Good Material

A Novel

By: Dolly Alderton

Narrated by: Arthur Darvill, Vanessa Kirby

Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • 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

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.

So very funny! Full of heart and wisdom. Great characters. Narrator was funny. Absolutely loved it.

Nothing - this book was delightful . I have no complaints. I recommend it to all my friends.

LOVED it

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

Funny and insightful

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

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.

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.

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.

Long drawn out story

I liked the characters but waited and waited for something to happen. Finally started happening at the very end but the ending was unsatisfying. Others may like this book more if stories about “nothing” are your jam.

Unique story about a breakup

Fresh take on the breakup story. There were several laugh out loud moments. I appreciated the self deprecating and introspective point of view, that was sincere but also had enough humor to keep the mood up.