Slam by Nick Hornby Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Slam
Book Review: Too Much Too Young
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been a huge fan of Hornby's since the early days, including his non-fiction, and this step into YA lit feels totally natural. After all, so many of his protagonists (including himself) are young men struggling to come to terms with adulthood and the responsibilities of "growing up." Here, the dilemma is much the same, however it's much more direct, and instead of a young man grappling adulthood, it's a teenage boy grappling with the implications of a monumental adult responsibility.
I'm guessing there have been a number of good YA books about teen pregnancy -- and if that's the case, add this one to the list. The simple story is narrated by 18-year-old North London lad Sam, reflecting back over the past two years. While it's pretty bare bones -- the cast doesn't really extend beyond Sam, his girlfriend, their respective parents, and two skater acquaintances -- things are made livelier though the device of having Sam discuss his problems with a poster of legendary pro skater Tony Hawk (whose responses are passages Sam has memorized from Hawk's autobiography). There are also a few jumps into dream sequence/time-travel which break up the straightforward narrative, although they don't actually add up to that much.
The book's real strength comes from Hornby's ability to capture the inner life of a teenage boy while avoiding all the usual pitfalls. Sam is neither too articulate nor too dense, and he's basically a well-adjusted, pleasant teen who hasn't gotten into any trouble -- until now. His narrative is full Hornby's trademark observational wit, although without nearly as many pop culture trappings as usual. The book certainly carries a cautionary message about teen sex, but it's never hectoring or reductionist. There's a strong sense of hopefulness for Sam, despite the deep hole he's dug himself. It's not an amazing book, but certainly a cut above the average.
Book Review: About a Boy: no, this time it really is.
Summary: 4 Stars
Nick Hornby has always written about boys. For a start, most of his main characters are Peter Pan types, boy-men who can't quite make the final leap into adulthood. Secondly, he's an ex-teacher, and his eye for teen angst is no doubt based on close-quarters observation.
Boy-men aren't always the best fathers, though - and that's the "big issue" he confronts in Slam. This is Hornby's first foray into "young adult" fiction, with the story told first-person by teenage Sam, who repeated his own mother's mistake and accidentally embarked on parenthood at the age of sixteen.
Hornby gives us a convincing portrait of a bewildered and not very bright boy, obsessed with skateboarding and only vaguely interested in the girl he's inadvertently impregnated. His best friend is an imaginary one - for like the unseen Elvis in True Romance, skater hero Tony Hawks talks to him from the poster on his bedroom wall. Actually everything he says is a quotation from Hawks' autobiography, the contents of which Sam has almost by heart, but the sentiments are helpful anyway.
What saves the book from developing into one of those drearily well-meaning "issue-led" novels designed for the moral education of young people is Hornby's own wit and inventiveness. For in the absence of a useful father-figure, Tony Hawks helps Sam to see what his life might hold by regularly "whizzing" him into a future filled with premature responsibilities and cares within a relationship that's run its course. Like his Life On Mars namesake, Sam doesn't have the necessary knowledge or understanding to cope with steering his own "future" self and this yields much scope for wry comedy, especially when Sam has to guess at the name of his own infant son.
Aided by these magical glimpses into alternative realities, Sam's finally able to come to some kind of accommodation with the present. But is this really a book for teenage lads? I tested its readability on my own almost-15 year old son, who loved the twists and turns of the story but dismissed its protagonist as "a bit of an idiot" who couldn't tell a good thing when he saw it. Perhaps some boys are really more adult than the adults who write about them.
Book Review: Slightly disappointing teen debut
Summary: 3 Stars
Just finished reading Slam, the new Nick Hornby book, and his first foray into teenage fiction. To be cynical, it's as if Nick had said "I'd really like to sell more books. Maybe one way I could do that would be to write something that would be sure to get on school reading lists. Maybe a Catcher in the Rye-lite but with more humour and a single, hot-topic, theme."
