I read this in one day & loved every second. It is endearing, funny, insightful, quirky, & full of excellent dialogue. Thank you to the publisher for my review copy ! One of my favorite books that I’ve read this year!

Dolly Alderton is one of the best writers that we have for interpreting the weird morass of romantic relationships in the 2020s. I loved her previous novel Ghosts, a tender and not at all trite exploration of what it looks like to wind up happy and single and connected to the people in your life who are coupled. Good Material riffs on many of the same themes, but from the perspective of a male comedian who is desperate, actually, to be in the comforting cradle of a long-term relationship. When his girlfriend Jen breaks up with him, Andy spends the next months going through the fits and starts of trying to reorganize his life and future to make sense. he joins a gym, he crashes with his mother and his best friends, he briefly lives on a houseboat. In another writer's hands, all this would be terribly cliché, but Alderton does a beautiful job handling the subject of heartbreak as how it feels in the moment you're experiencing it: an everyday catastrophe. In a bit of a "Fleishman is in Trouble" twist, Jen gets the last word about the break-up, revealing why she went through with it. But no one is really the villain here. It's just two flawed people, doing their best to get what they want out of life.

✨GOOD MATERIAL✨
Rating: 3 ⭐️- It Was Ok

I hate to say it but I don’t think Dolly’s books are for me - similar to her memoir, this one was a complete miss for me.

GOOD MATERIAL follows Andy (loved a “romance” from the male perspective) who recently was broken up with by the love of his life & is on the path of recovery and growth.

❤️ for my LOVERS of CHARACTER driven stories, MALE POV romance, DUAL timelines, stories about GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT

❤️ this one was excellent on AUDIO and would recommend that format for those interested in reading this

💔 I’m not sure what was happening half the time, I felt like NOTHING was going on? - very traditional CHARACTER driven novel!

Big Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this ARC.

I've seen this book everywhere the last few months and was so excited to read it. Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations.

The last 50 pages of the book got me back, but the rest of the book I couldn't get into. At times I found it hard to read, and it felt quite disjointed.

I can appreciate the concept, but this wasn't for me.

Good Material was another Dolly Alderton smash hit! It wasn’t exactly what I expected when I first started reading, but all of her writing is so visceral and real in a way that still feels lighthearted and entertaining.

Such a fun and unexpected read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

I overall enjoyed this book but not my favorite of Dolly's work. It was interesting to read about heartbreak from the perspective of a man, which is not a narrative that is often presented in this style of writing. At times it felt a bit drug on with slow character development, but I think this often reflects the reality of going through a breakup.

I have always enjoyed Dolly Alderton's writing, and this novel is no exception. We first encounter Andy in 2019 as he lists the reasons he's not compatible with Jen. Sure, Andy, she does seem pretty awful, but somehow she still manages to break his heart when she dumps him. However, let's not rush to sympathize with him just yet—this is Andy's perspective, after all.

Andy and Jen meet in 2015 at his best friend Ari’s birthday party, and everything seems fine until a disastrous trip to Paris. Andy narrates his "progress" in a journal-like format as he navigates the various stages of their breakup.

This is such a good read; it is tender at times, very amusing at others, and always perceptively observed. I really appreciate the author's turn of phrase—poignant yet droll, witty, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. This clever combination keeps you eagerly turning the pages.

The characterization is excellent. Although Andy is undeniably obsessive, especially about Jen, he remains very likable. You feel sorry for him as his life spirals out of control, yet you also want him to pull himself together. He could use some "Dear Dolly" advice, but he does gain wisdom from his friends, albeit not always when they are sober. Andy is a part-time stand-up comedian, adding lively and colorful scenes from the comedy circuit and explaining the book's title. His attempts to laugh off or drown his sorrows in various pubs and clubs, accompanied by snappy dialogue, are particularly entertaining. There isn’t a dull moment, but these sections stand out as some of the best. Andy’s interactions with his landlord Morris, especially one touching act of kindness, are also noteworthy.

The final section from Jen’s point of view, though brief, is very illuminating and provides a deeper understanding of their relationship. The ending is extremely satisfying.

In addition to following Andy’s recovery and meeting some memorable characters along the way (Ari and Jane’s children are hilarious, for example), there are excellent music references, humorous hair obsessions, and other ventures where Andy attempts to reinvent his 35-year-old self, with limited success.

