Rating: 
Summary: How to be Bad
Review: I loved High Fidelity but have read Hornby's subsequent books with increasing dismay. I suppose the tip-off should have been that the jacket cover only had reviews of his previous books--maybe there were no good ones fit to be published of this one. The premise on which this book is based is far-fetched and unbelievable--the Angriest Man in Holloway is turned into a saint by a pierced weirdo called GoodNews and then goes on to give away the Sunday lunch to homeless kids. Astonishingly enough his doctor wife (the narrator) stays with him even though he gives away his childrens' toys and forces them to entertain the most horrible children in their class just so they could be "good". It is a contrived book that is really not worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Not Really Very Good
Review: This book has a number of hooks which I'm sure will make it a best-seller. The main character and narrator is female, it deals with a lot of liberal ideas, and of course it's written by Nick Hornby. With "High Fidelity" already a terrible film and "About a Boy" being filmed, I'm sure we'll see an abysmal interpretation of this book, too.The problem with the story is, well, the story. The plot is ridiculous, and the characters are both unbelievable and frustrating. I find it difficult to enjoy any story where there are no sympathetic characters, or where the main character refuses to act to better their situation. Both of those statements apply to this story. Katie Carr is not sympathetic, she's selfish and wishy-washy and completely impotent. David Carr is self-righteous and cruel, then self-righteous and cruelly "nice". The GoodNews character is a waste of time - it's bad enough that these touchy-feely people exist, why should we waste our time reading about them, or attempting to lend their self-righteous positions credence? There is nobody to root for, and no real story to follow - just a bunch of setups for David or GoodNews to make some ... speech about the have-nots. Most maddening is the continued assertion that Hornby is "making you think". There's nothing new here. Everybody who has tried to live their life as a conscientious person knows the inherent dilemma: can you enjoy success and still be sympathetic to those who have none? There is no more honor or "goodness" in the GoodNews approach of siphoning off of society and other people, never bathing, piercing your body, and speaking from a soapbox. GoodNews makes many hot-air speeches about not wanting anything nice until everyone has it, yet he has no qualm about sleeping under a roof, or eating hot meals, and so on. It's funny how we are always able to do without the things other people want, but never what we want. I'm rather sad about this, because I waited forever for a new book by Hornby. I'd rather have waited another year than get this story, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Good could have been Better
Review: Let me start by saying that High Fidelity is one of my favorite novels at all times, and it's hard to open a new Hornby novel and not hope for the wonderfulness of that one. I think the best advice for a reader of this novel is to forget that High Fidelity exists and enjoy the novel for what it is--an exploration into the rationalizations that may have so permeated our lives that we have smugly concluded that we are "good" despite other evidence to the contrary. (Frankly, I find it commendable that Hornby hasn't wasted his talents trying to recreate his first novel, but has branched out.) Anyway, How to be Good is the story of Katie Carr, a London doctor and her crumbling marriage. Katie thinks she's a good person, mainly because she is a doctor, and she constantly keeps reminding us of that, probably because deep down inside, she doesn't really believe it. She's really not all that good, when you get down to it. She's cheating on her husband and in the opening chapter of the novel, tells him she wants a divorce over the phone. Her husband is not the easiest to live with, not very "nice" in the polite sense of the word. She wishes he would change, thinking that somehow, that would make it all better, but when he does change, she still doesn't like him much. He, too tries to be good, but in a different fashion and the juxtaposition of those two approaches makes for intersting reading. One of the most interesting things about the novel is how effectively Hornby navigates the inner workings of Katie's rationalizations, how she gets through the day, justifying what she does, still defending herself as a good person. It's a thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be good in today's modern world, if it's possible at all, without giving up all you have. It's a humorous (but not hilarious) look at human foibles, and actually might make you feel a bit uncomfortable if you see your own rationalizations in Katie's life.