Now for starters, I have to say that theme is one of zero interest to me. (And I won't spoil it by telling you what it is.) In fact, if I'd known the theme, I maybe wouldn't have read the book. I don't think there is a lot of substance to Slam other than the theme. And I think that maybe Nick thought the same. To make the whole thing more interesting he has resorted to using two devices. The first is Sam's (the protagonist) inner dialogue with skateboarding legend Tony Hawks. Or rather with statements from Hawk's autobiography. This is a not uninteresting technique and provides some fine humorous moments. I am far more troubled by the second: sending Sam forward in time to educate him on what the future holds for him.
Speaking as someone who reads a lot of teenage fiction, it seems to me like he has misjudged his audience and done them something of an injustice. Despite the "adult" theme, Hornby has oversimplified his technique to the point where his writing is lacking the sophistication and richness that I have come to expect. He could well be writing for a 10 year old.
So what did I like about Slam? Well the trademark Hornby humour is there. However as the theme gets "heavier" it tends to dry up somewhat. And regardless of my comment about the lack of richness, Hornby can't help writing extremely well. The whole thing flows beautifully. So much so that I finished it in a single sitting - couldn't put it down. As far as this 43 year old can tell, he has done a reasonable job of getting inside the head of a 15 year old boy and speaking with his voice. Even if that voice uncannily reminded me of Holden Caulfield from time to time.
Book Review: Getting slammed
Summary: 4 Stars
Nick Hornby has always specialized in the tales of young, rather lost men in a modern world. "About A Boy," "High Fidelity," et cetera.
Well, this time it's a young, rather lost BOY who is forced to grow up too fast, in Hornby's first foray into young adult fiction, "Slam." It's a gently humorous, rather bewildered story, albeit one that occasionally reads like a sex ed cautionary tale.
Sam is an ordinary kid, from a line of people who always messed up their lives early on. He loves skateboarding, talks to his Tony Hawk poster, wants to be a graphic art designer, and his love life is just starting to bloom. So he's blindsided when his ex-girlfriend Alicia reveals that she's pregnant, and that she intends to keep the baby.
Suddenly Sam is facing Alicia's snobby parents, his shattered dreams, and the fear that he can't be a good dad. Somehow his Tony Hawk poster flashes him months into the future, giving him glimpses of how his life will suddenly twist. And when Alicia has the baby, Sam finds that he needs to grow up in a hurry -- for his son, his parents, and the changes that are happening way too early.
To be honest, my first reaction to "Slam" was a pained groan. Nick Hornby crafts really insightful, unique fiction, and a story about teen pregnancy just seemed so.... simple. After all, there are only a few ways a pregnancy can turn out, and all but one don't make for a very long story.
But Hornby spins the story in his usual laid-back, meditative style, full of contemplative moments and pop culture references. It feels like reading a gently humorous memoir, but one with a painful sting of regret. And Hornby doesn't entirely abandon the "maturing" theme -- it's very much about growing from a child to an adult, and delicately outlines all the conflicting emotions and problems Sam faces.
And surprisingly, though you know pretty much how the story will turn out, Hornby does throw some twists into the story, such as what's going on with Sam's mother. And the whole magical-realism aspect of it -- time travel, the talking poster -- is a little awkward at first, but eventually it settles into the plot nicely.
Sam himself is a likable kid -- he's confused, scared, and tries to be supportive despite not feeling like it. But over time, we see him turning into a young man who will handle his responsibilities. The other characters tend to be thinner -- Alicia is rather whiny, her parents are contemptuous snobs, and Sam's dad is a jerk.
"Slam" is basically a younger version of Hornby's best-loved stories -- the ones that show a boy becoming a man. In this case, literally, and with great sensitivity.
Book Review: On the skids
Summary: 2 Stars
I thought this was a disappointing novel from Nick Hornby. I have read all his books, and have found them progressively better, which is unusual. I thought 'A long way down' was an excellent mix of humour and gravitas, but this one doesn't really cut it. I don't find Hornby convincing writing as a teenager; it seems a rather forced adult view that doesn't really chime with how I see my kids and their friends. The talking poster is frankly annoying pretty quickly. The comparisons with Salinger's Catcher in the Rye are absurd - it's not in the same league. Sorry Nick, I preferred you writing for grown-ups. Some good jokes though as usual, and still better than most contemporary novelists.