Really Good, Actually
Published on 17. January 2023
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-0-00-851172-2 (ISBN)
Description
The No. 2 SUNDAY TIMES Bestseller
An Observer Best Debut of the Year
'Intoxicating ... heralds a really good author to watch'
THE TIMES
'Hilarious and profound' DOLLY ALDERTON
'Wildly funny and almost alarmingly relatable' MARIAN KEYES
'Monica Heisey is a genius' NINA STIBBE
One of the most hotly anticipated, hilarious and addictive debut novels of 2023, from Schitt's Creek and Workin' Moms screenwriter and electric new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey.
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.
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 Divorcee (TM).
Soon she's taking up 'sadness hobbies' and getting back out there, sex-wise, oversharing in the group chat and drinking with her high-intensity new divorced friend Amy. As Maggie throws herself headlong into the chaos of her first year of divorce, she finds herself questioning everything, including: Why do we still get married? Did I fail before I even got started? How many Night Burgers until I'm happy?
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.
'Hilarious, heart-warming, wise' PAULA HAWKINS
'Monica Heisey makes me laugh hard and often' ROB DELANEY
'A Sex and The City for social media-obsessed millennials ... Irresistible'
METRO
'Wry, modern, self-deprecating'
INDEPENDENT
'Already one of the most talked-about releases for 2023'
EVENING STANDARD
An Observer Best Debut of the Year
'Intoxicating ... heralds a really good author to watch'
THE TIMES
'Hilarious and profound' DOLLY ALDERTON
'Wildly funny and almost alarmingly relatable' MARIAN KEYES
'Monica Heisey is a genius' NINA STIBBE
One of the most hotly anticipated, hilarious and addictive debut novels of 2023, from Schitt's Creek and Workin' Moms screenwriter and electric new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey.
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.
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 Divorcee (TM).
Soon she's taking up 'sadness hobbies' and getting back out there, sex-wise, oversharing in the group chat and drinking with her high-intensity new divorced friend Amy. As Maggie throws herself headlong into the chaos of her first year of divorce, she finds herself questioning everything, including: Why do we still get married? Did I fail before I even got started? How many Night Burgers until I'm happy?
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.
'Hilarious, heart-warming, wise' PAULA HAWKINS
'Monica Heisey makes me laugh hard and often' ROB DELANEY
'A Sex and The City for social media-obsessed millennials ... Irresistible'
METRO
'Wry, modern, self-deprecating'
INDEPENDENT
'Already one of the most talked-about releases for 2023'
EVENING STANDARD
Reviews / Votes
'Heisey's adroit control of her narrative and wickedly funny turns of phrase mean Maggie can become monstrous as she flails from one disastrous choice to the next, but remains heartbreakingly relatable' The Times'A smart and funny coming-of-divorce novel ... with a likeable heroine to root for... full of millennial witticisms and reliably regular deadpan turns' Guardian
'Wise and funny ... Heisey ... announces herself not only as a comic literary voice who articulates the absurdity of finding yourself alone, again, but also as a deft satirist of the many ridiculous trappings of modern life' Dazed
'The book's insistence on friendship being just as, if not more, important than romantic love is itself beautifully rendered... this book will be a balm' i Newspaper
'Wry, modern, self-deprecating' Independent
'Sharp and fast, the funniest book I've read in a long time' Raven Leilani, author of Luster
'You will fall in love with this protagonist and you will fall in love with Monica Heisey's writing. I couldn't put it down' Dolly Alderton, author of All I Know About Love
'An absolute effing delight ... wildly funny and almost alarmingly relatable' Marian Keyes, author of Again, Rachel
'I absolutely loved it ... Hilarious, heartwarming, wise' Paula Hawkins, author of Slow Fire Burning
'A rare and delicious treat. Monica Heisey is a genius' Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful
'Monica Heisey is one of the most exciting new voices in fiction' Kirsty Capes, author of Careless
'Heisey makes me laugh hard and often' Rob Delaney
'A smart, funny and warm debut with such a strong voice' Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of Everyone Is Still Alive
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
500 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-851172-2 (9780008511722)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Monica Heisey is an author and television writer from Toronto, now based in London, UK. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, the New York Times, The Cut, Vogue, the Guardian, VICE, and elsewhere. She was previously an Editor at Large at Broadly. Her first book, an acerbic collection of essays called I Can't Believe It's Not Better, was published in Canada by indie Red Deer Press. She has written on shows including Schitt's Creek, Workin' Moms, Baroness von Sketch Show and Gary and his Demons.