61 pages • 2 hours read
Dolly AldertonGood Material
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Technology
Smartphones, social media, and dating apps are omnipresent in the characters’ lives as the motif of technology represents connection, instant communication, and romantic possibilities. However, technology also creates disconnection through the illusion of intimacy, loneliness behind screens, and the struggle to form genuine connections without meeting in person. For example, technology allows Jen to catfish Andy, fooling him into thinking that he is forming a connection with Tash. Though Sophie uses dating apps ubiquitously, she remains unfulfilled in her romantic life, only finding a genuine attraction to Andy after meeting him the old-fashioned way: through a meet-cute in a bar. Andy uses technology to fuel his obsessive thoughts by endlessly scrolling through old messages, photos, and playlists to recreate his intimacy with Jen. In the depths of his depression, he spends countless hours scouring her social media profile to unearth answers for why she left him and why she’s dating Seb; as he admits, “I hate that I’ve become a private investigator for my own broken relationship” (71). The novel hence emphasizes the younger generation’s reliance on digital communication to form connections and relationships and the negative ways it can impact authentic communication and intimacy. The characters become disconnected from themselves and reality by relying too much on technology.
The characters also grapple with how technology shapes their sense of self and influences how others perceive them. The ways different generations use technology exposes the generation gap, such as Gen Z’s attempt to appear overly artistic and undone on social media in response to Millennials’ oversharing. Sophie’s Instagram page with blurry photos and cryptic nonsensical captions is undecipherable by Andy, Avi, and Jen. Social media is a tool for self-expression and self-promotion but also a source of anxiety and insecurity as Andy compares himself to others online. Once Andy learns that Jen is dating someone else, he becomes consumed with Seb, comparing himself to her new beau. Andy can read the five-star reviews for Emery’s comedy show at the click of a button, sending him into a spiral of self-loathing for not succeeding in his career. Whether it’s a late-night Instagram scroll or a WhatsApp message thread from friends, technology mirrors Andy’s inner world, amplifying his flaws and vulnerabilities. After Andy bombs on stage, the internet becomes a platform for his failure for thousands more to see. As critics and strangers drag him through the mud, Andy can see it all, and it crushes him. He describes the isolation he feels: “In social media terms, I’m deadly for the reputation right now. I’m toxic waste. I’m asbestos. Everyone should stay well clear” (319). Ironically, in Andy’s most vulnerable moments, he writes letters to express his deepest emotions, an intimate and almost obsolete form of communication. Like his old-fashioned meeting with Sophie in a bar, this suggests that there are benefits to eschewing technology sometimes. The presence of technology in the novel symbolizes the universal desire for human connections and the ways technology can help or hinder the process.
Music
Music, a significant motif in the novel, provides the soundtrack to Andy’s breakup and symbolizes how he expresses his grief. Andy feels isolated and alone in his emotions, and in the early days of his grief, music offers a sense of companionship as the lyrics and melodies mirror his feelings. For example, “Bon Iver released a new single two days ago. I’ve been storing it up for my train journey back to London for maximum wallowing” (52). Alderton’s comedic tone lines in Andy’s histrionics such as this, but the deeper point is that listening to his favorite songs is a form of catharsis as the lyrics give a voice to feelings for which Andy can’t find words. As a creative person, Andy feels music deeply, and his playlist becomes an outlet for processing his grief and finding a sense of closure. Music evokes memories and emotions associated with the happier moments in his relationship with Jen. Hearing their favorite songs keeps their relationship alive and, in his mind, is a powerful connection to the past. Alderton conveys the way music strongly connects to nostalgia; hearing a favorite song can instantly connect a person to a memory. When Andy takes Sophie to karaoke, hearing his favorite duet reminds him of his and Avi’s song and the first time he took Jen to karaoke. Music becomes a time machine, whisking him away to the past, where he and Jen are happy together again.
However, music also represents a conflict in Andy’s life, as not everyone shares his passion for music. In Jen’s narrative, she admits that Andy’s love of music grated on her: “His music obsessions seemed romantic at first, but became boring, completionist and nerdy” (396). She can’t understand how hearing a song can make him cry, yet he struggles to communicate his feelings. His preference for the Beatles means that Andy’s musical taste aligns more with Morris’s than Sophie’s, and she bans him from mentioning his favorite band. Further exposing the generational gap, when Andy hears certain songs in a club, he knows that he’s too old to be there, and the one time he hears his generation’s music is because it was a “noughties nostalgia night” (96). When Jen sees Andy sharing one of their songs with Sophie, she feels the sting of heartbreak as though Andy is trying to get revenge on her, reflecting that fact that she shared their favorite movie with Seb. Like a mixtape of emotions, music permeates the novel, highlighting how characters cope with and internalize their grief and preserve joyful or poignant memories from the past.
Comedy
Andy, a struggling comedian, views life through a comedic filter, and comedy, another motif in the novel, becomes his coping mechanism and armor against vulnerability. Humor represents a bridge that Andy uses to connect to others, especially women. He admits, “I really would do or say anything to make a woman laugh” (267). When he meets Sophie, and she and her Gen Z friends are describing their adventurous sexual behavior, Andy uses jokes to cover for his inability to relate to their aversion to monogamy. Alderton highlights the way that humor, like alcohol, can be an effective social lubricant, but just like alcohol, too much can ruin the moment. Jen’s narrative reveals how Andy’s comical façade became a barrier to him truly connecting with others as social events became a performative boost for his ego: “he saw every social interaction as a miniature gig” (410). Andy struggles under the pressure of always being funny, and the rejection and criticism he faces from the audience mirror the lack of acceptance he feels in his personal life, leading him into creative burnout and depression.
Comedy is an intensely vulnerable art form. Successful jokes depend on good timing, and Andy’s running out of time to salvage his failing comedy career. His unwillingness to try new jokes or integrate his experiences into his act stall his creativity and force him into irrelevance on the comedy circuit. Andy reaches an epiphany after a disastrous gig during which another comedian friend has to save him from being booed off the stage. He knows that a vital part of being a comedian is integrating one’s experience into the act. However, Andy fears exposing himself through his art because it means that he must admit his failures. When he says, “[a]ll I want, this very instant, is to write new material; become new material” (319), he expresses his desire to have a different life, one that will make for a better show (literally and metaphorically). In the end, when he creates a new show based on the theme of his heartbreak, he turns his vulnerability into his strength, endearing himself to the audience. Comedy emblemizes Andy’s creative energy and highlights how laughter connects and heals.
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By Dolly Alderton
