How to Be Good [Import] [Paperback]

Nick Hornby (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Books; Large Print Ed edition (2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754024741
• ISBN-13: 978-0754024743
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (314 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Nick Hornby is the author of the novels A Long Way Down, How to Be Good (a New York Times bestseller), High Fidelity, and About a Boy, and of the memoir Fever Pitch. He is also the author of Songbook, a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award, and editor of the short-story collection Speaking with the Angel. He is also the recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters E. M. Forster Award, and the Orange Word International Writers London Award 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not great -- but worthwhile, May 8, 2002

By 

"georgepartington" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Be Good (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed How to Be Good. Another great read from Nick Hornby, I thought, full of admiration for such a wonderful talent. Then I looked at the reviews on Amazon.com. I couldn't believe how mixed they were.

Then a pattern emerged. The ones that hated it usually started out with how much they loved his earlier work. Then they would criticize the two-dimensional characters and the unbelievable plot. Finally, for the more pretentious, there's an invitation to read "real" literature, like Dostoyevsky.

To sum up, how dare Hornby write a book about something other than "How to Grow Up"? And how dare he introduce characters that aren't "realistic"? (these people would criticize ET because it was unrealistic).

In answer to all those one- and two-star reviews on this page: I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that Nick Hornby wrote a breezy novel about contemporary adults and their everyday problems - you know, little things like trying to find satisfaction as we get older and our lives have settled into well-worn grooves - and not about the aging, but still immature, male.

And instead of a really cool protagonist, we get a weary and confused narrator. So unrealistic to be so flawed. And who can believe in a trippy faith healer and a suddenly transformed house husband? Yet all of the characters spoke and acted in ways that seemed utterly real - in the context of the novel.

I will admit that the novel seemed more like a first draft than a fully realized work, but that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. The ending felt rushed, while also containing some lovely writing about the importance of reading, as well as a moving final image (perhaps a hint of the greatness Hornby may yet achieve). But that's Hornby - even his lesser efforts contain gold. Last I checked, Van Gogh's sketches were pretty highly regarded. Not that comparing Hornby to a past master is fair. But what a pleasure to read he is. And how artfully he examines the everyday issues so many of us are concerned with.

Nick Hornby has much to say. He's still young. He hasn't produced his definitive work yet. I, for one, am looking forward to Hornby's future efforts.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ehhhh... I was very disappointed..., October 8, 2001

By 

never can read enough "mom of two" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How To Be Good

I have never read a Nick Hornby before and received this one as a birthday gift. Started out with a lot of promise and then just COMPLETELY lost steam. He didn't follow through on any of the issues he raised, they all just sort of faded away.

Also- I felt like I was reading a screenplay instead of a book, that Hornby was so obviously angling to create the film that will presumably be created from this, rather than a book. It was as gimmicky as "Liar, Liar" or "What Women Want" in its plot-what happens when the crankiest guy in the world becomes a 21st century hippie? Unfortunately, nothing happens, really. I was very disappointed in this one- it was a chore to finish.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars WOW! INCREDIBLY .... FAIR-TO-MIDDLING, April 3, 2008

By 

anonymous (Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Be Good (Paperback)

This is the selection for our book group this month. I know when it comes time to talk about the book, we'll get in a lot of discussion about what to make for dinner, what the kids are doing, etc. because no one is interested in the book.

You know the gist of the story, so I won't go into discussing that. However, I will say this -- "How to Be Good" was like reading about my neighbors or anyone I might know. The characters are typical people with typical crises in their marriage, but with what might be called atypical specifics in their problems. Big whoop. I'm not interested in reading about people much like myself.

I found myself thinking Hornby was being a bit preachy with me, the reader, trying to make me feel guilty for feeling more like Katie than like her husband, the newly sainted lover of the homeless. Well too bad, Hornby -- I still feel more like Katie when it comes to my level of compassion for those less fortunate. I'm aware of what I'm able to do to help, and I do it. I'm not dumb enough to think that putting pressure on others will solve a social problem.

To sum up, if you like reading about, well, yourself and your friends, you'll like the book. If you're a bleeding heart, you'll like the book, because you can feel vindicated for your views. If you'd rather read about interesting characters in a world not just like your own and want to come to your own conclusions about the world's woes, you'll hate this book.

I hated this book.