Rating:
Summary: Hornby shows his stuff
Review: I, as I'm sure many readers or Hornby's previous novels, picked up this book with certain expectations and apprehensions. In "Fever Pitch", "High Fidelity", and "About a Boy" Hornby became a mouthpiece for so many of his male readers, speaking our thoughts better than we could speak them ourselves, with humor, wit and irony. And all of a sudden he comes along with a book from the female prospective and I felt a bit betrayed. I thought this was a mere experiment to stretch his artistic creativity which was sure to fail. John Irving tried it in "Widow for a Year" and he got so tied up in trying to get the female perspective right, that he seemed to lose something in his humor and plot. After the first few chapters in "How to be Good" I thought Hornby had fallen into the same trap. The main character seemed real enough, but I was missing all those observations that got me into his books in the first place. The passages which would make me go, "I thought I was the only person who thought that." But then the book turns, and I realize this book is not Hornby's usual exploration in male thought and pop culture, but a brave venture into our search for what really matters in life. Through the healing powers of exstacy induced psychic healer Dr. GoodNews, Dr. Carr's once jaded husband seems to find the easy way to enlightenment. While this would seem to be a blessing it sends her on a more complex search for what is really good. To tell you the truth, I don't know if Hornby ever gets us to the answer, but thoughtful readers will surely enjoy being given a guided tour on this journey.
Rating:
Summary: Hornby's given us a challenge, but not the one you think....
Review: The only other work by Nick Hornby that I've read is "Fever Pitch." I loved it. Loved it. LOVED it. It was genuine, hilarious, and gave me more than a little insight into a British friend of mine who *loves* football (read: soccer). So, as I was shopping for a birthday present for a friend (different friend), I spotted "How to Be Good." Perfect, I thought. Hornby's funny and, frankly, this friend could use the advice. Of course, I read it before putting it in the mail. At the end of chapter six I almost wrapped it up and sent it to it's future owner. At the end of chapter six the book is these things: very dark, very weird, and funny now and again. Dark because it's the end of a marriage between Dr. Katie Carr and her husband David. A very clear portrayal of two people reduced by their marriage to behaving even more immaturely than the children they've had. And, most frightening of all, nothing specifically happened to get them to this point--yes, Katie's having an affair, but that's effect, not cause. They're just two normal people and--horror, horror--divorce is what normal people do these days isn't it? Katie, of couse, wishes David would change. Which he does. Overnight. Into some sort of saint. Hmmmm...that's weird. So I almost put it down. But then...I owe Nick Hornby. Once, I managed to impress someone I needed to with the knowledge that Cambridge has the longest losing streak in footballing history (33 games. Hmmm...City or United..? Damn, have forgotten). So, thank you Nick Hornby. And as a token of my gratitude I give you chapter 7. Well, I wouldn't be writing this review if it hadn't all turned out for the best now would I? But know this: this is not a book like Fever Pitch or, apparently, like High Fidelity. We always recognize ourselves in Hornby's characters, but this time he's asking us to think as well. If you're irritated at this prospect, then maybe this isn't the book for you. Is it shocking that an author would want to reach out for more complex subject matter? Not in the least. My worst nightmare, personally, is reaching mid-life and waking up one day to realize that my life is mundane and unfufilling. And that I want a divorce. Apparently I'm not the only one. Hornby's decided to face these fears and its GoodNews. Both for him and for us.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange book
Review: I really, really wanted to love this book. Nick Hornby has been one of my favourite writers for the past years, as I'm sure is true for many many people. "High Fidelity" & "About a boy" were both hilarious & also very true to life. "How to be good", on the other hand, is none of the two: Not funny, & not true to life. It's true that the whole theme of the new-agey-guru DJ GoodNews coming to live in a middle-class family home could be funny. His bossiness, his irritating righteousness, his "I'm right & I'll tell you how to live your life since my way is the only way", his way of taking up space (& I don't mean it only literally) & feeling he's entitled to it...All this could be a great parable of the new-age, "I'm ok-you're ok", eastern religious craziness that has become common ground for so many people nowadays. From page to page I expected Nick Horby to take a stand about all this, to become angry at DJ GoodNews & his rudeness (because, apart from anything else, GoodNews is rude & presumptious as hell)...But Nick Hornby never really takes a clear position. It's as if he hasn't really decided what it is he wants to say in this book. Does DJ GoodNews have a point? Is his way an option? This is never answered clearly. And what about Katie Carr? Why doesn't she get angrier? Why doesn't she ever confront her husband about everything that's been going on? His loss of a sense of humour, for one, which for many many people I know would be so terrible to have to stomach. One good thing I can say about the book is that it's a quick, easy read. Maybe, apart from anything else, because it constantly seems to be making a vague promise for something meaningful coming up. And you wait & wait & wait & nothing does come up. All in all, "How to be good" is an unrealistic book, & apart from that it fails, in my opinion, to make a clear point in the end. Not making a clear point could be acceptable if we were talking about a normal, realistic, day-to-day situation. But creating a whole story where everything is so unreal & unlikely, & then failing to explain to the reader what has been going on...this, to me, was the real problem with the book. It fails to deliver on what's it's been promising since page one.
