has anyone read How to be Good by Nick Hornby and liked it?

[KeepOrfThemCarbs]

I usually like his books - but think this was a steaming pile of cack. What on earth is it trying to say? Its just a load of tedious North London wank.

It received rave reviews so I presume I am thick and missing the point.

Good namechange

Yes, I thought the initial idea was quite clever but then he had nowhere to go with it. Mind you, he is a bit of a smug North London git at the best of times...

Yes, as much as I liked High Fidelity and About a Boy, they all follow the same theme - angry and list obsessed bloke, pragmatic and soulless woman, north London locations.

He can't write a convincing female character, I think that's the problem. I think he is better when he writes from the perspective of a misfit bloke.

Juliet Naked is another one - it started brilliantly but then went down a very strange path.

Haven't read Juliet Naked - got bored of him after that very self-indulgent one about suicide.

But yes, he is crap at women. Essentially in his head he is still an inadequate, sexually frustrated 20-something who is continually baffled by women's 'odd' behaviour, and he's never managed to break out of that mindset.

Yes, I liked it and better than his other books.

i read this and liked it, mainly because of the terse marriage - thought that was quite accurate. Not sure now though when i think about others comments here re Horbys' ability to write a convincing female protagonist

I agree - he is really tiresome. The bloody man is 50. He needs to change his shtick really (mind you he is wildly popular and loved by the critics so perhaps not).

He is (or rather writes as he is) a unreconstructed man who seems slightly narked at the presumption of equality of the sexes, however because he is a liberal sort he has to play along with the premise, whilst secretly loathing it. All his female characters are dislikeable I think because I think he actually dislikes women anyway.

The terse marriage was good at the beginning. But then it went into the realms of the ridiculous.

I just wanted to clout the whole lot of them by the end.

Liked the marriage part, didn't like the ended. Rather like Susan Townsend's The Woman who went to bed for a year.

I liked it, though found it annoying in parts.

The vicar singing 'one two three four get with the wicked' springs to mind.

have a vague recollection I didn't like this- is it about a waster type of guy?

Godawful book!

Aren't they all?

It's about a crappy marriage and they invite a faith healer type cliche to live with them and the husband goes from an angry cynic to wanting to do good in the world.

It did start well - but the character of the woman who narrates the story was really unconvincing imo, and any author in this day and age who describes the act of sex as 'making love' in a non-ironic way deserves to be lambasted.

Ah yes I remember it now

hated it

I really liked it. But then I've really liked all his stuff.

I thought the woman was pretty convincing - it's quite hard for writers to create an opposite sex narrator, I think.

Loved Juliet, Naked. Thought it was very funny. And the central woman character was very likeable - not sure why people are saying he hates women.

No - as you say, it was a steaming pile of cack IMO.

I liked High Fidelity and various others along those lines but this was just sooo annoying.

He does a good job of writing domestic argument type dialogue though.

yawn yawn yawn iirc good for insomnia

I agree, it was a load of rubbish, and I loved High Fidelity, Fever Pitch and About a Boy. I read it ages ago so can't remember much of it, but being very peed off at wasting time hoping it would get better. He was poor at writing from the woman's point of view and nothing really happened. Total waste of paper.

I liked it.

I hated it :o.

In the minority here but I loved it. Have re-read a few times and it's my favourite NH book. Also re-read A Long Way Down but only cos I couldn't believe how bad it was first time round and thought I must have missed something - hated it even more second time

Hope - might be What did you think of Juliet, Naked? Know I've read it but can't seem to recall anything about it so thinking not great but obviously not as howlingly bad as ALWD...

I liked it!! I found myself thinking about it long after I'd finished it,about the whole how to be good aspect of it :)

Wasn't a fan of High Fidelity,though.I have Juliet,Naked but not read it yet