It’s a new month, and I have returned to write another blog post because a new month means a new book review! This month’s book club read was Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton, which is a memoir about growing up and navigating the complexities of young adulthood. Alderton is a journalist who runs a successful dating column, which is probably why the book revolves a lot around dating and the search for love. Being currently in her thirties, this book is a guaranteed nostalgia trip for other millennials. She gives vivid descriptions of the lawlessness of MSN online chatting, and it’s impossible to miss how much her twenties seemed to be influenced by shows like Sex and the City.  

At 27 years old I’m unfortunately young enough to be considered early Gen Z, which means that while some things were definitely familiar–I’m old enough to remember getting my own smartphone– I could still distinctly tell that I was just off the mark to be the correct audience. I think the closest thing I felt to nostalgia was a reminder of what I believed young adulthood to be when I was a younger teenager, something that–as most things in life– didn’t turn out the way I originally thought. 

Of course, she doesn’t always write specifically for millennials as many of her issues and experiences are rather timeless. Her experiences when it comes to navigating relationships as a twenty-something should be very relatable and I have personally been through many of the same struggles as her, but there is something in Alderton’s writing that just makes me disconnect and I get this feeling that I should be moved by what I’m reading, but I’m just not.

I think my biggest issue with this book is that it doesn’t feel like Alderton is actually reflecting much on her past at all. The book skips in time a lot and is basically a collection of short stories from her youth–mixed with some chapters of humoristic satire– but it doesn’t really feel like there’s a larger message. Her relationship with alcohol for example gets swept almost completely under the rug and I feel like her drinking is mostly treated as the premise of her funny drunk stories. 

The book’s greatest attempt at any sort of message would be the value of female friendship, but even that I feel gets a bit muddled up. I feel that Alderton is very preoccupied with herself (yes I am  aware that I’m reading a memoir) to the point where the people around her start to fade into the background. I never felt like I got to know her friends properly, so I wasn’t very invested in the relationships. 

This book was not my favorite and I honestly struggled to get through certain parts of it, but I do like the base concept. With a little shift in focus and some more nuance I think I might’ve actually enjoyed it at least a little, so for that I’m going to be generous and give it 2/5 stars.

By Elvira Svensson