Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghosts | 2020 | Dolly Alderton | Buy |
| 2 | Good Material | 2024 | Dolly Alderton | Buy |
Dolly Alderton’s two standalone novels are both set in contemporary London and deal with the aftermath of romantic relationships falling apart. Ghosts (2020) follows Nina, a food writer in her mid-thirties, who starts dating a man she meets on a dating app. The relationship seems promising until he vanishes without explanation, a phenomenon known as “ghosting.” Meanwhile, Nina’s father is slipping into dementia, and the book weaves together these two very different kinds of loss.
Good Material (2024) approaches a breakup from the opposite direction. Andy, a stand-up comedian, has just been left by his girlfriend Jen after a long relationship, and the novel follows his attempts to put himself back together. The book gives both Andy and Jen chapters, so readers see both sides of the split. Alderton writes about emotional pain with a comic touch, and both novels are as much about friendship and family as they are about romance.