Really Good, Actually: The must-read major Sunday Times bestselling debut novel of 2023

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I've been seeing this gorgeous cover all across Bookstagram and Goodreads so I'm hoping it's good! I just DNFed my last read, and I'm actually really proud of myself for that because I was genuinely not invested in it! stars: 2 stars for the book itself, but a million stars for goddess Julia Whelan's narration of the audiobook, so I'm rounding up. The author also writes with astute observation at the absurdity of how life goes on despite big devastating life events that you can experience personally, and we see how Maggie tries to navigate the ‘normalness’ of the lives of her family, friends and work colleagues, and convincing her and everyone around her that she is happy and ok. I particularly enjoyed the impact of Maggie’s situation with her close group of friends (and how their friendship is tested by Maggie’s destructive behaviour) as well as Maggie’s relationship with Simon (Maggie’s self-preservation and detachment in this relationship was definitely relatable).

Laugh-out-loud funny, razor sharp and painfully relatable, Really Good, Actually is an irresistible debut novel about the uncertainties of modern love, friendship and happiness from a stunning new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey. A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism. And we also hear about the hotly anticipated book coming next month in our Editors' Tip from Dialogue's Hannah ChukwuCall it what you must, but you need to practise walking around and living life and being heartbroken at the same time. Not in an exciting way, where you're in the thrall of some new person, or buying something outrageous, or terrorising Jiro, but in the way where you still have to go to work when you have a toothache.’ People in general were very keen to suggest I hang out with other people they knew who'd divorced before they'd gotten gray hair. Sometimes it felt like a gesture of support, and sometimes it felt like loading Here's a list of alternate titles that went through my head while I was listening to Really Good, Actually:

Maggie’s marriage has ended just 608 days after it started, but she’s fine – she’s doing really good, actually. Sure, she’s alone for the first time in her life, can’t afford her rent and her obscure PhD is going nowhere . . . but at the age of twenty-nine, Maggie is determined to embrace her new status as a Surprisingly Young Divorcée™.

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I give the author a lot of credit because she took a subject that is explored frequently in fiction, divorce, and yet came up with a story that felt fresh and new. That's a pretty big feat to pull off. Regardless of whether you have experienced a significant break up or not, there's some value here for any reader. I am awake WAY too early because I accidentally took a weeeee depression nap after learning about a family member's illness. 🥺🥺I think my mind just needed to take a break to process so here I am awake at this unGodly hour. They say nothing good happens after midnight and I 100% agree with that. The whole thing is a bit of a ramble, really. We’re with Maggie and she’s spiralling and then not spiralling and then spiralling some more. It’s fun and relatable in a chaotic sort of way which is realistic if you think about it. There’s plenty introspection and the kind of deep thought that happens when your life is collapsing. Plenty drama. It would make for light (?) reading. At least to me, it was light ish. I recommend. I think the problem with this book is that it’s not in its ideal format. This would have worked a lot better as a short story/essay collection. As a novel, it drags and meanders without a real sense of purpose or plot. Nothing really moves forward and it feels like a collection of comedy routines on a shared topic. The zany one liners also work a lot better in that medium I think. With this being a full length novel, endless jokes about the same topic get tiring.

Maggie is a 29 year old struggling to come to terms with a fresh divorce and for some reason has zero self restraint. She is endlessly cringey; constantly acting poorly and saying awful things to her friends. I’m surprised her friends didn’t fall out with her sooner. The author has my attention at the start with the opening section which is really good but then she loses me. Whilst there are some laughs and also some heartache I struggle to get through this. There is no doubt about it: for anyone in their twenties or early thirties who has longed to see their experience of divorce depicted in contemporary culture, this book will be a balm. I just wish Heisey’s stamina for exuberant quips was a little lower. Well this was a darkly comical and often times tragically relatable read. Maggie’s marriage has ended just 608 days after it started, but she’s fine - really good, actually. Or is she? She seems to be embracing her aloneness and navigating the anxiety and unknown of her first year of divorce by throwing herself into new hobbies, dating, saying whatever comes into her head (over sharing x 💯!) and getting horribly drunk with her new divorced friend Amy.This book is like someone's intrusive thoughts gone rogue. lol... I think I liked it more in the end because the character grew so much? But during that, I was constantly trying to hide from the cringy parts while simultaneously laughing at the absolute absurdity of some of it. I’d never considered how the taboo surrounding divorce (until much more recently) has meant that nearly all divorcee pop culture references have typically centred around middle-aged people who have families or homes that need to be divided and negotiated. Really Good, Actually provides a completely different perspective as Maggie and her ex have no children (but there is a cat), they don’t own their home, and they have no shared belongings. She’s also at the stage in her life where everyone around her is either newly engaged or about to get married, just as she’s coming to terms with her marriage coming to an end. The first to get married in her friendship group and now the first to get divorced, you can imagine Maggie’s internal struggle with coming to terms with her new reality. A hilarious and painfully relatable debut novel about one woman’s messy search for joy and meaning in the wake of an unexpected breakup, from comedian, essayist, and award-winning screenwriter Monica Heisey I'll begin this review by stating what I think is v important: this book is not for everybody. I know my mom would hate this book, as would probably most folks over the age of 50. But- BUT- I will say I think I am the target audience. Not just, like millennial white women in their early thirties; I honestly felt at times like the book was made for me and me alone. I related so much to Maggie, even though I'm happily married and not going through a divorce like her. Her first book, I Can't Believe It's Not Better, a collection of essays, short stories, and—in an unlikely twist—poems, was published in 2015, and was a Globe & Mail, National Post, and CBC “Best Book of the Year.” This was also the year of her first television job, as a member of the writing room for the sketch comedy series Baroness von Sketch Show (CBC/IFC). She worked on all five seasons of Baroness, and, with the rest of the writing room, was awarded four Canadian Screen Awards for comedy writing.