Rating: 
Summary: Makes you think....
Review: This is the first Hornby book I've read - it won't be the last. Written from the view point of a thirty-something working woman, wife and mother, dissatisfied with her life, blaming this largely on her grouchy husband's attitude, this very funny (but not in a Laughing Out Loud way) book really puts a twist on what happens when you do your best to "be good." Interestingly, you can read it as a light summer read (but you'll certainly be disappointed in the ending). You can read it alone (but it yearns to be the Topic of Conversation.) And you'll be wasting your time if you expect it to supply answers for you. In the beginning, Kate Carr tells her husband David she wants a divorce. She doesn't quite mean it, but it slipped out. Anyway, she can't get much support from her brother and her best friend, or even from a minister she sort of holds hostage. David doesn't beat her. In fact, he is the home maker in the relationship, staying home with their two small children and writing his column, while she (how good can you get?) carries on her medical practice. In fact, she's the one having an affair, however meaningless it might be to her. She just isn't satisfied with her life. Somewhere along the line, David has a new age style ephiphany, when he's healed by a Cult of One hippie leader, GoodNews, who soon moves in with the Carrs. David has a complete turnaround in character -- he acquires all of the behaviors Kate's been wanting him to have. He is thoughtful, helpful, and honest. He loses the sarcasm and therefore his column, which was based on sarcasm. He tries to do good -- not just for the family, but beyond the family -- he wants everyone in the neighborhood to add a homeless kid to their family. He urges his own kids to give up old and new toys. He tries to mend old family relationships. Still, this isn't quite what Kate wants -- she finds herself turning snarly, with her liberal values challenged face to face (well, yes she has always wanted to help those who are less fortunate, but not on such a personal level!) The middle part of the book is the funniest. If you read it, expecting the ending to give you the answer, you'll have missed the point of the book. There is a bit of dark humor here as the liberal in the family becomes the conservative, and the happy ending that should come when one is Doing Good proves to be difficult to find. The very ending -- the very last sentence -- was a shock to me. I'd expected an ending with definition, and just as in real life, there isn't one. A book that might be well read and discussed in a group, certainly a book to make you think!
Rating: 
Summary: The Push-Me, Pull-You
Review: There is a scene towards the end of "How to be good" which so summed up my reaction to the book that it nearly but not quite knocked me off my stool. The narrator Katie Carr, a doctor and not a religious woman by nature, attends a Catholic Mass (along with maybe half a dozen others). She participates in the singing (up to a point) and feels (important this) slightly embarrassed when the priest (or vicar or whatever, I never have known which is right) goes too far. You get the impression that Katie is with the representative of the church up to a point (wanting the best for others, all of that, but wanting a little, wanting something, for herself and her children) but feels embarrassed (with herself as much as anybody else) when the service becomes (to paraphrase Michael Caine's "Alfie") too churchified. That's how I felt (and feel) about this book. I am there, enjoying myself, up to a point and then, quickly, virtually instantaneously, I feel embarrassed and want to hide the book beneath a newspaper or another (weightier) book. There is, however, a good reason for this. But we'll come to that. Initially, the plot of the novel reads like one of those ads you get in the back of a newspaper. You know: lonely, thirty-six, looking for fun; seeks companion, non-smoker, GSOH, own head of hair, all that. In this case - in the case of "How to be good" - the ad would read: Katie Carr, married to David, but bored and fed up, two children, one of whom she is not sure she always likes, one of whom does not really like her most of the time, having an affair but not really knowing why, seeks - what? Reasons to go on living, most likely. That is how it would start. Within the first chapters of the novel, however, there is a kind of transformation. David, the husband, formally responsible for the "Angriest Man in Holloway", a ranting column in a local newspaper, turns over a new leaf. He becomes good. More good than Katie (who, as we said, likes to think of herself as good - like most of us - without actually doing all that much to warrant the title and, besides, actually liking "things" like food in the freezer, computers for her children, the odd book or CD). Which would make for an interesting dynamic, if it wasn't for . . . Ah yes. The reason for that embarrassment. David turns over a new leaf following his healing at the hands of a soothsayer called GoodNews. David brings GoodNews to live with the family. The family accepts GoodNews (or, at least, only voice disapproval through sarcasm) and the novel rolls on. Or rather, the novel disembarks, leaving you standing on the quayside wondering just what happened. Because, the thing is, crucially, you stop believing in the reality of the book when GoodNews shows up. It even feels like Katie does too. She continues to narrate events (with all of the undoubted finesse Hornby has for recording the vacillations of the human mind), and question her responses, but there is no doubt that the whole thing feels - peculiar. Which leaves the novel like an overturned tortoise, struggling to get back on its feet. The whole thing becomes a little silly - because you can't help but feel - well, she would throw him out, wouldn't she? Wouldn't she? If somebody's husband just went too far, wouldn't they struggle to recreate an air of normality? Or would they just - let things happen? I don't know. As it is. What you are left with is that curious beast, last seen ambling alongside Rex Harrison in the film of "Dr Doolittle": the push-me, pull-you. In essence, neither one thing or another and suffering as a consequence.
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow Pop Drivel
Review: I read and enjoyed "High Fidelity," but this book is junk. I feel as though Hornby is pulling one over on us, dashing this book off in the time he could scrounge between New Yorker articles and conference calls with his publisher. I would be more forgiving of the flat plot, dull characters, and failed thematics if I felt that he was giving it his all. We know from High Fidelity that he is capable of storytelling that uses pop culture references and flip Britishisms as texture but ultimately hits on something more meaningful. In "How to Be Good," he asks an interesting question (the title) but does nothing with it. If you don't care about any of this and would be satisfied reading Nick Hornby's grocery list in a pretty binding, click "Add to Cart." If you're interested in exploring a character's ethical crisis, skip this book. Try Dostoyevsky.
