Juliet, Naked

Last night I finished reading Nick Hornby's latest novel Juliet, Naked. It is a book about 3 individuals. Annie who is a museum curator and long-term partner of Duncan who is an English lecturer who spends his spare time being obsessed with an American singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe who has been out of the public eye for 20 years. The majority of the novel focuses on Annie.

I have read all but one of Nick Hornby's novels. I am a big fan. I wouldn't say I was an obsessive like Duncan in Juliet, Naked but I am a fan. I read Fever Pitch on a holiday when I was 18 and I found its best qualities were that it was laugh out loud funny and nostalgic. I felt as though I could identify with almost all of it. I then later read High Fidelity which had the same qualities although this time it was about a love of music rather than a love of football. I think High Fidelity is my favourite book. The film version was great too. About A Boy came next for me. This is another excellent film as well of course. The others I didn't find quite as enjoyable as these four although I did find Slam interesting and enjoyed the non-fiction book 31 Songs.

When you read a great Nick Hornby novel you just find yourself thinking "Yes! I totally agree! I'm like that too!" There is a lot of great empathy there. Also characters in his books are often very dissatisfied with what life has brought them. Annie, in Juliet, Naked, is fed up of living with Duncan and begins to realise their relationship is one of convenience rather than love. She also lives in a little town in the North of England where nothing of interest happens or has happened for decades. I wonder whether we can all identify with this to a certain extent.

The books are also very amusing. I don't think I laughed out loud during Juliet, Naked at all but it definitely amused me and gripped me too. I read it within a week, staying up much later than I should have with work the next day due to not being able to put the book down just yet.

Hornby's books are often about passions. Music - whether its buying records, going to gigs, reviewing music etc, Football and lists. Hornby seems to love putting things into lists or at least having opinions about them. I love this aspects of his books as I love to have opinions about things and feel passionately about music, books and football.

So do read Juliet, Naked particularly if you've ever felt passionately about a little known musician or band but even if you haven't you will still identify with the real human experiences that come through in this book.