A review by fullybookedwithdanielle
Ghosts, by Dolly Alderton
3.0
TW: Dementia, memory loss
I will start off by saying, as I'm sure many people have, that I absolutely adored Everything I Know About Love. Therefore, I was left a little disappointed by this book however, I am very aware that this is Alderton's first foray into fiction. This was such an easy, entertaining read that I flew through it! When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about when I could next pick it up and read. It was a relief to read this after the heavier book that I'd previously read (which was Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson).
The title Ghosts refers to several things in the novel. It refers to the literal dating term 'ghosting', when someone just disappears without saying anything after a few dates. This happens to Nina, our protagonist, after she gets into a relationship with a man. It also refers to her dad, who gets dementia. It can also be seen to reflect the changing way of life, how relationships ebb and flow as we grow older and we become more preoccupied with husbands and children and jobs. We unintentionally ghost each other.
I very much enjoyed the premise of the book and thought it was laugh-out-loud funny at several points throughout. However, my biggest issue with the story was that I found the tone of the book to be incredibly performative in terms of being 'woke'. Nina cannot stop mentioning that she's heterosexual and I just don't understand what the point of it is. There also seems to be a big contrast between the tone of the book, intent in tone, and the dialogue throughout. Nina's inner dialogue is funny and sharp however when she speaks to other people, she is constantly forcing her opinions on them and trying to educate them. This is usually by way of a feminist rant, which oftentimes is not actually a very feminist view. I say this because I think Nina is very hypocritical in that she herself constantly judges other women and their life choices. If they don't align with her own then they're not feminist or they're a 'prude'. To be fair, this could have been Alderton's intention with the character, to make her annoying and preachy. In which case, she definitely succeeded in executing this!
As previously mentioned, I loved how much of an easy read this was and I did still find it hilarious which is quite impressive considering I rarely genuinely laugh out loud with books. If you love funny, relatable books and love an easy read, then pick this one up!
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc. All opinions are my own.
I will start off by saying, as I'm sure many people have, that I absolutely adored Everything I Know About Love. Therefore, I was left a little disappointed by this book however, I am very aware that this is Alderton's first foray into fiction. This was such an easy, entertaining read that I flew through it! When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about when I could next pick it up and read. It was a relief to read this after the heavier book that I'd previously read (which was Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson).
The title Ghosts refers to several things in the novel. It refers to the literal dating term 'ghosting', when someone just disappears without saying anything after a few dates. This happens to Nina, our protagonist, after she gets into a relationship with a man. It also refers to her dad, who gets dementia. It can also be seen to reflect the changing way of life, how relationships ebb and flow as we grow older and we become more preoccupied with husbands and children and jobs. We unintentionally ghost each other.
I very much enjoyed the premise of the book and thought it was laugh-out-loud funny at several points throughout. However, my biggest issue with the story was that I found the tone of the book to be incredibly performative in terms of being 'woke'. Nina cannot stop mentioning that she's heterosexual and I just don't understand what the point of it is. There also seems to be a big contrast between the tone of the book, intent in tone, and the dialogue throughout. Nina's inner dialogue is funny and sharp however when she speaks to other people, she is constantly forcing her opinions on them and trying to educate them. This is usually by way of a feminist rant, which oftentimes is not actually a very feminist view. I say this because I think Nina is very hypocritical in that she herself constantly judges other women and their life choices. If they don't align with her own then they're not feminist or they're a 'prude'. To be fair, this could have been Alderton's intention with the character, to make her annoying and preachy. In which case, she definitely succeeded in executing this!
As previously mentioned, I loved how much of an easy read this was and I did still find it hilarious which is quite impressive considering I rarely genuinely laugh out loud with books. If you love funny, relatable books and love an easy read, then pick this one up!
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc. All opinions are my own.