All in all, Dolly Alderton once again delivers with this thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read.

Was not my cup of tea. Maybe I’ll revisit it at a later date. I have nothing to genuinely say about this book

I have complicated feelings on Good Material. At points, it was a slog to get through, but the final chapter was such a huge pay-off that now it all feels so worth it. I’m tempted to say that I loved it, but I think what I really mean is that I loved the ending.

I’m such a fan of Dolly Alderton and I loved Ghosts for its celebration of and realistic depiction of female friendships. This is not that. For the majority of the book, the narrator is 35 year old Andy, a failing comedian struggling to come to terms with the end of a four-year relationship with his now ex-girlfriend Jen. Andy flounders is the post-break-up aftermath and quickly finds that his male friendships are ill-equipped to support his grief. Andy’s challenges are mounting: his career is failing, he needs proper housing, his friends are busy with spouses and children and do not handle emotion well, and the single nightlife that served him well in his 20s feels hollow and lonely in his 30s.

I read one review that described Good Material as a nightmare of being stuck in the mind of a 35 year old man with the emotional bandwidth of a teaspoon. The accuracy of that review! I’ve known these men. I’ve watched these men. And I am so glad to not be one and not be with one.

Good Material made me incredibly thankful for the joy and privilege of being a woman and having strong female friendships. The pay-off of making it through to the end is that Dolly Alderton gives us the ultimate gift of a chapter from Jen’s perspective and it is honestly such a gift.

This one is well worth it for the ending, if you can get there.

I picked up this Dolly Alderton book because I loved “Everything I Know About Love.” As compared to her more personal writings, this foray into fiction, putting herself in the mind of a man after a breakup, was really interesting. It felt a little distanced, I’m not sure I became totally invested in the story, but it kept me thinking about what relationships mean to us and how they can be (mis)interpreted by all parties. Not my favorite, but I appreciate Dolly for her ability to really read people!

This book is brilliant! I'm so glad I got to see Dolly speak in New York on her Good Material book tour this winter. The perspective she carves out for Andy, a 35 year-old who has recently been dumped by his long-term girlfriend, Jen, is raw, realistic, and laugh-out-loud funny all at the same time. The twist at the end of the novel elevated this from a 4.5 to a full 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. Andy's POV was unbearable to be in at times, but in a way that felt very real.

This was such a wonderful exploration into the life of a man after his girlfriend has left him. As he does everything in his power to understand why the relationship ended, his life falls down around him. This book was so witty, relatable, and on point. I loved the deep dive into the characters. You really get to understand them more as they figure themselves out. Such a transparent depiction of life. Loved this!

I was so excited to pick Dolly Alderton's latest novel up after loving her last one, but this was incredibly lackluster for me.

Funny funny story about a middle aged man who gets broken up with. The ending was kind of magical! I was a bit worried about reading from the perspective of a man, but that didn't end up mattering to me here. Dolly Alderton makes me feel all the feelings & I even found myself laughing out loud to myself.

Being in a man’s head sounded like a nightmare- especially a man who had just been broken up with and couldn’t think of a single reason why (it is always out of nowhere for men).

But I ended up really liking being in Andy’s head, even when he was insufferable (and boy, was he insufferable).

Breakups suck! And this book really delves into that and brought me back to my own breakups (so fun) and how hard they were and how I mourned them.

I also love love loved that we got into Jen’s head at the end! I think that really sent this book over the edge (in the best way) for me.

I need more! Dolly, you will always be famous.

I almost didn't finish this and that would have been such a shame. I was SO annoyed with Andy for the first half of this book, but I know that was the point. But when he started making sense of the break-up and when we heard Jen's perspective, I found it to be a beautiful piece of writing. I've never had a big break-up, so I shouldn't have been able to relate, but somehow, I felt such companionship with them both. I am in no way a note-taker or highlighter while reading, but I stopped and noted several lines and that just hit me in the feelings. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the free ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Dolly Alderton is the story of a breakup, as told by the insecure male party. The narrator spends the length of this novel obsessing over his ex-girlfriend, Jen, and his own flailing stand up career. Alderton's focus on the male voice is refreshing; I also enjoyed the critique that is lobbed at stand up comedy throughout the novel.

This book was such a pleasant surprise! I loved that the story was told from Andy's perspective. This was the first of Dolly Alderton's book that I've read, and it it won't be the last.