Good Material THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, THE AUTHOR EVERYTHING I KNOW

Protagonist Wallows In Self-Pity

Bewertet: Buch (Gebundene Ausgabe)

Andy is in his mid-thirties and a moderately successful stand-up comedian. When his girlfriend breaks up with him, he feels like his life has reached an all-time low. All his friends have stable and committed relationships, some of them have already started a family and generally seem to have life all figured out. Therefore, they are unable to relate to Andy which makes him even more aware of his unfortunate situation. Dolly Alderton tells a story about the pain of separation and new beginnings with wit and irony. The plot immediately caught my attention because I find that initial misfortune through (unforeseeable) strokes of fate enables the most drastic character developments. However, this was only partly the case with Andy because he literally wallows in self-pity. Unfortunately, victim mentality is a barrier to character development because it makes a person unable to reflect on their weaknesses and mistakes. Instead, one blames external circumstances for one’s own failure which additionally can cause (unconscious) envy. This in turn made it hard for me to sympathize with Andy and to enjoy the book.

This book was beyond good material!

Bewertet: Buch (Taschenbuch)

Wow. If I had to describe this novel in one sentence, I would say it drastically ripped your heart out and slowly put it back together piece by piece, only to rip it out once again. Essentially, we follow Andy, a struggling stand-up comedy artist in his mid-thirties, trying to work out over several months why his long-term girlfriend broke up with him. Although partly long-winded (which is why it took me 6 months to read it lol), most of the time I was absolutely in awe of Dolly Aldertons capability of using words. It makes you burst out laughing in one second and almost tearing up the next while she even manages to address social issues such as the desire to have children, changes in friendships, misogyny and the fact that some relationships don't work out even if you have found the right partner. Seriously, go read this book.