A review by housecatstewart
Good Material by Dolly Alderton

4.0

It’s crazy to me that so many people are saying the last 20% was their favorite part?! I HATED the switch to Jen’s perspective. Andy as a character was such a compelling narrator, flaws and all, and I was absolutely rooting for him to find some growth and perspective at the end of his journey. Instead I got Jen’s hamfisted beat-by-beat explanation of the end of their relationship and her realization that she didn’t want kids. It felt like a completely different book. We don’t get to be with Andy for his resolution. We see him finally do a better gig and be surrounded by adoring fans like he always dreamed, like Jen resented him for, but somehow now we’re supposed to feel happy for him after being forced to read Jen describing all his fuck ups for the last 40 pages? And don’t get me wrong - Jen made some truly amazing and poignant points about women and motherhood and relationships - but was that the right ending for this book? I don’t think so. If you want to write a book about a woman leaving a manchild and HER journey, write that story. Don’t rob us of Andy’s conclusion just to make the point that he was terrible all along.