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Good Material

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Novelist Dolly Alderton displays her 2nd novel, Good Material, at a promotional event.

Good Material, by Dolly Alderton, is a novel about a struggling comedian, as he recovers from an unexpected romantic breakup.[1]

The New York Times listed it in an article on the "The 10 Best Books of 2024".[2]

Reviews

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Multiple reviewers compared this work to that of Nora Ephron, an author Alderton explicitly said she admired, and to the work of Nick Hornby.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Multiple reviewers noted that Alderton's protagonist Andy made lists of what bugged him about Jen, the girlfriend who dumped him, just like Nick Hornby's protagonist did, in High Fidelity. Instead of posting a review, the Literary Hub published one of protagonist Andy's petty and surprisingly detailed lists of complaints about Jen.[9]

Reviewer Simon Demetriou, writing in the Cyprus Mail, makes numerous comparisons to Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.[4] He recommends readers read Hornby's novel first.

Keyur Basnet, writing in The Annapurna Express, told readers about being excited to read the novel, but then not liking it as much as anticipated, and choosing not to recommend it to friends.[10]

According to Washington Square News readers will find reading the novel "effortlessly movie-like" with a "page-turning quality due to her background in screenwriting."[11]

Isabelle Lubguban, writing in The Daily Iowan, described being charmed by the book's light-hearted cover, and found the book's depth an unexpected challenge.[12]

The Irish Independent called the book a "flawed romance novel", and questioned Alderton's choice of protagonist.[13]

Twist

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Multiple reviews have noted that the first 200 pages are written from Andy's point of view, but that she flips the POV, for the final 60 pages, to the point of view of Jen, his ex-girlfriend.[12][14]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Katie J. M. Baker (2024-01-27). "Like Nora Ephron, With a British Twist". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2025-02-01. 'Good Material,' her second novel and the first she’s written from the perspective of a man, 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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The 10 Best Books of 2024". The New York Times. 2024-12-03. Archived from the original on 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2025-02-01. Not only does Alderton cement herself as a latter-day Nora Ephron, she also puts her own mark on the classic romantic comedy form.
  3. ↑ Annemarie Cutruzzola (2024-03-15). "Dolly Alderton Talks 'Good Material' & The Power of Women Writers". She does the city. Archived from the original on 2024-04-16. Retrieved 2025-02-01. The novel has received rave reviews— Lena Dunham called Alderton 'the bard of modern day love' while the New York Times likened her to a British Nora Ephron. The universality of her work has propelled her to become a cultural phenomenon, even across the pond.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Simon Demetriou (2024-09-24). "Book Review: Good Material by Dolly Alderton". Cyprus Mail. Archived from the original on 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2025-02-01. I’m not the first reviewer to describe Alderton’s second novel as Hornbyesque, and while there are those who shudder at the merest inference of the adjective derivative, those people are largely pretentious morons, and this reviewer loves Nick Hornby, so it’s an unambiguous compliment as far as I’m concerned.
  5. ↑ Clare Mulroy (2024-02-22). "Book Review: Dolly Alderton's 'Good Material' hurts so good". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2024-02-22. Retrieved 2025-02-01. 'Good Material' reads like the precursor to 'Everything I Know About Love.' Before the wisdom, before the lessons, before the growth – Andy is the target demographic for the life advice Alderton offered up in her 2018 memoir.
  6. ↑ Gilbert Cruz; MJ Franklin; Emily Eakin; Leah Greenblatt (2024-04-26). "Book Club: Let's Talk About 'Good Material,' by Dolly Alderton". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  7. ↑ Hephzibah Anderson (2023-11-12). "Good Material by Dolly Alderton review – heartbreak wit with Hornbyesque charm". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2025-02-01. There’s a distinctly Hornbyesque charm to her well-meaning characters and their relatable dramas. The dialogue is excellent throughout and the prose, consistently solid, sometimes gleams. Here’s Andy recalling the moment Jen kissed him for the first time: 'I felt tiny and enormous; like I was her toy and her king.'
  8. ↑ Micheal Donkor (2023-11-16). "Good Material by Dolly Alderton review – anatomy of a breakup". The Guardian. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  9. ↑ "Good Material". Literary Hub. 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2025-02-01. The following is from Dolly Alderton's Good Material. Alderton is an award-winning author, screenwriter and journalist based in London. She is a columnist for The Sunday Times Style and has also written for GQ, Red, Marie Claire and Grazia. She's the author of Everything I Know About Love, Ghosts, a novel, and Dear Dolly, a collection of her agony aunt columns from the Sunday Times Style magazine.
  10. ↑ Keyur Basnet (2024-10-27). "'Good Material' book review: A real and interesting take on relationships". The Annapurna Express. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  11. ↑ Clara Scholl; Lulu Chatterjee (2024-02-21). "Review: Dolly Alderton's 'Good Material' turns heartbreak into comedy". Washington Square News. Archived from the original on 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2025-02-02. With distinct notes of Helen Fielding, Richard Curtis and Nick Hornby, Dolly Alderton’s warm and generous second novel follows Andy’s subsequent tailspin.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Isabelle Lubguban (2024-02-13). "Romance novelist Dolly Alderton's 'Good Material' is perfect Valentine's reading". The Daily Iowan. Archived from the original on 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2025-02-01. I immediately noticed how sweet the cover looked. Aside from the bright color hues that encapsulate each text block, there is a drawing of two pieces of drying clothing with the sleeves entwined as if holding hands. I thought it was a cute way to set the mood of the book. However, when I first started reading, I was surprised by the sudden symbolism, which subverted my initial impression by a long shot. It was the start of Andy’s five stages of grief, and the clothes had set him off.
  13. ↑ Liadán Hynes (2023-11-05). "Flawed romance novel is Good Material for a study in male friendship". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2025-02-01. I spent much of this book wondering why Dolly Alderton chose this particular protagonist to spend an entire book with.
  14. ↑ Ben Carpenter (2023-11-30). "Book Review: Good Material // Dolly Alderton : The Indiependent". The Indiependent. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
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