- Paperback: 244 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; 1st edition (2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140287019
- ISBN-13: 978-0140287011
- ASIN: B002HCSZME
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,707,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
How to be Good
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Product Description
How to be good
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I too found this book a little disappointing! I've read all his others and was looking forward to reading this one, however it never really gripped me. The plot seemed to swing about, leaving characters like her brother and lover incomplete. The actual idea of the book, what would happen if North London liberals really began wearing their hearts on their sleeves, becoming selfless, giving away their possessions & money and so on, is an interesting one but the trigger for it all, GoodNews, just doesn't seem right somehow. As usual, apart from some duds, the dialog and set pieces were amusing but it wasn't enough in the end.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This has been one of the most eagerly-awaited books of the year. Nick Hornby's excellent previous novels High Fidelity and About A Boy have left readers looking forward to another high-quality novel. The author's ability to translate apparently ordinary characters and situations into hilarious and observational fiction has been a trademark of his success. So all this only serves to make it more difficult to comprehend how Nick Hornby has now come up with such a lousy book.
The story sounds great - Katie Carr, the story's narrator, is unhappy with her marriage to David. She has become tired of his constantly angry moods. She has decided to end the marriage and she even begins an affair with another man. It is just at this moment that David decides to change his ways and become 'good'. And it's this 'good' word that becomes the theme for the rest of the story. Is Katie a good person? Has David now become a good person? What does it take to be a good person?
The opening two chapters of How To Be Good are pretty solid. There are the usual Hornby trademarks of funny observations and a good pace develops. But things start to go rocky from chapter three and continue to nose dive. A big problem with How To Be Good is that it is just plain ridiculous and annoying. David visits a spiritual healer by the name of GoodNews, to cure his backache. GoodNews then becomes an annoying feature for the rest of the book. He moves into the marital home and David becomes a convert. Before long, Katie has to watch whilst her husband and GoodNews embark on a number of 'good' campaigns, such as giving away their money and possessions. They even approach their neighbours in the expectation that they'll take in homeless people so they too can be good. And, naturally, their neighbours are just as keen to be saintly and so some agree to the idea.
Hornby writes okay from a woman's viewpoint and Katie should have been a truely likable character if she hadn't been allowed to fall into the category of doormat. The whole story is a circus of unconvincing and very unfunny events. GoodNews uses his mystical power to cure various ailments. David joins in with many 'good' deeds that are simply insane. Katie has to lie back and accept the fact that homeless and unstable people are going to be popping in and out of her home from now on, because doing so is a 'good' thing. Katie's two children, Tom and Molly, take sides with whoever is their favourite parent. To be fair, Tom adopts a realistic enough attitude and resents the entire 'let's all go mad' lifestyle. However, Molly is another character who behaves as only a fictional character ever could. Katie allows her daughter a level of authority within the home that is completely unrealistic.
There are some okay moments - flashes of wit that are undeniably Hornby-quality. But they're too brief and too rare. In summary, How To Be Good is a silly, unrealistic and mostly unfunny book and to have to say that about a Nick Hornby novel is unexpected.
A massive disappointment.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm afraid I found How to be Good very disappointing - was Nick Hornby on the third of a three book deal? The central character was 1 dimensional and uninteresting, the plot was thin, and the whole thing was extremely dull. In the end it just petered out, with no conclusion or resolution for any of the characters.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
First Nick Hornby book and I think I picked the wrong one
I admit to abandoning this at around a quarter of the way through the book, which I never do. I really liked the concept for the book, but after several chapters of what felt like... Read more
Published 1 day ago by varmond
Absolute rubbish
Started with an affair. Which went nowhere. Started with an interesting husband who became boring. Started with an interesting woman who became a doormat. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. E. Mills
Not much of a plot but plenty of ideas
Well, I think it is okay. The characters aren't particularly likeable (why should they be?) but they are certainly recognisable for this liberal Guardianista at least. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Fever Few
All a bit New Labour
Promised a lot.
Looked great to start with.
All fell to pieces.
Realised it was a con.
Looked great to start with.
All fell to pieces.
Realised it was a con.
Published 9 months ago by Jonathan Overton
TO LAUGH OR TO CRY?
GP Katie Carr contemplates divorcing the permanent sneer that is husband David - the bile that fills his weekly newspaper column unacceptable at home. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. D. L. Rees
Utter drivel
It has dreary yet unrealistic characters (David's sudden complete change of character after spending two days with GoodNews is never satisfactorily explained), and completely... Read more
Published 19 months ago by andyt
Not what I was expecting of Hornby
Last week my friend lent me `How to be good'. Again, Hornby approaches a difficult subject, namely marriage breakdown, with some wit and humour and yes of course there are still... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Louise
Not one of Hornby's best...
Not great. The story of a guy who's always cynical, negative and angry, all of sudden becoming an overbearing do gooder is hard to believe. Read more
Published 22 months ago by madaboutbooks
Why not just go straight to video, Nick?
There is a passage in this book where Hornby lists all the things David (one of the protagonists) and a mate hate. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Rob A. Barklamb
So so ....
I grabbed this book in Heathrow Airport while i was about to board the plane to States. I finished this book in two weeks just before i was boarding the plane back to London. Read more
Published 23 months ago by SB
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