusted so well between Andy's big feelings and the funny parts and the serious parts and everything in between. The switch between narrators toward the end was a little abrupt and jarring, but I appreciated how this showed that there are multiple sides to every story!

(Also I was gearing up for a big crash into covid times, and didn't want that to happen or to know if that ruins these characters lives...???)

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)
Genre: contemporary fiction
Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
Setting: London
Pub Date: Jan 30, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ break up story from male perspective
⭕️ bonkers dating / break ups in your 30s adventures
⭕️ comedians and laughs
⭕️ friendship support stories

Dolly Alderton is the type of author that takes you on a journey. Her dialogue is always witty and heartfelt. Good Material has intense feelings coupled with characters that you care about. Super enjoyable and unputdownable!

Good Material is a special take on break-up stories, told from the point of view of 35-year-old Andy, a struggling comedian rocked by his break-up with Jen, which came as a shock to him and left him reeling. About 80% of the book is from his perspective as he sinks into post-break-up sadness and obsession, fixates on the past, and sometimes tries to move on. While Andy can get very annoying to read from, it's effectively done - from the emotions to fixations to the frustrating male friend group's inability to talk about feelings! - and still, admittedly, relatable and accurate. Alderton draws a world of friends who are now parents, a quirky landlord, and every-day comedy gigs around Andy as well. But then Alderton flips the script near the end to give us Jen's perspective, filling in more of the relationship and what happened. Jen isn't perfect either, but also relatable and very understandable from just one section. The book is often familiar and funny, but Dolly Alderton shines most in her expertise - sharp, witty observations about dating and millennial life - which she again adapts so well to fiction.

Having read and *loved* GHOSTS a couple years ago - specifically Alderton’s ability to capture the millennial dating experience ~so well,~ I was very excited to see another book on relationships from her. GOOD MATERIAL centers around Andy, recently broken up with and navigating the deep, deep waters of that special kind of heart break, nostalgia for what once was/what could have been and trying to get over it all. Andy could be annoying but what he felt and said rang true to me and although it got really repetitive at times, his honesty about it all hit the nail on the head.

The ending was such a breath of fresh air - the last chapter you get another POV and it makes alllll of Andy’s whining and wallowing feel different and special AND you really see his growth. And honestly, that last chapter was 200% necessary because otherwise I would have rated it way lower - it really elevated the story!

Overall, I love Alderton’s writing and her way of capturing all the tiny nuances of love and friendship and relationships (romantic, friendly and familial). The messiness of it all feels so raw and beautiful from her perspective and I’ll basically read anything she writes.

gorgeous tale of heartbreak and happiness and survival. tysm for the arc and dolly alderton is an incredible author

This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed it from start to finish. The characters, their dialogue, and their experiences felt very authentic. Jen's chapter at the end really tied everything together. Thank you NetGalley

Dolly Alderton just gets it. She gets what it's like to be in your 30s and single and career-less and floundering. She gets the thoughts we all have when we feel like we will never have anything together. She gets the importance of small, mundane moments, the burn of throwaway comments, the ache of seemingly incosequential memories. She gets what people do or say when they're sad, when they're uncomfortable, when they're lonely, when they're insecure. She gets the beauty and the darkness of love and family and friendship and passion. She gets what's funny and what's cringey. She just gets it. I love her writing, both fiction and non-fiction, and I will follow her career for as long as she has one. This was a total delight.

A new Dolly book— what a treat! Her novel GHOSTS is easily one of my favorite books of all time, and one I return to and think of often, so of course I was over the moon to read GOOD MATERIAL.

Our protagonist here is Andy, a 35-year old struggling comedian who’s just been dumped by Jen, the only woman he’s ever loved. I can’t say that I’m particularly drawn to stories about a relationship post-mortem, but Dolly’s work is obviously the exception.

Just like in GHOSTS, the writing is absolutely top notch. I am in awe of how much emotion, humor, and reality was infused on every page. I absolutely devoured this book in just a few days, which is 100% a testament to the writing.

This is a very character-driven story, with lots of interior reflection, and I loved how genuine and nuanced our main characters felt. Andy and Jen obviously have a unique relationship specific to them, but from this specificity came some universal truths about relationships, aging, and big life decisions. I’ve seen this billed in a few places as a rom com, which really surprised me. I’d say it’s firmly in the contemporary fiction camp, but with a relationship at the heart of the story.

This left me with bittersweet feelings when I finished reading— sad about how tough and complicated relationships can be at times, but also cheered and hopeful about our endless capacity for healing and growth. This was another smart, authentic, emotionally resonant read, and I’m already excited for whatever Dolly will write next!

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫/5

Thank you to @aaknopf and @netgalley for the ARC! Available now!

I loved this book so much! Dolly Alderton has quickly become one of my favorite authors, but when I saw that her latest novel was told mainly from the perspective of a (sometimes pretty insufferable) 35-year-old man, I was honestly a little unsure I'd enjoy it. Needless to say, I had nothing to worry about. Heartfelt, witty, and thoughtful, somehow sad and funny all at once, and written in Dolly's signature strong voice, GOOD MATERIAL follows Andy, a standup comedian who's recently been dumped by his longtime girlfriend, Jen, after 4 seemingly-perfect years together. Andy's left coping with the break-up, struggling to keep his career afloat, and feeling alienated by his friends, most of whom are married with children. Can he fully move forward and move on, or will he be stuck in the painful spiral of nostalgia and self-pity forever?

