I first discovered Dolly Alderton in early 2019 when a friend recommended a podcast called The High Low. On a train to Brighton a few months later, I plugged in my earphones and became a loyal listener, eagerly tuning in every week for Pandora Sykes book recommendations and Dolly’s romantic musings about celebrity gossip, their listeners’ love lives, and Rod Stewart. Hooked on my new girl crush, I fell into Dollyland (not to be confused with Dolly Parton’s Dollywood) and worked my way through her books, podcasts, and columns. I devoured the lot.
Lena Dunham has called Dolly Alderton ‘the bard of modern-day love’ and her new book Good Material remains faithful to her brand. Writing this time from a male perspective, Good Material follows a struggling comedian named Andy as he attempts to navigate a breakup, in his mid-thirties. As Andy is catapulted into what his friend Emery describes as ‘the madness’ of overcoming heartbreak, a series of devastating and comical events ensue.
The book is full of felicitous and witty observations about the different ways straight men and women experience breakups. While his ex-Jen is whisked away on a Spa weekend with the girls, Andy goes on a night out with the lads and is encouraged to down tequila shots, chat up girls and not spend too much time in his feelings. By drawing on comical stereotypes, the book shines a light on how, more often than not, men talking about their feelings makes people uncomfortable.
Dolly also explores the experience of going through a big breakup when you’re in your mid-thirties. An event that Andy quickly realises society has not yet evolved to accommodate. Instead of drowning his sorrows with all his single friends at the pub, he is surrounded by friends who are preoccupied with their young families and burgeoning careers. With no spare room to move into or savings to get his own place, he soon finds himself living on a leaky houseboat and hysterically shouting things like ‘YOU’VE RUINED THE SEA [FOR ME]’ at his ex, outside of the bank. Don’t worry Andy we’ve all been there.
The characters in this book feel familiar in a way that only well-crafted characters can be. Each one is full of small details that make them three-dimensional and realistic. Andy’s best friends, Avi and Jane, are the 2019 version of Max and Bella from the film Notting Hill - arguably one of the best married couples to grace British cinema.
Then there’s Morris, who Andy moves in with after the houseboat debacle. A nutty old man who buys his Christmas Tree on the 1st of October and regularly sends £50 donations to Julien Assange in prison. Morris perfectly embodies the disgruntled elderly man who lives at the end of every single road in London, both parts deranged and essential to British culture. I also grew fond of Andy’s new personal trainer who sends him motivational texts like ‘Fully fuelled and ready to ROCK ‘N’ ROLL big guy!’ in response to his ‘progress pix!!!’ and sad man meals.
There is also some excellent comparative commentary on the different ways millennials use social media compared to Gen Z. Perhaps my favourite sentence of the entire book, is when Andy shows Avi and Jane the Instagram profile of a twenty-three-year-old girl he’s dating, and Jane says:
‘Why has she posted a photo of a hand dryer with a war poem as the caption?’
I could talk about all the things I love about this book for days on end, but I’ll wrap it up here before I chew your ear off. Basically, if you want to have a good hearty cackle on your way to work this week or need something to distract you from endlessly scrolling Instagram reels, go and read this book. It’s intelligent, heart-warming and like all of Dolly’s writing, simply brilliant.
Read along with me and what’s coming next …
My deep dive next month will be a trio review of Small Things Like These, So Late in the Day and Foster by the inimitable Claire Keegan. In the meantime, the Saturday after next, I’ll be sending you another ‘Book Guide On [theme to be announced]’ with recommendations, book thoughts and titbits. You can the last edition of food writing here.
New to Nat’s Notes?
If you have somehow ended up here and this sounds like something, you, or a friend of yours would enjoy please subscribe and share!