Ghosts, Dolly Alderton. 4/5.

Nina Dean has arrived at her early thirties as a successful food writer with loving friends and family and her own home in London. When she tries online dating and meets Max who tells her one date one he is going to marry her she is thrilled. Her thirties had so far been missold, everyone else has been getting married and moving to the suburbs, her Mum is having a midlife makeover and her Dad is vanishing slowly before her eyes, fighting dementia.

There is SO much to unpack in 336 pages. I’ve read Dolly’s work before of course, her debut non fiction “Everything I Know About Love” was a well written, funny ode to friendships. I was please to receive an ARC of Ghosts from #NetGalley, #PenguinGeneralUK and #FigTree.

Firstly, Dolly’s writing is yet again, smart, funny, like sharing a bottle of wine with an old friend. Her descriptions and observations of relationships are stunning. The words of a woman who has lived heartbreak and so, she resonates when she writes. Her other life observations made me properly laugh, Dolly has a real knack for turning general daily grievances into properly funny commentary.

The story here was unexpected, i went in expecting some dating hijinks but it went far deeper, their is real exploration here of what relationships have become, how quickly we throw others away, how easily we “ghost”. I found myself almost violently agreeing here with Dolly that humans cannot be deleted. We deserve more than what we have become in a world that seems to find it so easy to swipe people away.

The other threads of the storyline, friendship, were expected. If you read Dolly’s first book or follow her online you will know that her friendships are important and you can see that here, friendship again is prominently the real relationship of importance. Lola was for me, the absolute MVP of the whole book, I probably should have related to Katherine but Lola was incredible. So glorious. I wanted to pull her out of the pages and have her as a friend.

The dementia storyline however was the one that i thought was handled incredibly, unexpected, bittersweet, well researched and poignant. It pushed the novel up a rating for me. The descriptions were so beautifully written, they made me cry.

My only issue with the entire novel was Dolly’s representation of motherhood. Whilst I understand that the one specific example was necessary for a particular thread of the story, i felt in general that there was a huge amount of negativity towards Mothers in general. The idea that once a woman gives birth she immediately becomes just a mother who is unable to retain a friendship with childless women and talk about things that don’t involve children is quite isolating for mothers who need a break.

Overall this novel is, as expected, a smart, witty, brilliantly observational look at love, life and relationships. At times it was bittersweet, i shed a few tears but, much like sharing a bottle of wine with a best friend, it left me feeling happy and content.

Ghosts

We all know a Nina, but this book enables you to get inside of Nina, her thoughts, worries and fears and I just love the way her down to earth and honest character learns to navigate through everything life throws at her. At the end I was was like, phew! A great read

I really enjoyed this book, and will be recommending it to many others. The title, 'Ghosts', refers to the many different strands running throughout the book. Firstly, yes, the idea of being ghosted by a romantic partner. Secondly, and more broadly and meaningfully, the idea of the ghosts of our past - our friendships, and how much we rely on shared experiences in our past to bring meaning to our present. This idea is also present in the moving storyline concerning the protagonist, Nina's, father and his dementia.

There are many things in this book that fans of 'Everything I Know About Love' will enjoy. Dolly Alderton does sitcom-style pieces so well: there is a brilliant scene at a hen party, and a wickedly accurate meditation on the different types of and messages from men on dating apps. Expect to laugh out loud. It is also very moving in parts, and, again, strikingly accurate in its portrayal of friendship and the experience of being a woman in London. I also particularly enjoyed the way Alderton explored the theme of nostalgia, and how our childhood shapes who we are. I was really excited about reading this book, and raced through it. Thank you!

I will post my review on Amazon around publication date, and link to that here.

An enjoyable easy read. Ghosts was not as deep and meaningful as I expected but was instead very much a chick flick. It was however a good chick flick and made for perfect summer reading. The plot centres around the protagonists love life with a backdrop of friendship dramas and a fathers declining help. Whilst enjoyable it was really nothing new or special, and I expected slightly more from dolly's debut fiction.

Nina, in her thirties and facing a life crisis. Her Dad is unwell and just getting old, her Mum is trying to remain youthful, her uni friends are all smug marrieds and moving out of London.
I really enjoyed this book and it resonates with ladies right now. Nina is successful and smart however she has doubts as to where her future lies. Great characters, a really good amusing read.

