Meanie Jonathan Forest got one scene in Husband Material. It was enough for Alexis Hall to give him his own book. 10 Things That Never Happened, published in October 2023, is the first instalment of Material World, the spin-off series that grows out of the London Calling trilogy, and it might be my favourite thing Hall has written yet.
Sam Becker manages the struggling Sheffield branch of Jonathan’s bed-and-bath retail chain, and when he’s summoned to London for what he’s sure is a firing, he panics, trips, bumps his head — and lets his boss believe he’s lost his memory. Guilt-ridden Jonathan takes him home to recover. What starts as a lie to dodge an awkward conversation turns into something neither man planned on.
It helps that Sam is easy to love from the first page. His full name is Samwise Eowyn Becker — a dead giveaway about the kind of parents he had, and the kind of person he’s grown into: loyal, a little self-effacing, the one who actually notices when someone on his team is struggling. His Sheffield store is billed as a “grumpy-sunshine” pairing waiting to happen, and Sam’s crew, Claire and Des especially, feel like a found family long before Jonathan does.
I went in sceptical of the amnesia trope, expecting a fairly straightforward “bump on the head, forgets everything” set-up. That’s not what this is. Sam’s amnesia is a lie from page one, which means the tension isn’t “will he remember” but “how long can he keep this up, and what does he actually learn about Jonathan — and himself — while he’s pretending not to know anything at all.” Hall gets real surprises out of that structure, and I’m glad I gave it the benefit of the doubt.
Before the story even starts, Hall includes a short author’s note that tells you everything about how carefully this book is written: “I’m aware that a lot of my readers are international and, therefore, might not be super familiar with specific UK dialects. The narrator of this book is from Liverpool, and in my head, his narration has a noticeable Scouse accent. If you want to know what that sounds like, check out Wayne Rooney, Cilla Black, Mel C or The Vivienne” (RIP The Vivienne). It’s a small thing, but it set the tone for a book that clearly loves its narrator’s voice.
Hall bills this one, in his own words, as “a standalone Christmassy fake amnesia romcom,” and the Christmas setting earns its place. So much of what won me over happens away from Jonathan altogether: Sam folding himself into Jonathan’s genuinely chaotic family, Nanny Barb and Aunt Jack and Uncle Johnny and all, in a way that says more about who Sam is than any scene with Jonathan alone could.
READ MORE: My review of Husband Material, where Jonathan first turns up
I’ve seen people online say they’re confused about what the “10 things” of the title actually are. To me it’s not a mystery — it’s the book’s five parts, each one a pair: losing his job and losing his memory; going home and meeting the boyfriend; trimming the tree and facing the past; keeping his head and keeping his heart; coming clean and saying goodbye. Ten things, five parts, and the whole shape of the book laid out before you’ve read a word of it.
Jonathan starts the book about as insufferable as his own staff think he is — and by the end, I loved watching him tone it down, layer by layer, without ever losing what makes him him. Sam’s arc won me over just as much: sceptical, self-deprecating, quietly brave when it counts, and never quite as foolish as the lie he’s telling makes him look. I went in unconvinced by the premise and came out completely sold on the love story — grumpy-sunshine done properly, with a boss/employee dynamic that could have felt uncomfortable and instead felt earned.
Honestly, I think this is going to become one of those books I reread every Christmas. My review of Father Material, the London Calling trilogy’s final word on Luc and Oliver, is still next — but I suspect I’ll be back in Sheffield and London with Sam and Jonathan again long before next December rolls around.