Ghosts
The Top 10 Sunday Times Bestseller 2020
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4.1 • 297 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
A 21ST CENTURY LOVE STORY AND TOP 10 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'Utter BRILLIANCE . . . I absolutely LOVED it!' Marian Keyes, bestselling author of GROWN UPS
'I loved it' Candice Carty-Williams, bestselling author of QUEENIE
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Everything gets easier in your thirties, right?
Though she has plenty to celebrate - successful career, new home, loving friends and family - for Nina Dean, her thirties have not exactly been the liberating experience she was sold. From fading friendships to exes popping the question, everyone is moving on (or worse, to the suburbs). And as her dad slowly loses his memories, her mum seems dead set on making new ones.
Then she meets Max, who tells her on date one that he's going to marry her. But what seems like an exciting new development will ensure this year is Nina's strangest yet . . .
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SHORTLISTED FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE
'A book so relatable you'll give yourself neck ache nodding in recognition' Grazia
'Funny, sharply observed, poignant' Matt Haig, bestselling author of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY
'Alderton masterfully exposes the hideous reality of dating in your 30s . . . I adored it' Daily Mail
'Like having one of those glorious girls night in, where you drink till the early hours - laughing, venting, and feeling warm and seen' Holly Bourne, author of HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?
'Dolly sums up life in your thirties with such wit, warmth and accuracy' Heat
'Dolly is such a fantastic writer' Jill Mansell, author of AND NOW YOU'RE BACK
'The perfect no-holds-barred modern day rom-com' Stylist
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
As the award-winning author of one of the most beloved memoirs of recent times (Everything I Know About Love) and co-host of a hugely popular podcast (The High Low), Dolly Alderton has already firmly established herself as a voice of the millennial generation. Her debut novel, Ghosts, will only solidify that status. In this touching novel that bears shades of Nora Ephron’s Heartburn, our narrator is Nina Dean, a 32-year-old food writer living in London. Her ghosts? Max, the charming man she met on a dating app and who, just as she falls for him, disappears without warning; her beloved father whose brilliant, inspiring mind is rapidly being lost to dementia; and her best friend Katherine—the connection they’ve shared ever since they were young fading out as their lives begin to diverge. Just as you’d expect from Alderton, Ghosts is a novel crammed with biting wit and sharp social observations about everything from modern relationships to female friendship and family dynamics. All of which makes Ghosts a painfully, hilariously relatable read. But more than that, this is a heartwarming, hopeful story of coming to terms with change and forging your own way through adulthood.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The sprightly, sometimes touching debut novel by British memoirist Alderton (Everything I Know About Love) follows a cookbook author through her life's "strangest year." Nina, 32, has bought a flat in London and is taking a break from men after amicably breaking up with her first boyfriend, Joe, who has since gotten engaged and with whom she remains friends. Now, with most of her friends married, having kids, and moving to the suburbs, she hits a dating app in search of love. She promptly meets Max, a 37-year-old surfer, "his eyes shining, his beard golden brown, his skin burnished from sunbeams." Things between them go swimmingly for months before he ghosts her, leaving her to cope with heartbreak, her beloved father's advancing dementia, her increasing estrangement from her friends, and her unnerving downstairs neighbor. Alderton doesn't exactly cover new ground as she moves through the obligatory scenes: an awkward weekend with Joe's fiancée and her friends, an uncomfortable wedding, difficult conversations with Nina's parents, and frustrating get-togethers with old friends. Still, this should hit the spot for readers of women's fiction who appreciate the familiar.
Customer Reviews
Glad I read it
There were so many mixed reviews about this book. I read Dolly Alderton’s which I didn’t enjoy but I also read her new book Good Material which I liked. I bought this book despite negative reviews I have read as I just wanted some easy read. I have overall enjoyed it, flows well, and her relationship with her dad and connection between food and nostalgia affected me. It has also made me grateful for my husband who coparents with me. I am not too sure if all men are as it is described in this book but I have never tried a dating app. I loved the characters Lola, Angelo and Katrina and would have liked to know about them. All and all it is a good book, and very quick to read.
Loved this book
Couldn’t put it down . Loved it , very sad in parts and totally relatable too !
Not her best
Not her best, towards the end it was very far fetched and the ending was a bit dismal