In the last few years, Nick Hornby’s novels have had the “I couldn’t put it down and so I got nothing done this weekend” effect on me. I read my first Hornby novel, A Long Way Down, when I was living in Guatemala for 3 1/2 months (taking care of my new baby son, Diego…I didn’t have anything else to do!). I was drawn to its concept – four individuals who meet at the top of an infamous London rooftop, all of them ready to jump off for different reasons. I fell in love with Hornby’s witty prose and his uncanny ability to turn a subject so taboo into something funny and poignant. This quote from the Boston Globe captures the essence of this novel:
“A mordant, brilliant novel… A Long Way Down ought to be required reading for writing students who want to know how to evoke one set of circumstances with its opposite, how to capture unspeakable pain with humor, how to suggest camaraderie with trenchant, piss-all irony, how to turn a novel based on suicide into a cello suite about how to go on living.”
—The Boston Globe
Then, I read Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, About a Boy, and How To Be Good. I did watch the movies, Fever Pitch and About A Boy, and while I enjoyed the movies from an entertainment perspective, no movie could capture Hornby’s unique style or evoke the same kind of emotion as his writing can.
This summer, I was sitting in the library’s YA section and I noticed SLAM. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not typically drawn to YA fiction…but since Nick Hornby wrote it, I was definitely going to read it! It was excellent! And so I recommend it for youth and adults alike. It’s an easy read; a compelling and insightful story about a teenage couple that get pregnant and grow up quickly as they navigate parenthood and their changing relationship. The Miami Herald says this about it:
“Offers wry insights into the male psyche, making this book a good bet for Hornby fans, no matter their age.”
—Miami Herald
His latest novel, Juliet, Naked is next on my list.
Here’s his website if you want to preview any of his novels:
http://www.nicksbooks.com
-Lauren