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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Lots of wit and some gnashing of teeth with sprinkles of insight and emotional directness. Very Nick Hornby...I quite enjoyed it.
This was very good. Lots of interesting stuff here about art, the people who create it and the fans who enjoy (or obsess over) it, along with plenty of musings about relationships and how to figure out what to do with your life.
Annie has lived with her boyfriend for 15 years. She still feels as if it is temporary. He is obsessed with the lead singer of a band who dropped out and became a recluse after his first successful album. When he releases an unplugged version of the Juliet album called Juliet, Naked, Duncan, the boyfriend, expounds how brilliant it is on a blog message board. Annie disagrees and writes an opposing opinion. Tucker Crowe, the recluse, writes her back. As her relationship with Duncan implodes after his having sex with a colleague, she embarks on a long distance email relationship with Tucker.
Fairly predictable, but Hornby does a great job describing the inner feelings of the people involved.
Fairly predictable, but Hornby does a great job describing the inner feelings of the people involved.
Really liked this one but wasn't satisfied with the ending. Also, I imagined Tucker Crowe to look like Paul Weller minus the weird haircut.
Smart and well-written, a joy to read! (Also like the movie)
I wanted to rate this a 3.5 - once it sucked me in, it was hard to put down, but it definitely took a minute to actually suck me in. I preferred it to other Hornby books, though.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first half of the book was wonderful, propelled by Hornby's great insights into human relationships, but the ending was a let down.
I really enjoyed Juliet, Naked.
Nick Hornby does a great job writing flawed characters that are both enough like us to be accessible, but different enough to provide both interest and perspective.
Annie has been content to let life pass her by. She's been in a job she isn't excited by, living with a guy she's not that excited by, sharing his hobby that she's nowhere near as interested in as he is.
The guy is Duncan, the ultimate fan of Tucker Crowe, an obscure rocker from the 70s. Tucker disappeared completely at the height of his career, and Duncan is a leader of the group of fans still speculating on what happened to Tucker. Duncan specializes in applying academic expertise to the analysis of Tucker's music.
Annie enjoys Tucker Crowe's music, but not the obsession Duncan shows.
The third player in this story is Tucker Crowe himself. He's every bit as screwed up as you'd expect an ex-rock star to be. He's finally starting to redeem himself a bit with his relationship with his young son-- the sort of relationship he does not have with any of his other 4 kids.
Duncan has an affair. Annie and Tucker strike up an on-line friendship. Tucker comes to visit one of his estranged daughters, and meets up with Annie. Madcap antics ensue, and everyone grows up at least a little.
The book is funny, mostly due to the situations these characters get themselves into. The humor makes the flaws of the characters less annoying, but also brings them to light.
Still, the flaws are part of what make the characters interesting and relateable. Two out of the three characters show considerable growth over the course of the book. It's harder to tell about the remaining one, but there is hope there as well.
Nick Hornby does a great job writing flawed characters that are both enough like us to be accessible, but different enough to provide both interest and perspective.
Annie has been content to let life pass her by. She's been in a job she isn't excited by, living with a guy she's not that excited by, sharing his hobby that she's nowhere near as interested in as he is.
The guy is Duncan, the ultimate fan of Tucker Crowe, an obscure rocker from the 70s. Tucker disappeared completely at the height of his career, and Duncan is a leader of the group of fans still speculating on what happened to Tucker. Duncan specializes in applying academic expertise to the analysis of Tucker's music.
Annie enjoys Tucker Crowe's music, but not the obsession Duncan shows.
The third player in this story is Tucker Crowe himself. He's every bit as screwed up as you'd expect an ex-rock star to be. He's finally starting to redeem himself a bit with his relationship with his young son-- the sort of relationship he does not have with any of his other 4 kids.
Duncan has an affair. Annie and Tucker strike up an on-line friendship. Tucker comes to visit one of his estranged daughters, and meets up with Annie. Madcap antics ensue, and everyone grows up at least a little.
The book is funny, mostly due to the situations these characters get themselves into. The humor makes the flaws of the characters less annoying, but also brings them to light.
Still, the flaws are part of what make the characters interesting and relateable. Two out of the three characters show considerable growth over the course of the book. It's harder to tell about the remaining one, but there is hope there as well.
Loved this book. If you liked High Fidelity, then pick this one up.