Good Material
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, FROM THE AUTHOR OF EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- 8,99 €
Publisher Description
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE FOR COMIC FICTION 2024*
Every relationship has one beginning. This one has two endings.
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‘Funny – of course it’s funny – but also smart, insightful and sincere about heartbreak' David Nicholls, author of One Day
'A novel to be devoured, adored, underlined ... if only more books made you laugh as much as this' The i
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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.
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.
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‘Made me laugh while punching me in the gut. Loved this book’ AISLING BEA
'This is the greatest. You'll cry and laugh. I read it though the night. And I never, ever avoid sleep' CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN
‘I award it 13/10 on my QWJ scale (stands for Queasy With Jealousy that I didn't write it)’ MARIAN KEYES
'The author of Everything I Know About Love nails the zeitgeist with a witty, relatable and acutely insightful page-turner about the trials and tribulations of the lovelorn' Daily Express
Good Material, Instant Sunday Times bestseller, November 2023
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Alderton (Everything I Know About Love) delivers a flat anti-love story focused on flailing comedian Andy Dawson and his ex, the "annoyingly loquacious" Jen Bennet. The action kicks off with Andy making a list of justifications for ending the relationship, including Jen's smugness, snobbery, and childishness. He continues to obsess over Jen during bouts of day-drinking and comedy gigs in London, vacillating between fond memories and frustration. Despite his insecurity about his career and his growing bald spot, his treatment of the breakup is awash in arrogance and selfishness. Over several months, Andy and Jen separately come to terms with the direction their relationship was headed (the latter's perspective is provided later in the novel). Andy wanted children and to pursue his artistic dreams, while Jen didn't want a life centered on being a mother or wife. Alderton stitches in attempts at zany humor, such as Andy's brief stint living on a houseboat and his interactions with his best friend's children, but the jokes don't quite land. While the subversion of the typical love story intrigues, the unpalatable characters extinguish its charm. This misses the mark.