I have been a long-term reader of Alderton’s columns in the Sunday Times and her memoir, “Everything I Know About Love,” so I was really looking forward to reading this, her first novel- and I was not disappointed. Sharply humorous, incisively contemporary yet deeply touching, it focuses on Nina, who at the start of her thirties has been successful in important ways- in her career as an increasingly popular food writer, in owning her own London flat- but whose personal life is becoming increasingly challenging. As one of a decreasing number of singles in her friendship circle, she feels detached from her married friends and those with children, but the perils of the modern dating scene make finding lasting love seem a hopeless dream, while the biological ticking clock puts constant pressure on women. To add to her worries, Nina’s beloved father is showing increasing signs of dementia. Despite being an older “smug married” myself ( and never more relieved to be so than when reading this!) I really enjoyed the book, especially Alderton’s satirical portrayal of Nina’s contemporaries and the shocking insight into some current relationship behaviours, especially arising from dating app culture. She is brutal at times but also compassionate, revealing how women in every generation make choices and compromises to find happiness in individual ways, that marriage and motherhood isn’t always “a happy ending,” and that things are often not as they seem. Nina moves forward bruised but hopeful, and readers will have their fingers crossed for her.

A very observational writer. Reflects life as it is today. Witty, sad and make you think about different relationship scenarios. Friends who stick by on another. Fractures within family relationships. Ultimately betrayal within romantic relationships. Enjoyable and a heartwarming outcome.

Dolly Alderton has a huge following and this debut novel is written in her usual confessional, chatty, wise style. Very engaging.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50042494-ghosts

A solid debut novel, enjoyed it more than her previous biography. It’s an easy read, addresses current issues surrounding dating in a touching and human way.

A good beach read.

As a huge fan of Dolly Alderton's 'Everything I Know About Love', I was really interested to see how I would find her first foray into fiction. I absolutely loved the book, so I hope she writes many more!

In the same way that Alderton's non-fiction managed to be both witty and heartbreaking when it comes to tales of love and loss, this novel hits many of the same nerves, but deftly weaves together the losses we experience from childhood to adulthood with those of lost romantic loves. Nina has forged a successful career as a food writer, but the rest of her life is not running quite so smoothly. Although the split was amicable and they still have a warm friendship, her long term relationship has broken down, her father is in the early stages of dementia and her friends all seem to be moving to the countryside and having babies.

Following Nina as she cautiously enters the dating world, tries to manage the grief of losing her father to a mental abyss and maintain friendships with cracks appearing at the seams, this is a brilliant, painful and touching book. I found it landed somewhere between what might be called "chick lit" (although I hate that term) and more literary fiction, with the added meat of the storyline of Nina's father. Really enjoyable read, can't wait to read what she writes next!

After reading Alderton’s non fiction I couldn’t wait to dive into her first fiction and it didn’t disappoint. A compelling and well written read that I would recommend to anyone who has read her other works

I absolutely tore through this book about Nina, a single writer who decides to start looking for love again. As someone who has been coupled up for the last twenty years, this book was a learning for me on how different perception and reality is for women in their 30s if they're single or coupled up.

A bit like Bridget Jones, Nina and her terminally-single, hot friend Lola spend time on dating apps trying to meet men but also navigating the complexities of trying to socialise with people whose lives are dictated by childcare and location. Nina strikes lucky on her very first date and meets rugged accountant Max and they fall in love. It seems meant to be.

However warning signs appear even early on and things aren't right when she introduces him to her long-term ex who is getting married and she'll be an usher. After an intense day, with her father who has dementia, Max tells her he loves her and then ghosts her completely for 3 months.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read another by Dolly Alderton

This was a relatable read full of realistic details. The main character was engaging and compelling. Overall I enjoyed reading this.

This is a voluntary and honest review for an advanced copy from NetGalley.

I have to admit when i started to read this book i wondered if perhaps, being in my late fifties, i was in the wrong age bracket.......not at all. Having a daughter almost thirty i could relate to so much of this book. Not only that, i could relate to so many other situations and emotions told in this story.

This book plays on every emotion. I found it funny, sad and in some places i was so outraged it made me want to shake some of the characters.

I loved the characters in this story, even the ones you are made to dislike. Family, friendships and the life struggles felt real and so did the interaction between them. I could see some of them in my own life.

This story is about life, growing up, growing older and all of life's wonderful but also sometimes messy situations. It is about dreams, aspirations, It is also about life-long friendships that last, through thick and thin.

This book is not a sit on the edge of your seat story but it keeps you interested from start to finish. It is a well written easy read and once started i found it hard to put down. I would absolutely recommend this book.

