How to Be Good by Nick Hornby Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of How to Be Good
Book Review: A complex, challenging book in the modernist/postmodern tradition
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this book last year, thinking it would be heart-warming and humorous. I was disappointed and stopped reading. I tried again last week and read through it in two days, this time realizing this isn't at all light fare.
The interior nature of this book reminded me very much of Virginia Woolf, and Hornby references Woolf several times throughout. Unlike some other reviewers, I found Hornby's female characterization to be believable and completely natural. In fact, I became a little disturbed by how similar my internal monologue is to the main character's (I don't know what this says about me!). I guess I was hoping for resolution in the same way we all hope for resolution in our own lives, but alas, this is not to be.
Book Review: A letdown
Summary: 2 Stars
I've had bad luck with Hornby. I became familiar with him through movie adaptions of his earlier work. They were excellent movies with characters I liked and related to, so I can only assume they are based on very fine novels. This led me to pick up the next Hornby book that came along. The premise appealed to me and I was entertained by this book's opening pages, but as it moved along it seemed Hornby had less and less to say and nowhere else to go with the plot. His breezy writing style made this book easy enough to read so I did make it through to the end. But I was sad to have been introduced to the prose of such an obviously talented writer by such a forgettable novel. No doubt he has more top notch books left in him, but this one certainly won't be the novel to base his eventual legacy on.Book Review: A marginally better read than the phone book.
Summary: 1 Stars
An intriguing central idea, explored by a very talented author (his previous, books, anyway). Here, he does nothing with the idea except bat it around like a bored cat with a worn-out cat toy, before abandoning the novel in a limp conclusion. The characters are all bad stereotypes which only cheapen the points he occasionally tries to make in the murky swill of aimless text. It is one of the most utterly pointless books I have ever read, and a complete waste of time. His other books, however, are brilliant, so read one of those instead.Book Review: A page turner...
Summary: 5 Stars
I was told that I would not be able to put down "How To Be Good," and it delivered -- I set aside most of my weekend chores to find out what became of the characters. The premise, although fanciful, was intriguing, because it seeks to answer a question many of us struggle with: how do you know for sure you're a good person? Katie Carr, the novel's protagonist, is struggling with that question, and with her disappointment in her domestic life. Married for 20 years and basically miserable, she is engaging in a half-hearted affair and considering divorce when her husband goes through an uncharacteristic spiritual conversion, changing the course of their future.Although the characters are stock (especially the couple's two children, who seem faceless they are so bland), the writing shines when it examines the guilt that accompanies the middle class lifestyle, and the desire to do something to assuage it. Although some of the symbolism is a bit obvious (the New Age guru who guides their spiritual change is named GoodNews), the inner conflict of the characters rings true.
Like his two previous novels, Hornby is taking his protagonist on a journey from sniveling immaturity to greater depth. It differs from "High Fidelity" and "About A Boy", though, in its conclusions, which seem vague. Katie doesn't seem any happier at the end of this journey than she was to begin with; and some of the final thougths seem tacked on arbitrarily, including the silly final image, which doesn't satisfy. Maybe Katie is simply a selfish malcontent, like an older version of Will from "About A Boy". Although I'm all for readers drawing their own conclusions, something felt left out of the last chapter, as if Hornby needs to live a few more years before he decides what he thinks about all of this.
Book Review: A shallow gimmick.
Summary: 1 Stars
I'd have a hard time categorizing this as a novel. It's a cartoon gimmick idea, which Hornby has then tried to stretch into novel length. The trouble is, the gimmick is underdeveloped and not half as clever and funny as the author thinks it is. The entire book is, in short, an insult to any reader's intelligence.