A review by aannaascott
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

to start, i think that you do have to read this book at the right time to love it, and that for a lot of people, it might just not work with them. a good portion of this book is dolly alderton describing the unseen intricacies (strange, regretful, ludicrous, luminous) of being a messy young woman who makes bad decisions, struggles to understand herself, drinks too much, has no money, and loves her friends. if you're not interested in that, this book will likely grow tired for you very easily. however, as a messy young woman who checks all the above boxes, reading this felt like a time capsule, a nostalgia for the right now, a hug from a version of my older self saying "yes, i was there too. it's beautiful, isn't it?" while some of her interjections (while funny) got a little longwinded, it was never enough to bore me. the audiobook feels like talking to a friend, and who hasn't listened patiently through a friend's overly long side notes during a story? i have never read dolly's writing before, but this absolutely left an imprint on me, and i'd love to revisit it in 3 years, 5 years, 9 years, to see how it affects me then. she'll never read this, but dolly alderton, i truly and earnestly wish you all the best, and hope that i can grow into your level of grace and understanding for the world around you<3