Good Material

I first heard about Good Material by Dolly Alderton on a local morning news show. The anchor raved about it. What she described sounded like the perfect book for Maria's Book Banter.

Andy’s longtime girlfriend, Jen, recently broke up with him and he's not taking it well. In fact, he's obsessing over her and why she ended the relationship.

This book chronicles the days, weeks and months following the break-up. It takes us through the changes in Andy’s life – the good decisions he makes and the bad ones too. We are privy to Andy’s neurotic thoughts, moods and activities, and how he is handling the split and facing life without Jen.

As a profession, Andy performs as a stand-up on London’s comedy circuit. A fellow comedian and other friends suggest that Andy use his experiences with Jen in his act, hence, Good Material.

For much of the story, there isn’t too many dramatic plot shifts. Also, Andy’s inability to let go of the past gets tiresome. Yet, I can't overlook the amusement of the quirkiness of his life. There are several humorous characters that make this a fun book. Take, for example, Andy’s conspiracy theorist housemate, Morris, who sort of predicts the pandemic months ahead of time. The bottom line is Good Material gave me many chuckles and even belly laughs. So, for that reason, I think it’s a book worth reading.

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