by Nick Hornby
Very humorous tale of a husband who
becomes too nice.
Reviewed by: Alan McClymont
About Alan McClymont
I guess that everyone who has been in a long term
relationship has had a moment when they suddenly
realize that they don't really know what they are
doing anymore and they have to re-evaluate what it is
that they want. Everyone faces this problem in
different ways and chooses to resolve the issue in a
way which feels best for them.
Katie and David Carr are facing this exact problem.
Katie, feeling bored with her marriage, has recently
had an affair. She feels that she can justify this as
David (her husband) has changed from someone who was
simply funny and has become an angry, cynical,
sarcastic (and, yes, funny) individual who is almost
impossible to live with. She spends all of her time
wishing that he would just be nice to someone for a
change but to no avail.
Until, that is, David meets DJ GoodNews, a faith
healer and all-round do-gooder. This chance meeting
turns David into someone who tries to see the good in
everyone and everything. Suddenly David is giving
away their children's toys, asking homeless people to
live in their house and generally being as charitable
as he can.
As anyone can imagine a serious amount of stress is
placed on an already shaky relationship. Katie wants
to tell David that he is too good but how can she
possibly criticize? Their friends don't want to know
anymore as they miss David's humor. Their children
begin to take sides.
This is a story which looks at the subject of being a
good person. How would a person who is completely
good be received by their friends, their family and
their neighbors? The answer, it seems is not very
well. It appears that we like to hear people
preaching but practicing is quite a different matter.
Page-turner is a phrase which I would have to apply to
this one. I felt compelled to keep reading no matter
what I was doing and I actually stayed up all night to
finish it on the day that I started to read.
Surprises are rare but I felt the continuous need to
find out just what David could possibly do next. The
comedy of the writing is what really takes this book
to a different level, however. I found that I was
actually laughing continuously and part of my reason
for turning the page was to find the next joke. It is
rare to find so many jokes which you haven't heard
before and which are genuinely unexpected.
I would say that this is a must-read even if only for
the novel way in which the moral 'be careful what you
wish for' is presented.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: How to Be Good
Copyright © by Alan McClymont, 2003
Reviewed by Alan McClymont :
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-- Neither here nor there - by Bill Bryson
-- Lucky Jim - by Kingsley Amis
-- Round Ireland with a fridge - by Tony Hawks
-- The River at the Center of the World
- by Simon Winchester
-- The Rape of Nanking - by Iris Chang
-- Timeline - by Michael Crichton
-- How to Be Good - by Nick Hornby
-- Notes from a Small Island - by Bill Bryson
-- Player Piano - by Kurt Vonnegut
-- Wilt - by Tom Sharpe
-- Number9dream - by David Mitchell
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