Rating:
Summary: Hornby chronicles life's ambiguities
Review: The twist of How to Be Good's premise is that a couple is on the brink of divorce not because the husband turns bad but because he turns "good". When Katie's husband returns from an encounter with a hippie faith healer, he abandons his Angriest Man in Holloway persona and tries to live the good life, good as in convincing the neighborhood to take in homeless people and giving his children's toys away to the less fortunate good. Katie believes she is a good person, too--she's a doctor after all and thinks that all those -isms are bad, but she isn't happy with her husband's transformation when his "goodness" starts to intrude upon her own life. Hornby does an excellent job of tackling the portrait of a marriage on the brink of divorce, particularly the indecision of it all. And the exploration of just what it means to be "good" gives us liberals something to think about. And, as in all of Hornby's books, there are parts filled with incredible humor, remarkable observation, and "real" characters in all their unlikable complexities. The only real drawback for me is that Katie seems less well-developed than either Rob in High Fidelity or Will in About a Boy. While we are given insights into Will and Rob as they become more self-exploring as thier books progress, Katie's character seems more stagnant. She's not happy with either version of her husband, she's not happy in her affair, but we really don't get a full enough picture of her to understand why she is so unhappy with herself because we don't get much context of her ouside of her marriage. While I find the ambiguous nature of Hornby's books without the happily ever after endings to be refreshing, it is more frustrating here. Will and Rob have learned enough about themselves by the end that we are hopeful. With Katie, the sense is not one of hope but of resignation.
Rating: 
Summary: very disappointing...
Review: Hornby is a fine writer, his characterisation is often spot on, his narrators are believable, honest portrayals of everyman and his dialogue is exemplary. Strange then that he should decide to use little of these talents on this book. This is a lazy novel, written by a successful novelist who clearly wasn't trying too hard - perhaps he had a deadline to meet. None, and I mean NONE, of the characters in this book are even remotely three dimensional - some even struggle to make it into two dimensions. Hornby was taking a big risk in his choice of narrator, not that she was a woman but that she was so completely unlikeable. The same can be said for all the major characters, the upshot of which is that whenever we reach a point of potential conflict (the meeting of husband, wife and lover for example) we simply do not care what happens. The moral message behind the book is clumsily handled and half the time you feel it is Hornby supporting the views of the husband and the other half you think he is making fun of them. The conceit he conjurs up to create the moral dilemmas is also pretty far stretched. The only thing saving the book from one star is the occasional flash of brilliance - an odd bit of dialogue or description which is classic Hornby. One small piece worthy of mention is when one of the narrator's patients who suffers from mental illness describes his first trip to the supermarket after the death of his mother - the first time he has had to do this alone. It is profoundly moving and an exemplary piece of writing and a crying shame that it is wasted on such an average book. If this had been Hornby's first novel there would never have been a second. Avoid.
Rating: 
Summary: A new outlook
Review: Hornby does it again. It's quite different from the single male character perspective that is given in his previous novels. Anyway, it's definitely worth the pickup. Like his other books, it is an extremely quick read.
Rating:
Summary: Nick Hornby Scores Again
Review: It seems as though Nick Hornby has fallen into some sort of progression, from relationship hopping in High Fidelity to the establishment of a strong emotional relationship in About A Boy to a failing relationship in How To Be Good. Each successive novel has become a bit more serious in tone yet no less entertaining. How To Be Good follows Katie Carr through the emotional ups and downs of a failing marriage and her quest to be "good". Yet she has a bit of competition when it comes to be good because of her husband's sudden shift in attitude. What ensues is a very well rendered and quite humorous look at relationships, why we stay in them and how fragile they are. How To Be Good is definitely not as funny as Hornby's past novels but it seems more heartfelt than his previous efforts. The trade-off is a positive one. So read How To Be Good and enjoy.
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