Not a Star (Open Door) [Paperback]

Nick Hornby (Author)

Book Description

Series: Open Door | Publication Date: October 1, 2009

A funny and frank story about a mother and her colorful son. It's bad enough for a mother to discover that her son is a porn star, even worse when the nosy neighbors know first. When Lynn sees her son Mark in an adult film she is forced to ask many difficult questions. How well does she know her son? Where did he get his obvious talent? And how will she tell his father? There are some things a mother should never know...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

"The New Yorker" calls bestselling author Nick Hornby the maestro of the male confessional. His bestselling adult novels include" High Fidelity" and "About a Boy," both of which were made into highly successful movies. He lives in the UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: GemmaMedia (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934848220
• ISBN-13: 978-1934848227
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #343,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Being an adult means treating adults like adults, October 9, 2009

By 

Charles S. Houser (Binghamton, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Not a Star (Open Door) (Paperback)

First, I'm a Nick Hornby fan. He has a way of probing the minds of contemporary characters who imperfectly face the challenges life throws their way that I find both odd and credible. NOT A STAR is a short story (cleverly typeset to run exactly 69 pages) about a married woman in her forties who discovers that her adult son is a performer in adult videos. Within the course of a few days this bit of news manages to alter not only her relationship with and perception of her son, but all the other key relationships in her life as well, including her relationships with her dead father and the "porn star's" twin who died at birth. The story is very much about the weight and relative importance we assign to the events in our lives and where we turn to discover comfort, peace, and meaning.

This book is one volume from the Gemma Open Door series, "an innovative program of original works by some of our most beloved modern writers and important new voices." The Open Door books are written for adults learning to read. Unlike some materials prepared for adult literacy programs, the Open Door series (if NOT A STAR can be considered representative) does not rely on restricted vocabulary and simplified sentence structure to create a text new readers can read without discouragement. Horby gives the reader an engaging, thought-provoking narrative, believable characters, authentic dialogue, and exposes the reader to inventive word plays. He makes his prose sparkle. He does not "write down" to the reader or oversimplify in any way. He does what every reading teacher should do: he shows the student that reading can be fun and can make you think about things you might not necessarily think about on your own. As the Open Door series editors assert, "[this book affirms] the truth that a story doesn't have to be big to open the world." I guess that's one reason why people who've been reading "all their life" can enjoy NOT A STAR as well.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Short changed..., July 10, 2010

By 

Mark L. Scott "Phlegmbulance" (California, USA.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Not a Star (Open Door) (Paperback)

This is not an expansive review by any means.

First of all I'll say that this is definitely a case of quality over quantity. As a Hornby devotee I did no research, so caveat emptorme, boo-hoo - I didn't realise I was handing over $12 plus shipping for a short story.

Unless you're a Hornby completist, I advise you to wait for a cheap used copy. I was looking forward to nice, chunky belly-filling meal of a book, only to be fed this hors d'oeuvre...High Fidelity it aint!

It would have been more honest of Hornby and his publishers to have included this in a volume of short stories. My H. must be laughing all the way to the bank, but it's take him a long time to get there, dragging his big bags of fivers (grumble grumble, etc).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hornby For Beginners, November 1, 2009

By 

S. Rosen (NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Not a Star (Open Door) (Paperback)

This is, apparently, one book in a series by well-known authors to be read by beginning adult readers, which is an absolutely fantastic idea. It's a short, short story about a mother who learns that her son is an adult film star. It's a nice little story, but make no mistake, it's a little story with large print. It'll take you less than an hour to read it, if you're not a beginning reader.

Hornby always sounds like, well, Hornby, and that's a great thing. The story here doesn't really add up to much - it's a few well-drawn scenes, and before you know it, it's over.

This is a book for Hornby completists, but those who want to read his best work are advised to look elsewhere (including his latest, the wonderful Juliet, Naked).