Tracks

August 10, 2007 in Reading, Reviews

Nick Hornby is an Arsenal fan and he looks the part – bald, middle aged and permanently disappointed. I once saw him autograph books at a Canary Wharf bookshop and mistook him for a Millwall fan. You get the idea - but on to his writing. When he is good, he can be very good. At other times, it resembles Arsenal’s football – boring in parts, showy in starts but ultimately not capable of winning anything any longer.

If anything, some of the books which have been turned into films end up being better than the books themselves. Superb moments of pathos in each of the films of Fever Pitch, High Fidelity and About a Boy.

And there is nothing wrong about his writing – I am a huge fan of 31 Songs. While I don’t know all of the songs, the idea of a soundtrack to one’s life is both compelling and appealing. My favourite book written by him. Then I read Housekeeping vs the Dirt. Same idea but about books this time. One good thought – that there is a separate tally for books bought in a month and books read that same month but again, not Champions League material. Again.