The way Alderton writes about love and friendship and what it means to be human is just masterful! She creates these complex characters who feel so real—I was feeling frustrated with Andy on one page, and somehow rooting for him to figure it all out by the next. He undergoes so much growth as he deals with the breakup and finds himself in the process. His journey was very well-done, but the last chapter of the book was the true highlight for me, and just pulls the whole story together. I would honestly love to read an entire novel in Jen's POV! It might be quite rare to read one of your favorite books of the year within the first month, but I already know GOOD MATERIAL will be a definite favorite of 2024! I can't wait to see what Dolly Alderton writes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

I personally really enjoyed this book! I won't be purchasing for my library as I do not think it's a good fit for the age group I serve, BUT I will be buying this book for a friend's upcoming birthday as I do think that it's perfects for Gen X/Millennials that are in a stage of their lives where they are reinventing themselves. The writing is smart and engaging. I would give it 4.5 stars if I could! This author is now an "auto buy" for me personally.

This book is clearly intended for people who have had an intense break-up or are going through one, and I am not one of those people.

And one thing about me is that I will buy an audiobook of Dolly Alderton reading the dictionary, so having rated this 3 stars personally pains me. Everything I Know About Love drastically altered my viewpoint on love; Ghosts felt like a call-out to the modern online dating industry.

This, however, was first and foremost a character study.

Andy, a 30-something comedian, is down on his luck after his girlfriend, Jen, ends their 4-year-long relationship. Surrounded by friends ranging from engaged to settled with children, Andy feels simultaneously lost and introspective... but he mainly wants to know why Jen broke up with him.

One of the main things I enjoyed about this book was how thoroughly toxic masculinity was explored, especially regarding how men are supposed to deal with their emotions. I thought it daring of Dolly to write from the perspective of a male instead of a female, and she did a phenomenal job at encapsulating how men don't talk about their feelings; why they turn to their mom; how they fail to truly look in the mirror when a relationship fails.

Thus, the next 300 pages followed Andy's journey of self-exploration, dealing with life's punches, and accepting how unconventional love and your sense of identity can be. This was fairly enjoyable for the first 150 pages but quickly got repetitive.

That being said, I thought Andy was an incredibly well-constructed character who was as equally flawed as he is human. He's entirely too self-conscious while simultaneously making everything about him. He's as loveable as he is irritating. There are few characters where I feel like I get to know them on such a deep and personal level, and Andy is one of them.

All in all, I would give this 3.5 stars and I would recommend this to fans of Normal People/Sally Rooney.

Took me more than half the book to really like the characters. I found myself irritated by almost everyone, except Avi and Jane's son Jackson. There was a shift though when it all came together for me and the result was a satisfying ending.

Dolly can do absolutely no wrong!

Dolly writes about love and the complexities of romance and relationships in a way that is so real and relatable! The last 15% of the book was my absolute favorite because we got to hear from a different characters POV. Such a smart way to end it.

I will always read all of the things Dolly writes.

A story for anyone (everyone) who's ever loved and lost. Dolly Alderton is a master of relatable, genuine characters and Good Material's spiraling 30-something protagonist, Andy, is no exception. An easy, witty, thoughtful, delightful read.

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Good Material is a messy, funny, frustrating, and heartfelt novel about when you break up in your mid-thirties (or as our protagonist, Andy, would call, his early middle age). Andy is fresh off a break-up with his girlfriend of four years, Jen..she dumped him after a trip to Paris and it came as a total shocker. He never saw it coming. Though as the story unfolds, Andy does not have a whole lot of emotional intelligence or self-reflection.

80% of the story is from Andy's point of view, and it is a little exhausting. He's a stand up comedian, but destined to be in the middle line up. His claim to fame is early in his career he got the best of the newbie award at a festival. But, he perseveres. He supplements stand-up nights with corporate gigs, or giving out cheese samples at grocery stores. He stalks his ex's Instagram accounts. He's got a core group of friends he could rely on five years ago, but now they are all married and busy and it's a struggle to gather them all together to commiserate on his newly minted single status.

Andy was frustrating, and part of me wanted to rally for him to come to his senses and just grow the eff up...part of me knew that was unrealistic. The final 20% of the book is from Jen's POV. And then you realize there are three sides to the story...his...hers...and the reality that falling in love is the easy part. The staying in love when you are two fully formed (or half-formed, in Andy's case) people is the challenge.

This book was really good and I look forward to seeing what Ms. Alderton does next.

This was an interesting approach to a story. It starts from the viewpoint of a man, Andy, that has just been through a breakup after a four year relationship with Jen. He can’t figure out why they have broken up and is determined to do that. The last Lowell bit of the book is told from Jen’s perspective of the breakup and isn’t as long. It’s an interesting approach. I struggled with Andy and his sad sack personality. Wasn’t my favorite but might appeal to others.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely