Good Material by Dolly Alderton was exactly the right book at the right time. Having just finished reading The Women by Kristin Hannah about the war in Vietnam, I needed something light, contemporary, and with a bit of humour for a complete change of pace. Good Material was the right material for me.

I was introduced to Dolly Alderton’s work when she was a contributing writer to the British magazine RED. I have subscribed to the online version of RED for several years and enjoyed her earlier best-selling book, Everything I Know About Love. To read my review, click on You’d be surprised what we can learn from millennials.

Good Material is written in the first person by Andy, a standup comedian, part-time actor, and for-hire Master of Ceremonies who has just been dumped by Jen, his girlfriend of four years. Because of his ‘sketchy’ career, Andy has little money, oodles of charm, and a sense of humour. Jen, on the other hand, is a lifelong over-achiever.  Her career in the corporate world of insurance is the antithesis of his. While they do love each other, their relationship lacks the strong foundation needed to spend the rest of their days together.

This fictional story is Andy’s breakup journal of grief, regret, and re-evaluation. He struggles with understanding why she left, and what he did wrong—if he did anything wrong. Despite their many rows, they chalked up four years of great times, a shared flat they both enjoyed, mutual friends, and great sex.

Andy handles the situation with selfish pity. He weeps; he drinks too much; he loses direction, and generally misbehaves. He turns to his male buddies to help lift him out of his depression but they’re too busy with wives and families. While they try to help, they don’t understand the basics of helping a friend through a breakup the way women do. Jen, on the other hand, receives lots of support in typical female fashion with spa weekends and always available sympathetic listening.

The reason for their breakup comes early in the book and is described in Andy’s own words, “Comedians will never have enough validation, enough success, enough love, enough good stories, enough material,” but his male ego prohibits him from seeing the truth.

As we follow Andy through the agonizing process of moving out of their shared flat and trying to find bachelor digs, we marvel at his ineptitude and penchant for self-pity. His neediness and neuroses make for many funny scenes typical of the incompetent, bumbling man-child but the message is clear. He is the only person capable of healing himself and the sooner he gets over Jen and moves on, the better off everyone will be.

What I particularly liked and related to in this story is the dynamics between male friends and female friends as demonstrated by how they help and support each other in a crisis. Andy and Jen are in their mid-thirties but the relationship dynamics will sound familiar to boomers as we’ve all “been there, done it” and, we’re glad those years are (hopefully) behind us now. Our female friends have been and will always be there for us long after boyfriends and husbands have departed.

Good Material was a thoroughly enjoyable summer read, despite being about a breakup. Dolly Alderton is an excellent writer. She’s smart, funny, and oh-so-perceptive. I always credit the British with having the best sense of humour and Alderton’s writing is exceptional. While we sympathize with Andy, we see through his angst and are curious to see how the story ends. You’ll like the ending too.

If you are unable to obtain Good Material by Dolly Alderton at your local bookstore or library, click here to have it delivered directly to your door from Amazon. I also highly recommend her earlier book, Everything I Know About Love.

(Disclosure: I may receive a teeny, tiny commission. Thank you!)