Good Material: A Read with Jenna Pick
A novel
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4.0 • 474 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK • From the best-selling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love: a story of heartbreak and friendship and how to survive both
“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
Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy. And he can't work out why she stopped.
Now he is. . .
Without a home
Waiting for his stand-up career to take off
Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn't looking
Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of his ruined relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him. But Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend's side of the story…
In this sharply funny and exquisitely relatable story of romantic disaster and friendship, Dolly Alderton offers up a love story with two endings, demonstrating once again why she is one of the most exciting writers today, and the true voice of a generation.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Dolly Alderton’s tender and hilarious breakup novel is the perfect companion to both the brokenhearted and their patient friends. When struggling London comedian Andy is dumped by the love of his life, he embarks on a familiar odyssey: He drinks too much, checks his ex’s Instagram too often, and unloads his emotions on anybody who will listen. From the group texts that never stay on topic to the challenges of being newly single among new parents, Alderton’s depiction of mid-thirties friendship is laugh-out-loud accurate. Good Material offers us all the chance to enjoy a chuckle about the messiness of modern-day romance.
Customer Reviews
Good read!
So this is the first rom-com book I’ve ever read and I’m honestly able to say I enjoyed it. Experiencing the relatable ups and downs with Andy and the characters that surround him was fun. At times, the story felt slow but it is a page turner. :]
Like Watching The Breakup… in Book Form
This one was a solid three-star read for me. Honestly, it gave me the same feeling I get watching The Breakup with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn—you just sit there frustrated because you know the relationship’s flaws come down to miscommunication, and you just want to shake the characters and make them talk it out.
Alderton writes the messiness of love and breakups so well, but for me, the lack of resolution was tough. Instead of a clear sense of growth or closure, we’re left with this murky space where both characters decide they’re either better off together or better off apart—without ever really fixing what was broken. It leans more depressing than cathartic.
If you like realistic, messy relationship stories that mirror real life (where sometimes people don’t get neat endings), you’ll probably appreciate this more than I did. But for me? It was just okay—a thoughtful read, but not one I’ll be rushing to revisit.
Hope for more
Very slow read and repetitive story line for 2/3 of book but I liked the ending.