Hello all, sorry about randomly disappearing – I went back to my university town of Aberystwyth for a student radio and magazine reunion/celebrations. The radio station (Bay Radio) which I was Programme Manager has now been airing in various guises for ten years, while the magazine has been going for a rather impressive 60! Anywho, enough about what I’ve been doing, here’s something on what I’ve been reading.
Slam
Where did it go wrong? Fever Pitch, classic; High Fidelity, genius; How To Be Good, enjoyable; About A Boy; eminently readable and immersive; Slam…well, I don’t rate it.
‘My, my… I didn’t really enjoy that’ was my first thought on closing Slam’s back cover, which as a Nick Hornby fan it actually pains me to say. It had the backing of the usual literary reviewers, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and others, and I was wholeheartedly looking forward to a good romp through a world of likeable characters, human themes and a plot which if successfully transcribed to TV would put most dramas and soaps to shame. But even from the outset I gathered what the story was to be about, and then speculated how it might progress. Here’s the kicker…I wasn’t proved wrong. True what I didn’t expect was some bizarre episodes that didn’t really fit into the story at all, hammered home with little explanation except for a half-hearted word from an unconvinving narrator, but in all – and this is more an opinion than a review – I wasn’t impressed.
Still, after the events of the last week, where my credibility as an author was substantially reduced, I’m not sure how valid my view as a writer is. Still as a fan I’m not impressed and that counts for something. If you’re an avid fan and have to read all of Hornby’s works, then by all means get Slam and I hope you enjoy it. If not, there are better novels in your local bookstore right now – though I hasn’t to add none of them were written by me..
Nicked
Hello all, sorry about randomly disappearing – I went back to my university town of Aberystwyth for a student radio and magazine reunion/celebrations. The radio station (Bay Radio) which I was Programme Manager has now been airing in various guises for ten years, while the magazine has been going for a rather impressive 60! Anywho, enough about what I’ve been doing, here’s something on what I’ve been reading.
Slam
Where did it go wrong? Fever Pitch, classic; High Fidelity, genius; How To Be Good, enjoyable; About A Boy; eminently readable and immersive; Slam…well, I don’t rate it.
‘My, my… I didn’t really enjoy that’ was my first thought on closing Slam’s back cover, which as a Nick Hornby fan it actually pains me to say. It had the backing of the usual literary reviewers, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and others, and I was wholeheartedly looking forward to a good romp through a world of likeable characters, human themes and a plot which if successfully transcribed to TV would put most dramas and soaps to shame. But even from the outset I gathered what the story was to be about, and then speculated how it might progress. Here’s the kicker…I wasn’t proved wrong. True what I didn’t expect was some bizarre episodes that didn’t really fit into the story at all, hammered home with little explanation except for a half-hearted word from an unconvinving narrator, but in all – and this is more an opinion than a review – I wasn’t impressed.
Still, after the events of the last week, where my credibility as an author was substantially reduced, I’m not sure how valid my view as a writer is. Still as a fan I’m not impressed and that counts for something. If you’re an avid fan and have to read all of Hornby’s works, then by all means get Slam and I hope you enjoy it. If not, there are better novels in your local bookstore right now – though I hasn’t to add none of them were written by me..