"Funny Girl" by Nick Hornby

In 1960’s England, 18-year-old Barbara wins a local beauty pageant in Blackpool.  But spending a year as a small-town beauty queen isn’t want she wants.  She’s dreaming of stardom and wanting to follow in the footsteps of the incredible Lucille Ball.  So she sets off for London where she starts out as a salesgirl and ends up a television star.  But real life never plays out the way it does on television, and along with her friends and workmates Tony, Bill, Dennis, and Clive, Sophie experiences the highs and lows of stardom and breaking television barriers.

Funny Girl, by Nick Hornby, is an humorous novel about a colourful cast of characters in the early days of television.  Fans of Lucille Ball and British humour will be wonderfully entertained.

Nick Hornby is one of those authors who I must read every book they release as soon as it is released.  He is also one of those authors who I love everything they put out.  And yet, if you ask me to tell you what his previous books are about, I’m at a loss for words.  I have no clue why this happens, and I’m not even sure what that has to do with this review, I just thought I’d share.

Anyways, as soon as I heard about Funny Girl, I knew I wanted to read it, not just for the reason I mentioned above, but because I’m one of those people who devoured episodes of I Love Lucy as a child (in reruns I feel I should mention) and will still laugh until my sides hurt every time I see an episode.  I was hoping this book would give me those same feelings and it definitely achieved this.  

I love old television comedies and I love British comedies and thus the plot and setting of this book was perfect for me.  It was so much fun to go behind the scenes of a television show I’m sure I would watch if it were real.  The only thing I found about this book that limited my enjoyment of it was I really couldn’t understand most of the cultural references due to my not being born until a few decades later and also not being English.   I think if you have that going for you and you are a lover of all things television, then you will really enjoy this book.  That’s not to say that you shouldn’t read the book if you can’t relate to the culture or time, just be warned there are a lot of unfamiliar references.


The reviews of this book are all over the map.  Some people are absolutely loving it, some people aren’t, many feel that this isn’t a typical Hornby novel.  I can’t compare it to previous Hornby novels because all I can remember about them is that I loved them.  It is definitely a long book that probably could have been shorter.  But I still recommend this book.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it actually broke me out of a reading slump.  Despite the length I breezed through it because I was all wrapped up in it.  And I will wait for and read Hornby's next novel with much excitement because I will remember that I enjoyed this one very much.

Comments

  1. Becky GApril 16, 2015 at 3:39 PM

    I hate when reviews on books are so drastically different, but then again that usually makes me read it so I can make up my own mind. I recommend a funny read by J Morgan McGrady called It's a Ball. Hilarious read, she is too funny. Her site is jmorganmcgrady.com for her info. A great author and a great fun read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Becky GApril 16, 2015 at 3:40 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 17, 2015 at 4:31 AM

    I really liked this book too and never got around to writing a review of it. I didn't find it too long, and I do remember being engrossed in it. I still haven't read all that many of Hornby's books, but i have liked what i've read. And can i recommend THE HIVE by his sister, Gill Hornby. Obviously humour runs in the family.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Guestbook" by Holly Martin

Image
Welcome to Willow Cottage - throw open the shutters, let in the sea breeze and make yourself completely at home.  Oh, and please do leave a comment in the Guestbook! Annie Butterworth is the landlady of Willow Cottage, a beautiful cottage in the English countryside with a colourful array of guests.  Every guest is encouraged to write their thoughts in the guestbook and do they ever!  Love, loss, happiness, sadness, guilt, affairs, births, and surprises, it’s all in there.  Even Annie’s life gets caught up in the book. As a young widow, Annie herself is going through some changes.  And the appearance of her brother-in-law, celebrity crime writer Oliver Black isn’t helping.  As the guests of Willow Cottage go about their seaside vacations, Annie and Oliver must figure out how to move on in their lives, and most importantly, if they will do so together. The Guestbook by Holly Martin is a lovely, sweet, and unique book.  Written in the form...
Read more

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

Image
I am so excited to be participating in the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop, hosted by Judith at Leeswammes' Blog . There are over 50 participants hosting giveaways on their blog between October 15 and October 19. Be sure to hop around and check out all the awesome giveaways! My Giveaway Award season is underway in the Canadian literary world and to celebrate I would like to send someone some fabulous Canadian literature. One lucky winner will be able to choose which book they would like me to send them. Here are the choices (click on title to find out more about the book): A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (bought at library sale) Life of Pi by Yann Martel The Last River Child by Lori Ann Bloomfield The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden (bought at library sale) Two of the books were bought at a library sale as mentioned. They are still in good condition but are obviously well-loved and do still have the library stickers on them. The other t...
Read more

"Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home" by Esi Edugyan

Image
“But where are you from, really?” This is a question that Canadians of all walks of life are often asked.  Part of our identity as Canadians is that we all come from somewhere else, and no matter how long ago, it is a defining part of who we are.   But for many people, this question is about more than where their family came to Canada from.  For many, it brings about a question of home and belonging.  These are the ideas that Esi Edugyan explored in her 2013 Henry Kreisel Memorial Lecture, Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home .  Born in Canada to parents from Ghana, Esi Edugyan has travelled to and lived in various countries, all the while searching for her identity and coming to understand the meaning of home. As an author, Edugyan also reflects on Canadian literature and the notion of the “Canadian story.”  Her wildly successful novel, Half-Blood Blues , was set outside of Canada, and something she often heard was that it was not a t...
Read more