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Good Material

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the bestselling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love: a sharply funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely relatable story of heartbreak and friendship, and how to survive both.

Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy.
And he can't work out why she stopped.

Now he is. . .
1. Without a home
2. Waiting for his stand-up career to take off
3. Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn't looking

Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak at a time when everything he thought he knew about women, and flat-sharing, and his friendships has transformed beyond recognition, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of their broken relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him.

Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend's side of the story.


© Dolly Alderton 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

 Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance Romantic Comedy Comedy Funny Heartfelt Witty

Critic reviews

If Dolly’s memoir Everything I Know About Love summed up being twentysomething then this, her second novel, is a tender and funny love letter to our tumultuous 30s
Brilliantly observed … Beautifully written, pacy and excellent on rejection, friendship and letting go. Fabulous
Laugh-out-loud dialogue on every page ... No-one has a firmer grasp on the themes she explores. Good material, indeed
Funny, sad and true; a book she has clearly poured her soul into ... Cements her status as a fiction heavyweight
This is the greatest. You’ll cry and laugh. I read it through the night. And I never, ever avoid sleep
It's so good. I loved it
Leaves you heartsore but happier. Irresistible
Made me laugh while punching me in the gut. Loved this book
Sharply written and acutely observed ... A beautifully nuanced portrayal of modern love that will have you racing to the last page
Have you ever wondered what a lost love was thinking? In this ingeniously constructed and endlessly amusing novel, Dolly Alderton flips the script on everything we think we know about romantic loss, to bring us an unforgettable character on a deeply relatable downward spiral. Wise and relatable and pee-your-pants funny. I cried by page 5. Dolly Alderton is, quite simply, the bard of modern day love
All stars
Most relevant
Ahhh, firstly I really enjoyed the narration, it was soothing and like being read a bedtime story - very well done.
Secondly, I enjoyed the topic of heartbreak, it's so confusing; what's right, when it's wrong, how to know etc. but I felt like this book does some good work in covering this and the obsessive feelings people have when they like someone but can't have them.
As a 31 year old female I feel I'm on the brink of all friends having children which is a terrifying feeling of feeling rushed to make decisions and not wanting to feel left out.
I'd recommend. Good work Dolly 👍

Great Narration, love Dollys work

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This was a slow burn, but I’ve loved it. I think I’ve slightly fallen in love with Andy but also totally understand why Jen had to leave him too. Just beautiful and sad, but mostly touching and so real. Loved it.

Loved this

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I adored this book. It felt so human and real. Truly a beautiful piece of work.

A Beautiful and Raw Story

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A book which covers a topic many that sadly some will be almost too familiar with, that of break-ups and letting go. While it's true that life never offers resolution and closure to everything we want, I feel the book could have offered a little more in this department. It's one of these situations where one ends up thinking "what's the point in reading the book if there's no real development of plot?"

OK but doesn't really go anywhere

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I really loved this book. It was almost like processing some of my own emotions I have and I felt I learnt a great deal more about the complexities of relationship and life

Reflective

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