5/5.

WHAT. A. MASTERPIECE.

I have lots to say about this book but I’ll keep it to the briefs.

1. Dolly Alderton is the only woman I have ever encountered that writes women’s fiction without hating women. By this I mean, this book is written mostly from the perspective of a man grieving a horrific breakup that, in all honestly, would drive nearly anyone into a deep, dark madness that they may/may not ever completely recover from. But the most compelling part of this story is that Dolly manages to take the reader through the mania, the bargaining, and the desperation of searching for control in a situation that you did not choose to be in, and she does it without making us hate the woman who has caused the breakup.

2. I think it was very important to have a section from Jen’s perspective at the end of the book. It gives so much clarification to much of the breakup, and pulls the reader from the typical pedestalization of a protagonist that inevitably occurs in fiction. Andy is not perfect. Jen is not perfect. I see bits of myself in both of them. Which, as a writer, I know is very very very difficult to accomplish. The complexity of these characters on such a molecular level is stunning and inspiring, to say the least.

3. Finally, a shoutout for womanhood. Jen’s struggle with wanting to exist outside of a relationship and the implication that all women want to have marriages and children struck such a chord to me, as someone who is learning to be in relationships with men while hating being in relationships with men and planning a life without knowing if I ever want to be a mother.

Dolly, you are, as always, my literary hero.