I first discovered Dolly Alderton through her wonderful non-fiction book 'Everything I Know About Love'. Her candid and witty writing is always engaging and this style translates beautifully to her debut fiction novel 'Ghosts'. Being a similar age to Alderton, I find that the themes she grapples with are perceptive and relatable, skilfully balancing weighty topics with heartwarming moments and biting humour.

In 'Ghosts', we follow Nina George Dean in her 32nd year who is terminally single amongst a group of married friends (with babies galore), experimenting with online dating and all whilst struggling with her father's dementia. The concept of losing a connection with a parent as they age is the most heartbreaking aspect to this book, the story line woven sensitively into Nina's experiences. This is one type of 'ghost' as her father fades away. Alongside this, we have other types of ghosts which come with putting yourself out there and online dating, losing your own identity as you age and growing apart from once close friends. Nina, and her lovely friend Lola, deserve so much more than the awful time they have in this novel, many events being painfully realistic - men do not come out of this book looking great at all (which seems like an unfair generalisation at times).

Overall, I was completely hooked by Nina's story. Alderton's humour hits the mark and is balanced with poignant messages about changing as you grow older and watching loved ones suffer. This is certainly a triumphant fiction debut which I predict is going to be as popular as her prior work. Get your hands on a copy of this as soon as you can!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I often wonder what the landscape of writing might be like had Nora Ephron never existed. 'Ghosts' is a decent enough read (I am not its target market, I suspect) but it is yet another novel that borrows strongly from the Ephron style and subject matter. In this respect, it felt overly familiar which can be good or bad depending on what you are looking for in a novel.

I thought this book was excellent.

Dolly captures the modern 30-something experience perfectly, from horrendous hen-dos to incessant questions about marriage and babies.

She is a really shrewd observer of relationships and the book is filled with realistic portraits of familial bonds, romantic travails and friendships. The scenes between Nina and her dad were particularly tender.

Ghosts is full of humour, heart and hope. It's wonderful.

Nina George Dean is in her early thirties and is a food writer who lives in London.. all her friends seem to be married off apart from her one last single datathon friend Lola.
After pressure she joins Linx a dating app and when she meets Max, who ticks all the boxes and tells her he’s going to marry her after date no 1 she thinks she’s cracked it. Finally.
This is a clever, witty, and sad at times look at life.
The ghosts in Ninas life are not what you’d think.. there are no floaty white sheets here with eyes cut out. No we are talking about the ghost of her father who newly diagnosed with dementia, being ghosted by men in the dating sense, and slowly vanishing friendships that once were the epicenter of your life..
These ghosts follow her over the course of a year and we see her looking deeply at what’s important and how she’s ever going to move forward and find happiness again.
Ultimately we never know what’s going on in someone’s head and lots of people live behind a facade.
This one tugs at your heart strings but at the same time has laugh out loud moments.
You know sometimes in life when you think “If I don’t laugh I’ll cry”
This sums this book up for me.


Thanks for the advanced copy Netgalley and Penguin. The book is published on the 15th October

Dolly Alderton never disappoints with her intimate and truthful writing about the nuances of modern life and love, and her voice translates well to fiction in her debut novel "Ghosts." It's difficult to describe the plot of this book - "a woman in her early-30s in London gets ghosted on a dating app" is perhaps the most succinct, but hardly scratches the surface of this moving and laugh-out-loud funny portrait of a single year in the life of narrator Nina George Dean.

Nina is a successful food writer with a dynamic circle of friends in varying stages of adulthood. We encounter Nina caught between the frustrating and heartbreaking challenges of her father's dementia and her foray into dating apps. The title alludes to the many ways ghosts (of people, memories, and relationships) shape our lives.

I have some personal gripes with Nina, whose judgmental attitude seemed tedious very quickly. Regardless, there is something special about this book - most notably, it stands out in a world of romance novels that center around a "messy" woman whose life gets sorted out when she meets a man. Alderton's non-fiction is always brilliant, and her fiction debut is very much worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK/Fig Tree for an advanced copy of this book, which is to be published October 15.

There are lots of things to like about this novel, including the sensitive coverage of a parent slipping away into Dementia, and the way that friendships change over time as those in their 30's reach different life stages at different times.

I'm afraid for me though, far from the humorous look at the 'joys' of online dating that I had seen the book described as, I found most of the story to be depressing, and an incredibly good reason to stay well clear of dating apps!

Thanks to Netgalley for an early review copy.