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.

Loathed it. The female voice so self conscious and irritating, not convincing at all. Couldn't believe it had so many good reviews.

Didn't like Juliet, Naked either (in fact I gave up half way through).

I loved his earlier work though (especially High Fidelity).

You've nailed it, LeQ

I liked it too. A lot. Enjoyed the female voice, in fact. I thought she was quite convincing. I didn't like A Long Way Down though, at all, and gave up half way through Juliet Naked as I got bored (and I seldom give up on a book). Potentially Hornby has lost it, which is a shame because I bloody loved everything he had written until that point.

I agree lequeen - however Juliet, Naked is actually set somewhere other than Holloway (a northern seaside town and america). A lot better than HTBG but still with an exasperating female character. He really cannot write anything other than 2d women - you never get the sense of what makes them tick.

Fever pitch is by far his best book, and I loathe football, but is not a novel of course.

He should go back to writing from the perspective of self-involved geeky blokes. That formula really worked - god know why he changed tack and started to write from a woman's perspective.

I don't know that it is that a male cannot write from a female perspective - though I am racking my brains trying to think of an example - rather that NH can't really. His female characters in his other books (the girlfriend in High Fidelity, the two main women characters in About a Boy) seem rather 'other'.

An example of where I think a woman has been able to really write a man well is Hilary Mantel and Cromwell.

Is interesting how some people love this book and some people hate it.

I think Anne Tyler does a male viewpoint quite well - a certain kind of male, anyway. I don't know what men would think of her characters, though. (Apart from Nick Hornby who is apparently an admirer. See, I managed to stay on-topic thre.)

Agree with your list LeQueen but also the girlfriend always has to be a better person than the man - it's almost like he's trying to apologize for being male.

i liked it, but was slow to get into. not read any others but about a boy is one of my favourite films.