Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan. But maybe we need to rethink our plans? In Dolly Alderton’s sharp and funny debut novel Ghosts, Nina Dean a successful food writer with loving friends and family, plus a new home and neighbourhood seems to have it all together.. When she meets Max, a beguiling romantic hero who tells her on date one that he’s going to marry her, it feels like all is going to plan.
But as in most romantic comedies, a man has derailed things. And everywhere she turns, she is reminded of time passing and opportunities dwindling. Friendships are fading, ex-boyfriends are moving on and, worse, everyone’s moving to the suburbs.
Is she doing it all wrong? As you’d expect from the sharp Alderton, Ghosts takes a different view. One where strong relationships can coexist alongside boozy Sundays, families thrive as well as friendships, and women can forge their own path.
One assumes there are echoes of Dolly Alderton’s own life in this – a writer, living in London, with great girlfriends and going on dates – but maybe that just makes it a more truly drawn piece. Great fun and I’m sure the precursor to many more.