Title: How to be Good
Author: Nick Hornby
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 244
Rating: 8/10
Nick Hornby – How to Be Good
Well, I typed ‘Nick Horny‘ not just once but twice whilst preparing this review – I’m sure it’s a sign of something, but I’m not quite sure what. This is only the second book of his that I’ve read (I’ve also read About a Girl), and it’s only the third that he wrote – I actually get annoyed, because a reviewer from the Spectator described it as ‘Vintage Nick Hornby’. How can it be vintage, if it’s only his third book?
All that aside, it’s actually a reasonably enjoyable novel, which follows the story of a doctor called Katie and her family life – Katie’s just had an affair, and David is an angry, cynical bastard. Then David turns over a new leaf and decides to be a good person instead of a bad one, and the rest is history.
David starts acting strangely, giving the contents of his wallet to charity, inviting a spiritual guru to stay and even quitting his gig as a newspaper columnist, ‘The Angriest Man In Holloway’. It’s simultaneously funny and emotional, and you really feel for Katie because she struggles to be as ‘good’ as her husband, despite the fact that she’s always thought of herself as a good person. And it’s pretty cool how the novel makes you re-evaluate your own actions, too – so start being good.
Nick Hornby
