- Published: 6 August 2024
- ISBN: 9780241993163
- Imprint: Penguin General UK
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 352
- RRP: $22.99
Good Material
- Published: 6 August 2024
- ISBN: 9780241993163
- Imprint: Penguin General UK
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 352
- RRP: $22.99
Leaves you heartsore but happier. Irresistible
Richard E. Grant
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
Lena Dunham
A funny, tender novel about human relationships. By turns, laugh-out-loud, eye-roll relatable, and 'stop you in your tracks' heart-wrench. A thoroughly modern romantic masterpiece.
Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina
WONDERFUL ... Shot through with Dolly's characteristic emotional intelligence ... Very funny ... Such a pleasure to read. I devoured it ... I award it 13/10 on my QWJ scale (stands for Queasy With Jealousy that I didn't write it)
Marian Keyes
Dolly Alderton just gets better and better. Good Material is both heartbreaking and hilarious with an ending that has you holding your breath. With the wit of Nick Hornby and the emotional scalpel of Nora Ephron, Alderton is one of our greats and this is sure to be an absolute classic
Emma Gannon
The bestselling author brings her warmth, emotional intelligence and wry observation to bear on her second novel ... Refreshing
The Bookseller, Editor's Choice
This is the greatest. You’ll cry and laugh. I read it through the night. And I never, ever avoid sleep
Claudia Winkleman
Made me laugh while punching me in the gut. Loved this book
Aisling Bea
Highly relatable for millennials navigating dating in London, and hugely insightful for those generations wanting to understand them. Packed with sharp observations and wisdom. A triumph
Sathnam Sanghera
I adored it! I ... Dolly is THE comic writer of our generation. This feels like her most ambitious book yet, and it delivers on every single page. She uses humour so brilliantly to underpin the quiet roar of romantic despair - this book is raw, smart and human. This makes me believe Dolly knows everything there is to know about love.
Daisy Buchanan
It's so good. I loved it
Sharon Horgan
Relatable, funny and refreshing
Elle
Dolly Alderton is the Adele of writing
Esther Coren, The Spike
A relatable, laugh-out-loud story of a thirtysomething failed comedian struggling with a break-up
Sunday Times Style
[A] book to be devoured, adored, underlined, and passed on (but only to the friends you know will give it back) ... [Alderton] proves herself once again as having both a deep understanding of the intricacies of relationships and the ability to articulate it better than the majority of us ever could ...Good Material showcases Alderton’s knack for rich characterisation and zippy dialogue like never before ... Genuinely funny – if only more books made you laugh as much as this
The i
Laugh-out-loud dialogue on every page ... No-one has a firmer grasp on the themes she explores. Good material, indeed
Sunday Express
Funny, sad and true; a book she has clearly poured her soul into ... Cements her status as a fiction heavyweight
inews, The best new books to read in November 2023
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
Red
Good Material combines Alderton’s wit and eye for detail with a beautiful depth of emotion
Woman & Home
All of Alderton's considerable gifts as a writer are on display here: her wit, her ability to capture exchanges that feel real, and her skilful characterisation ... Alderton's work truly shines when she writes about friendship
Sunday Independent
Sharply written and acutely observed ... A beautifully nuanced portrayal of modern love that will have you racing to the last page
Heat
Genuinely laugh-out-loud funny – with characters straight out of a Richard Curtis film – whipsmart dialogue and relatable millennial themes (Alderton’s forte) mean there’s never a dull moment ... Thought-provoking and wise
The Independent, Best New Books to Read This Autumn
Alderton entertains with observational quips about thirtysomething life ... There's a Hornby-esque charm to her well-meaning characters and their relatable dramas
The Observer
Alderton is perceptive about how men deal (badly) with emotional pain
The Times
Brilliantly observed … Beautifully written, pacy and excellent on rejection, friendship and letting go. Fabulous
Daily Mail
The author of Everything I Know About Love nails the zeitgeist with a witty, relatable and acutely insightful page-turner about the trails and tribulations of the lovelorn
Daily Express
Witty, warm and well-observed
Fabulous Magazine
With distinct notes of Helen Fielding, Richard Curtis and Nick Hornby ... Warm and generous ... A writer very much in control of her material
Guardian
Alderton is excellent at fusing poignant tenderness with wry observations about modern life, and that talent is on full display here. Good Material is a highly enjoyable exploration of the messy, non-binary nature of many break-ups, and how two people can simply make a terrible couple ... If you're on the hunt for a readable romcom to inhale in a few sittings, this is very good material
Stylist
Funny, tender and astute on heartbreak
Mail on Sunday
This is Dolly Alderton's best book yet ... Alderton is a great social chronicler: her observations here about thirty-something friendship and the differences (or not) between millennials and Gen Z feel particularly true. But most crucially, this is a tender, bittersweet portrait of the addictive fug of longterm monogamy – and the crushing pain when it ends
The i – All I want for Christmas: Which books should you buy for your loved ones this year?
Brilliantly observed ... addictive
Daily Mail
Comical yet warming
Psychologies
A brilliantly observed portrait of a break-up, which examines how miserable it is to become obsessed with the unknown reasons a relationship has ended. Andy can’t understand why Jen no longer wants to be with him. The more he thinks about it the madder he feels but he can’t stop. Addictive
Daily Mail – Christmas Books: Best way to survive Christmas? Read a really good book!
I’ve already bought several copies of Dolly Alderton’s Good Material for the men and women in my life, and I will continue the rampage through the festive season. It’s the perfect blend of easy to read, funny and extremely astute
The Observer – Books of the year 2023
Failing stand-up comedian Andy is devastated when his girlfriend Jen breaks up with him out of the blue. Alderton explores the trials and tribulations of finding yourself unexpectedly single in your mid-30s in a novel as witty as it is perceptive
Daily Express – Stocking fillers: What were the must read novels of 2023?
The most book-based fun I had this year ... It’s the most I’ve laughed while reading about heartbreak since Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. A complete delight
The Sunday Times – My favourite read of the year, Charlotte Ivers
Funny – of course it’s funny – but also smart, insightful and sincere about heartbreak
David Nicholls, author of One Day
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
Some writers suffer from second-novel syndrome, but not Dolly Alderton ... Genuinely laugh-out-loud funny – with characters straight out of a Richard Curtis film ... Thought-provoking and wise.
Independent, Best new books for summer
A moving break-up story that everyone who has ever been dumped will relate to
The Sun
A bittersweet comedy of modern love
Daily Mail
No one writes about relationships quite like [Dolly Alderton]…This novel is filled with shrewd observations about friendship, ageing and lost love, but also happens to be laugh-out-loud funny
The i Paper – Best new paperbacks for summer