Rating:
Summary: Hornby gets Religion
Review: It would be tempting to call this one of the best beach books of the year. Its offbeat humor and breezy voice, the tour de force of its plot (trouble arises because a main character turns good, not bad), its trenchant satire of the tired conventions of social behavior, and its earnest but sometimes misguided characters all contribute to the urgent pace of a great beach book. But that label does not do justice to Hornby or his novel, for underneath the genuine humor and wacky plot turns, Hornby is also dealing with some of the biggest themes in literature, raising ethical questions many other authors shy away from, while considering, in an obviously religious sense, the implications of what constitutes a good life. Katie Carr, a conscientious and clear-thinking doctor, has enough on her hands trying to deal with her marital problems, and she never dreams that every aspect of her life will soon be turned upside down by husband David's sudden conversion from snide cynicism to pure altruism. He gives away his children's favorite electronic amusements, invites D.J. GoodNews, a faith healer and unschooled preacher, to move in with the family, embarks on a crusade to have all his neighbors donate their extra bedrooms to homeless street children, donates the family's meals to homeless shelters, and generally tries to lead a totally good, unselfish life. But pure goodness leads to total havoc as the gap between good intentions and practical reality widens. With wit and sensitivity, along with an unfortunate bit of moralizing, Hornby considers issues of marriage, family, social responsibility, freedom, and obligation, creating a novel which is thoughtful, in addition to entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner for Hornby!
Review: The thought of Nick Hornby, chronicler of modern male behavior, writing from a woman's perspective might be considered heresy to those of us who have enjoyed his two previous novels, as well as his autobiographical account of soccer obsession, Fever Pitch. But, in Katie Carr, Hornby has created probably his most believeable character yet. The book greatly succeeds in forcing those of us who consider themselves liberal to question their own beliefs. Is it enough, Katie asks, to read the Guardian, vote Labour, and give spare change to the poor once in a while? Like High Fidelity's Rob and About A Boy's Will, Hornby isn't afraid to portray his protagonist's dark side. She's aware that she's selfish and materialistic, but she tries to rationalize it by saying that she's a doctor and an attentive mother, and therefore a good person. And who among us doesn't attempt to justify our flaws? The reader's enjoyment of the book will largely depend on their perception of the plausibility of David's transformation from self-righteous jerk to self-righteous do-gooder. But Hornby guides us through these waters by making Katie skeptical of it as well, with heavy doses of the ironic humor and pop culture references for which Hornby is known.
Rating:
Summary: Nick hornby writes about different things
Review: When I read About a Boy and High Fidelity I felt that Nick Hornby was writing to people in thier 20's and 30's who are single. In how to be good I found him to be writing to a different audience, as he has aged so have his topics. Instead of writing about single life and the drama that occurs there, he writes about the problems of family life. While not necessarily targetted at me this book was very funny. At times I laughed outloud at some of the absurdity that took place. I would reccomend this book for it is very good. It is different than both High Fidelity and about a boy.
Rating:
Summary: Nick Hornby tackles "Good"
Review: Nick Hornby's latest once again revolves around relationships, but this time from the point of view of a married woman, Dr. Katie Carr. Katie is tired of life, specifically her life with her cynical, overweight husband David, her children Tom and Molly, her patients, some of whom are "heart-sunk", i.e. lost causes, and her best friend who doesn't even listen to her. Katie decides to have an affair and once David discovers this he decides it is time to change. With the help of his new found friend/sage GoodFriend he stops writing his newspaper column in which he complains about old people and just about everything and decides to give away most of his worldly posessions and those of the family, also. He is trying to become Good. Katie is not pleased- this is not the change she wanted. By becoming Good David has become Boring. How to Be Good is wickedly clever and I found myself laughing aloud on the Berlin subway (a cultural no-no, but I believe even this book would bring a smile to most Germans' faces) The book is not just about witticism, however. It provokes the reader to think about being Good. What is it to be Good? Hornby's answer is original and so is the telling of it.
Rating:
Summary: Katie is a real woman?
Review: How To Be Good is great, I enjoyed Hornby's language as usual, but the novel doesn't excite me as HF did. In my opinion Nick is sort of weak in creating a female psicology... Sometimes Katie is not as real as Rob, she kind of thinks as a man. Of course this is the only shortcoming in an otherwise great book. Nick is one of my... "top 5" writers ever, but this time I cannot give him a full score.
Rating:
Summary: Just OK
Review: I couldn't seem to understand what the authors motivation for writing this book was. At times it seems to be an exploration of the issues relating living a 'good' life in todays economic climate as seen through the hilariously naive eyes of two of the characters. Not to be taken seriously but then again not half as good as High Fidelity.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Bad
Review: If you finish this book then it is a tribute to your perseverance. It is a turgid, boring novel where the characters are just wooden props that are pushed about to help present the writer's 'clever' ideas. As well as suffering Hornby's trite insights into the dynamics of a failing marriage, we are served up his views on the ethics and morality of middle class Britain: it's painful to read these shallow observations dragged over 300 patience testing pages. If this was a first novel submitted to an editor he'd write back saying that the work shows promise, and that he'd be happy to consider the next book. Unfortunately for us Hornby is an established writer, and this diatribe has been served up to the reading public. The book has achieved some outstanding reviews from critics. For example, the UK's Sunday Times call it "a biting clever novel of ideas... profound, worrying, hilarious, sophisticated, compulsive." Well bite me; I'm worried about anyone who thinks this is a decent book. It's a case of the Emperor's clothes: Hornby's other books were so good, it's hard to believe that he knew how to be this bad.
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