Good Jokes, Bad Choices: Monica Heisey Review

Eleanor Proudfoot reviews Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey (HarperCollinsCanada, 2023)

Really Good, Actually was… really good, actually! 

While the title reflects the self deluding protestations of a woman whose personal life is in a downward spiral, I mean it literally. I loved this book.

We open with Maggie, whose marriage has just collapsed, and get a brutally honest portrayal of the messy grieving that ensues over the course of a year. That the first few pages make it clear that Jon and Maggie perhaps weren’t all that well suited to each other makes watching her try to get over the breakup all the more compelling.

Monica Heisey is a comedian, and you can tell. She manages to make the reader laugh, even given the bleak context, while also giving us information about the characters. Maggie’s description of herself post-breakup is a perfect example: “Days passed, and I haunted the house like a reverse-Havisham, wandering aimlessly from room to room.” Funny, evocative, and an accurate reference for a character who works in the world of literary academia. 

But more than that, Heisey’s skill lies in how real the book feels. For someone close in age to the main character, the book feels like a constellation of relatable moments  — especially when it comes to Maggie’s obsession with skincare. And I  think the witty reflections on society that crop up prettty much on every page as part of Maggie’s interior monologue will make the book relatable for all.  

A moment that particularly stood out as at once hilarious and painfully accurate was Maggie’s experience on dating apps: she describes how her friends in relationships liked to occasionally take over and swipe for her, and she could see the horror in their eyes when a man messages “‘u suck cock?’ with the emoji of a monkey bashfully covering its eyes”. Similar experiences are pretty much par for the course for anyone who has ever used a dating app. 

Maggie’s character feels so real that I felt myself getting frustrated with her about two thirds of the way through the book. Nothing is hidden from us as we follow her through her mistakes and attempts to cope (classics include getting into fitness, going on the rebound too soon, and over the top retail therapy). I felt myself echoing the sentiments of her peers: why doesn’t this girl just get therapy already!! Instead, as anyone would, she flits back and forth chaotically between stages of grief. 

Monica Heisey also manages to bring Toronto to life, which is impressive given that she has spent most of her adult life abroad. It almost felt like I was watching a sitcom (perhaps unsurprising as Heisey has worked as a writer on the show “Workin’ Moms”, also set in Toronto). I could sense the backdrop of the city as Maggie went about her life, from the summer humidity to “the bakery that sold nine-dollar cookies and nothing else.”  And this was achieved without anything being overly descriptive. 

It’s possible that someone who had never been to Toronto wouldn’t be able to picture the setting as easily, but it can certainly be said that the Toronto that Monica Heisey writes about is consistent with the honesty of the rest of the book. This isn’t the Toronto of so many films and shows, where you wonder how characters can afford the rent.

No, rent prices are discussed with real (and accurate) figures; and Maggie’s living situation post-breakup is certainly adding to her struggle. 

We also have passages that convey a lot that is unspoken: full excerpts of Maggie’s Google search history interrupt the narrative, while still managing to tell part of the story. Also interspersed throughout are emails and texts to her ex-husband, which are as delightfully cringey as you would expect. There are other such snippets in the book, but I won’t give these away as they are a joy to come across. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever been through a breakup (and to everyone else too). Monica Heisey’s writing is a breath of fresh air.

Monica Heisey is a Canadian writer who moved to London, England, in 2010. Her first book was a collection of short stories, essays, and poetry: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better (2015), which was a Best Book of the Year for The Globe and Mail and CBC. She started writing screen comedy as a member of the writing room for the sketch comedy series Baroness von Sketch Show (CBC/IFC), going on to write for television in the UK, US, and Canada, including Schitt’s Creek (Netflix/CBC), Workin’ Moms (Netflix/CBC), Gary and His Demons (Amazon, VRV), The Cleaner (BBC), and Everything I Know About Love (BBC). She is at work on another novel and another comedy series….

Eleanor Proudfoot has an MLitt in English Literature from the University of St Andrews and an MSc from Edinburgh Napier University. She currently lives in Scotland. She is hoping that, unlike the character in Heisey’s book, her marriage does in fact last longer than the financing of her sofa.

Related

• Jenni Fagan and Monica Heisey in conversation on Damian Barr’s Literary Salon, available to watch online until 5pm, Friday 2nd June 2023, Eventbrite.
• Monica Heisey on her own breakup in Vogue.
• Heisey, the confused Canadian, on the British habit of going on a walk, in The Guardian (27 Feb. 2021).
• You can read Eleanor Proudfoot’s review of Planet Lolita at Depraved World.
• You can read a sample of Really Good, Actually at HarperCollinsCanada.