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corene's review against another edition
4.0
I'd never read Nick Hornby and am glad I did. A lighthearted read
karenleagermain's review against another edition
2.0
I love Nick Hornby, but "Juliet, Naked" is by far his weakest novel. The plot was so inconceivable that it made the entire story silly. None of the characters were remotely likeable. The story read like it was made of lead, plodding and painful. The book was lacking Hornby's signature wit. It had a few interesting things to say about fame and obsession, but it failed to hold my interest. I really hope that he gets back on track for his next novel!
the8th's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, but I came out feeling a bit empty. The ending is lazy, and there's not too much to think about afterwards. It's a pretty honest depiction of an old, long relationship. Tucker was written pretty well, too. I think perhaps the lack of mystery, confusion, and depth to the writing left me wondering what sort of novel this would qualify as, but to be honest.. there wasn't anything I learned or took from reading it. It's just a fun, light read for moments when you need that.
lindseysparks's review against another edition
5.0
I tend to think Hornby's novels make better movies than novels because of all of the dialogue and the light feel, but this is definitely meant to be a novel. Most of the story takes place in the characters' heads and it's told from several perspectives. He created people who felt real and were distinct - I hate it when an author writes from different perspectives but they all sound the same. I think Hornby would make a good writing teacher, or at least his works would. Read this to learn about perspective and inner monologues, his other novels for dialogue, his book reviews for how to talk about books without sounding pompous.
Despite being a fast, fun read this novel has a lot to unpack, which I guess makes sense because the book is partly about being a fan and unpacking a musician's lyrics and life. Duncan is obsessed with a singer and takes his partner along for the ride, then they end up meeting him and discovering a lot of their assumptions were wrong. There's a lot about art and what makes it real and how what you know of the creator impacts the art. There is also a lot about what it means to waste your life and what may seem wasteful to one person doesn't to another and even if you feel like you wasted time with someone or on something that doesn't mean that whole time was wasted. Then there was quite a bit about love and how you can't really love someone you don't know or spend any time with, even if that person is your kid or parent or whatever. This just felt so honest to me. Most people don't want to admit to that. You don't love someone just because they are related to you. You may feel an obligation to love them but unless you actually know them you can't really love them. I loved that Hornby didn't try to neatly wrap everything up and have everyone love each other at the end. Life is messy.
Despite being a fast, fun read this novel has a lot to unpack, which I guess makes sense because the book is partly about being a fan and unpacking a musician's lyrics and life. Duncan is obsessed with a singer and takes his partner along for the ride, then they end up meeting him and discovering a lot of their assumptions were wrong. There's a lot about art and what makes it real and how what you know of the creator impacts the art. There is also a lot about what it means to waste your life and what may seem wasteful to one person doesn't to another and even if you feel like you wasted time with someone or on something that doesn't mean that whole time was wasted. Then there was quite a bit about love and how you can't really love someone you don't know or spend any time with, even if that person is your kid or parent or whatever. This just felt so honest to me. Most people don't want to admit to that. You don't love someone just because they are related to you. You may feel an obligation to love them but unless you actually know them you can't really love them. I loved that Hornby didn't try to neatly wrap everything up and have everyone love each other at the end. Life is messy.
lizzina's review against another edition
2.0
When I started the book, I was really happy to finally have found something difficult to put down. This hadn't happened in a while, so the story between Duncan, Annie and Tucker was really catching my attention. Somehow, the book started to slow down at some point, and by the end of it, it didn't really hit me. I probably could say it really annoyed me, actually.
I probably didn't even understand the ending (what about Grace? Whatever happened was not so clear to me, and it was not explained at any point before the end of the book), or maybe I am not a desperate person whose only purpose in life is having a child, no matter who the dad is.
Disappointing.
I probably didn't even understand the ending (what about Grace? Whatever happened was not so clear to me, and it was not explained at any point before the end of the book), or maybe I am not a desperate person whose only purpose in life is having a child, no matter who the dad is.
Disappointing.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
It's clear that Nick Hornby is becoming a better writer of fiction, since his characters are no longer only thinly-veiled versions of himself. This novel features one of my least favorite devices - fictional works of art that are sooooo great and amazing - but he mostly pulls it off. Tucker Crowe, the reclusive singer-songwriter and his legendary album Juliet are objects of obsession to a small group of fans on the Internet. The book is alternately narrated by Tucker, his fan Duncan, and Duncan's girlfriend Annie.
saroz162's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first Nick Hornby novel in several years (the last would have been Slam and A Long Way Down, which I read in relatively close proximity to each other), and while I still enjoy Hornby's work, I'm finding myself spotting the tropes that are starting to become a little too repetitive: grown men in arrested development, women looking for fulfillment, an obsession with a cultural hobby that both fills and reveals a critical void in the lives of its practitioners. In no way is it a bad story, but Juliet, Naked just doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table - except, perhaps, to elucidate Hornby's growing pessimism toward modern culture and the virtual world in which so many of us choose to drift away our lives (says the woman reviewing a book on the internet!). I don't actually disagree with him, but it can get a little wearying trying to care about these washed-up characters, each of whom fundamentally realizes that their lives have not mattered - and that there may not be time or energy left to do much of anything about it. That's certainly a catalyzing message for the reader, but at 8 CDs of narrated audiobook, it's an increasingly tough slog to the (by a certain point, inevitable) conclusion. Hornby treats his characters and situations honestly, which is entirely to his credit, but I do find myself wondering if he only has variations on this story to tell.
dizzybell06's review against another edition
2.0
Not sure how I feel about this book. This is the first book I have read by Nick Hornby and I am still tying to figure out his writing style. This book was an easy read at times and a little hard to get through at other times. I would have liked a more clear cut ending.
lavoiture's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book, much more than I expected. I picked it up at the library because, well, why not? I thought that the Annie character was a very well-written female character, especially considering that Nick Hornby is a man. Some of the lines made me laugh out loud and some of the lines had me nodding my head in agreement--yes, that *is* what it's like after a relationship ends. I was impressed at how true some of Annie's thoughts were, and I like Tucker Crowe quite a bit as a character. I felt Duncan was a bit one-dimensional and rather annoying, and he didn't really feel like a main character to me. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending, but I wasn't disappointed...rather hopeful, I guess.