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A review by sidekicksam
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.5
I was hesitant about this book, and I was both correct in my expectations and also surprised at some bits. If more of the book was as profound as the chapter on Florence was, I would have felt more connected to the book. The nostalgia of the 00s with the rise of MSN messaging, first encounters with boys, and some of the friendship love stories were also very relatable and fun to read.
But (and there is a massive big but with this book for me), the overall tone of the book just made it very difficult for me to either love Dolly or to appreciate any of her stories. The excessive drinking and the egocentric attitude in her relationships with her friends (and not in her teen years, but as a 20-something) made her seem bratty and self-indulgent in my eyes. The satirical e-mails in between chapters definitely emphasized Alderton's ability to write (I liked her writing well enough), and though I also understood the recipes she included, with the naggy tone of her stories and the satirical tone of the e-mails, they felt out of place to me.
Perhaps it is because I don't have a close group of girlfriends that are my whole world, or because I am not single, or because I had a very different upbringing that the book didn't resonate with me. But alas. Personally, though I do consider the message of friendship evolving and that being ok an important one for people to read about and learn, I would expect a memoir to reflect on bigger personal growth or a truly outstanding story. This was not that for me, and for that I am sorry.
I would recommend picking up Conversations On Love, in which Dolly also contributed. And for memoirs I really appreciated: Educated (Tara Westover), I'm Glad My Mom Died (Jennette McCurdy), Taste: My Life Through Food (Stanley Tucci) and Finding Me (Viola Davis).
But (and there is a massive big but with this book for me), the overall tone of the book just made it very difficult for me to either love Dolly or to appreciate any of her stories. The excessive drinking and the egocentric attitude in her relationships with her friends (and not in her teen years, but as a 20-something) made her seem bratty and self-indulgent in my eyes. The satirical e-mails in between chapters definitely emphasized Alderton's ability to write (I liked her writing well enough), and though I also understood the recipes she included, with the naggy tone of her stories and the satirical tone of the e-mails, they felt out of place to me.
Perhaps it is because I don't have a close group of girlfriends that are my whole world, or because I am not single, or because I had a very different upbringing that the book didn't resonate with me. But alas. Personally, though I do consider the message of friendship evolving and that being ok an important one for people to read about and learn, I would expect a memoir to reflect on bigger personal growth or a truly outstanding story. This was not that for me, and for that I am sorry.
I would recommend picking up Conversations On Love, in which Dolly also contributed. And for memoirs I really appreciated: Educated (Tara Westover), I'm Glad My Mom Died (Jennette McCurdy), Taste: My Life Through Food (Stanley Tucci) and Finding Me (Viola Davis).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol