Good Material

A Novel

By: Dolly Alderton

Narrated by: Arthur Darvill, Vanessa Kirby

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK • From the best-selling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love: a story of heartbreak and friendship and how to survive both

“Like Nora Ephron, with a British twist….Delivers the most delightful aspects of classic romantic comedy—snappy dialogue, realistic relationship dynamics, humorous meet-cutes and misunderstandings—and leaves behind the clichéd gender roles and traditional marriage plot.”—The New York Times

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.

©2024 Dolly Alderton (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Like Nora Ephron, with a British twist….Good Material…delivers the most delightful aspects of classic romantic comedy—snappy dialogue, realistic relationship dynamics, humorous meet-cutes and misunderstandings—and leaves behind the clichéd gender roles and traditional marriage plot…..Alderton excels at portraying nonromantic intimate relationships with tenderness and authenticity….Alderton deserves comparisons to rom-com legends like Hornby.”—The New York Times

"Alderton is one of this generation’s preeminent oracles for love, romance, and heartbreak....[She] exposes the inevitable misfortunes of singledom while never neglecting its inherent beauty....To readers, she’s like an older sister, guiding us through breakups, fights, and first-date mishaps with something like grace."—Swarna Gowtham, Elle

"Hilarious...Hurts so good...Surprising and sharp...[Alderton's] ability to create complex characters and tell the story with a varied perspective is masterful...Perfect endings are nearly impossible to find—especially in the break-up genre—but this comes pretty dang close. To quote the great Nicole Kidman, in her iconic AMC prologue, 'Heartbreak feels good in a place like this.'"—Clare Mulroy, USA Today

Funny and insightful

Compelling and funny while also providing thoughtful nuggets on relationships and personal truths. Great characters and great narration.

LOVED it

this book made me so happy and I couldn't stop listening to it. light, witty and loved all of the characters.

Realest it could get

I like this book a lot.
It showed how being hurt and trying to move on feels like on both sides and how it truly is okay to not want kids or just not be in a relationship. It’s hard and unfamiliar and not everyone understands it. But its okay. Its okay to have a choice.

A trip into the lifestyle of which I know nothing

But I do know the unbearable pain of a sudden break-up. I almost quit this book more than once when the endless whining and self-pity got too much. The last two hours made up for those that went before.

Confused…

I really don’t see the hype with this one. It’s just a man whining about his break up the whole time basically? Def not my fav Dolly Alderton book.

Excellent writing and impeccable delivery

This is my first book from Dolly Alderton and I’m so impressed. Equally impressive is the vocal performances. I truly loved every minute of it.

Relatable

After reading this book, I felt I was born in the correct time period. Food for the soul and made me feel less strange and lonely. Can’t wait for my next read from Dolly

Don't Stop!

How exciting to listen to this story from the POV of a 35-year-old man, flattened by an unexpected breakup.

Beautifully written. I didn't want it to end.

Painful, funny, honest.

Loved the characters. The surprise twist at the end makes it all worth it. It felt like a really good movie I didn’t want to end. An amazingly honest look at how relationships can enhance you and also trap you in ways that you can’t imagine, until it’s too late and hearts get broken. I was praying for a happy ending and I got something better. The truth.

not what I expected

I went into this book assuming that since the protagonist is a comedian going through a breakup you are going to have a funny, heartfelt story of someone using humor to deal with the emotional baggage/process of a break up. However, for the first 90 percent of the book you could substitute Andy’s profession with any mediocre career where the individual is failing and it doesn’t matter to the story. This disappointment clouded the book for me. There isn’t a single laugh or smile to be had in this book, but I also didn’t find it pulling on my sentimental heart strings very much either. It’s pretty meh.