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

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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. Hi, it’s Maggie, I’m the problem, it’s me 🎶 Maggie is our anti-hero. She has instigated a divorce but is maybe having second/third/forth thoughts. She’s selfish, confrontational, and has zero impulse control. She’s slowly but surely alienating her friends and co-workers as she stumbles through a terrible year of having to face the complete and total fear of starting over and being seen as a failure. Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love.

The spirited, often sarcastic tone with which Heisey describes these events is heavily indebted to social media: “Then I went to a hypnotist who told me to imagine being beautiful in a bathing suit and I was cured, just kidding.” 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). There were a few stand out, hilarious lines (Harry Styles anyone?), but overall this book wasn’t really for me. It’s probably just my preference for a plot driven story rather than a character driven one. If you’re into what some people in the group chat called ‘sad girl fiction’, or a character development driven story, this one would be up your alley!" Maggie’s marriage is ending only six hundred and eight days after it began (despite being together nearly a decade) . . . 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 loadingLaugh-out-loud funny and filled with sharp observations, Really Good, Actually is a tender and bittersweet comedy that lays bare the uncertainties of modern love, friendship, and our search for that thing we like to call "happiness". This is a remarkable debut from an unforgettable new voice in fiction. (From HarperCollins) Opinion | Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song shouldn't have won the Booker 26 November, 2023 How They Broke Britain by James O'Brien is full of anger - and not much else 23 November, 2023 Jungle House by Julianne Pachico is an affecting AI mystery 23 November, 2023 My marriage ended because I was cruel. Or because I ate in bed. Or because he liked electronic music and difficult films about men in nature. Or because I did not. Or because I was anxious, and this made me controlling. Or because red wine makes me critical. Or because hunger, stress, and white wine make me critical, too. Or because I was clingy at parties. Or because he smoked weed every day, and I did not think it was “actually the same thing” as my drinking two cups of coffee in the morning. Or because we fell in love too young, and how could our actual lives compare to the idea we’d had of what our lives could be when we were barely twenty and our bodies were almost impossibly firm? Or because we tried non-monogamy for three months in 2011, and it was just fine, not great. Or because he put hot sauce on everything, without tasting it, even if I’d spent hours balancing the flavours from a recipe I’d had to scroll past a long and detailed story about some woman’s holiday to find. Or because he forgot our anniversary once. Or because I did our laundry never. Or because his large Greek family had not quite accepted me as one of their own, even after I learned his yiayia’s favourite poem for her birthday. Or because he walked in on me shitting that time. Or because, in 2015, we attended nine weddings and got carried away, and a big party where everyone told us we were geniuses for loving each other then gave us three thousand dollars seemed like a great idea. Or because we went to Paris and had an argument instead of falling more in love or at least rimming each other. Or because I’d stopped imagining what our children might look like. Or because he’d never started. Or because I was insecure, and sometimes petty. Or because he kept insisting we go vegan, then sneaking pizzas into the apartment while I slept. Or because we finished watching The Sopranos and never started The Wire. Or because when we were first getting together, I’d kissed someone else, and sometimes still thought about her. Or because he was needlessly combative, with a pretentious streak. Or because I was a coward, whose work did not “actively seek to dismantle the state.” Or because I scoffed when he said that and asked about the socialist impact of his latest McDonald’s commercial. Or because he called me a cunt. Or because sometimes, I was one. Anyway, it was over. Literally, one of the chapters is called: Emotionally Devastating Things My Therapist Said to Me Like They Were Nothing - I laughed way too hard for too long at this chapter for so many reasons. Freshly divorced Maggie is open to trying and doing new things, including dating, journalling, working out and standing up for herself. With all of this, she crumbles weekly and spends days indoor hiding away from the world. With the help of friends she slowly faces her situation and make plans for next step.

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. I feel like when you get a divorce everyone’s wondering how you ruined it all, what made you so unbearable to be with. If your husband dies, at least people feel bad for you.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. anyways, i really liked this one! and it's one of those books that feels weird so say you "liked" or "loved" because of the flawed main character ... and boy is she FLAWED! i agree that there were a lot of moments that i cringed through while the FMC self sabotaged her life, but something about it felt relatable? plus (while it does take a while to get there) her character growth is EVERYTHING. i was so pleased with the ending and to see how far maggie had come. and not to mention this book is FUNNY. the sarcasm, wit, and dry humor sprinkled throughout was top notch.