I did not find this book Hilarious as quoted on the front cover by USA Today. I found one thing mildly funny.
It's about a marriage in turmoil (not exactly a funny subject). Then introduces this weird mystical person and it just gets weirder from then on.

It was decently written, maybe even well-written.
Interesting philosophical and ontological questions were raised.
Aaaaaand that was it.

I thought about a one star rating, but thought the depth of thought was worth another star. However, I did not enjoy this book. I did not like any of the characters or their choices or their conclusions. I disagreed with the worldviews presented by the character and the book. (the last line?)

The fact that the title and the premise of what does it mean to be "good" are worthy things to consider does not mean I think this book worthy of considering (at least for most people to whom I would recommend books). Consider the questions on your own; you'll probably come to a better place than the characters did.

I found this to be very humourous, clever and subtle - written in the first person by a female GP, married with two children. Her already untidy life is turned upside down when her husband discovers an odd do-gooder with apparent healing powers and seems to totally change his personality. The story is used as a vehicle for a lot of ironic humour about affluent liberal values in North London. Great fun and well-written

This book certainly divides fans, but I didn't mind it. As always Hornby's books are very readable and easy to get through.

Middle of the road, three stars.

Nick Hornby is super funny, and always easy to read. I liked this one. Although, if you want answers to the questions of how to be good, of what a happy marriage should look like, of what our moral responsibilities are as middle-class citizens ... you won't find them here. Hornby is just as confused as everyone else, and so it ends up being a sort of perplexing and vaguely maddening read. But. I just think that I would like Nick Hornby. Even though this book asks uncomfortable questions of its readers -- i.e. do we have a moral duty to live just within our means and give up all frivolities in the name of the greater good?? If we have a spare room, is it our responsibility to open our doors to those on the street?? Or is it enough to just focus on those in your nuclear family, even if it isn't fair, even if others are suffering?? -- it's still somehow funny, and earnest, and comforting. Life is complicated and certainly never fair, and I guess it's nice to read about a character who ultimately finds refuge from these harsh realities in a Discman and half an hour of uninterrupted reading-time a day. Maybe we don't have to lead rich, beautiful lives like Virginia Woolf's sister. Maybe we can find a good life in music and a book and rainstorms and some other mundane, beautiful things. Or maybe that's not enough -- but Katie thinks it is, and I think that's okay with me.

I would recommend this one!
C u next time (or year) :)

Well-written, compelling, blah blah blah. I'm sick of books about affairs and divorce.

3,5

/ Kann man Leid vergleichen? Reicht es, sich mit seinen eigenen Problemen auseinanderzusetzen, oder ist es unsere Pflicht, uns auch um die der anderen zu kümmern?

Das Buch schafft es, auf unterhaltsame Weise ganz große Fragen zu stellen. Es zeigt die Widersprüchlichkeit des „Gutseins“ in Theorie und Praxis auf - die realistischen Konsequenzen auf gelebten Idealismus. Auch wenn die theoretische Logik noch so schlüssig und unbestechlich ist, will oder kann und wird man diese aus Bequemlichkeitsgründen doch nicht ausleben. Aufschlussreiches Buch.

London based doctor Katie Carr is kind of always pissed off with her politically Left leaning husband, David who is so angry with the world all the time; he even has a 'Mr Angry' column in the local newspaper. When David meets a faith healer DJ GoodNews (yup, that's his name!), Katie and their two children are not prepared for the huge impact a 'reborn' husband and father who want 'to do real good' will have on their lives.

Another modern Western world gem from Hornby but this time from a female perspective. What happens when you're the solo breadwinner, housekeeper and child-rearer, but you're husband 'sees the light' and gives away family possessions, houses the homeless and seeks to do real good, and suddenly despite you bearing all the weight of the family, he claims the moral high ground? What ensues is a darkly funny and at times spot-on albeit infuriating look at the self proclaimed liberal elite. Really enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek read, as much for the questions it asks of us all. 8 out of 12 Four Star read.

2023 read

Light, kind of fun, but ultimately forgettable. I'm not sure I get the whole Nick Hornby thing. I feel like he's writing for the film script (inevitable starring Hugh Grant or somebody like that) rather than putting together a decent book. I mean, it's not horrible, but there are a lot books in the library that are way better than this one...

wow. it was very funny, pretty abrupt ending but it was quite fitting for the moral of the story. will be reading more from Nick Hornby

Este libro solo podía haberlo escrito Nick Hornby, eso lo tengo clarísimo. No solo es que a mí me encante él, cómo escribe, los personajes esperpénticos (y, al mismo tiempo, tan reales) que se saca de la manga, las situaciones inverosímiles (y, de nuevo, al mismo tiempo reconocibles para cualquiera) que les hace vivir y ese humor suyo inglés diluido en pragmatismo americano que tanto me gusta. Es que, para escribir bien esta historia y que te haga reír y sentirte culpable al mismo tiempo, tenía que hacerlo él. Y es que con esta novela te ríes hasta que se te saltan las lágrimas, te sientes miserable, egoísta y superficial (y acompañado en tus defectos), empatizas con un cínico odioso y te entran ganas de abofetear a los oficialmente adorables. Un torbellino de emociones que te dará que pensar y luego te dirá que no merecía la pena comerse tanto la cabeza. LA RESEÑA SIGUE AQUÍ: https://elbuscalibros.com/c%C3%B3mo-s...

I read this entire book hoping that the author would eventually get around to posing an answer to the question that the title offers. It did provide some interesting food for thought, even though I thought he took the conceit (what if angry husband becomes extremely altruistic overnight) too far. (Why, for example, does this mean that the guy no longer even comprehends humor? It seems to be implying you have to be something of a bad person to be funny, which is so untrue that it annoyed me.)

The ending was utterly abrupt, and apparently relies on a metaphor, which the author did not do at any point prior to the last paragraph. I found both the tonal shift and the sudden ending to be jarring and unsatisfying. I feel as though the author wrote How to Be Good as a kind of narrative exercise without bothering to come up with any conclusions to the premise.

All that being said, How to Be Good is okay. It can be entertaining, and even occasionally thought-provoking. Just don't expect to find any useful sort of philosophy inside.