Good Material is the third Dolly Alderton book that I’ve consumed, and I’d probably rank it in second place (Ghost will also hold a special place in my mind). It follows the fallout from the breakup of a 35 year old couple, Andy and Jen. What I most appreciated about this premise was the characters’ age. Breaking up at 35 is a totally different kettle of fish than a breakup in the 20s. When you’re in your 20s, there’s a sense of “there’s still time”, “don’t settle”, “there’s plenty of fish in the sea”. But 35 is… a little scarier.
In this novel, Andy and Jenn are surrounded by married friends with babies. Catch ups with the lads down at the pub have to be booked 2 months in advance, and wrap up before midnight. Spontaneous fun has given way to playdates at the park scheduled between baby nap times. If you aren’t keeping pace with others’ accomplishments at this age, you end up feeling like a kid playing dress-up around your peers.
So when Andy, a middling stand-up comedian, is dumped by Jen, a corporate executive with a mortgage, he falls apart. His ego is shot to ruins and he flails around trying to find a new place to live, friends’ shoulders to cry upon, and new women to distract him.
Up until the final chapters of this novel, the story is told entirely from Andy’s perspective. He stalks Jen’s social media, wallows in self pity as his comedy career stalls while his friends succeed, and rebounds with a post-irony zoomer. Yikes.
Yet despite Andy’s general patheticness, he was not unlikeable. Pitiful, maybe, but somehow I still rooted for him. And trust me, that is no small feat. He sounds like he should be insufferable, but somehow Alderton deftly walks the fine line between ‘hapless’ and ‘loser’, and avoids making him a loathsome character.
My favourite aspect of this novel is when the perspective shifts to Jen in the closing pages. We finally see the breakup through her eyes and this approach is a stroke of genius.
My dating days are long behind me, but as a women in her mid-30s this story resonated. I really enjoyed this read.
Overall, 4 canal boat accommodation misfires out of 5.