While the book begins with a deceptive mundane storyline, it gathers poignancy and worldly-wise epiphanies as it progresses.
I would not recommend it to anyone who looks for satisfying conclusions. The story does not come neatly tied into a bow. However, the life of this ordinary couple creating extraordinary challenges for themselves starts going downhill soon when reality strikes.ĭoes it end well for them or not? I assume that Hornby wanted to leave it to the reader to figure that out. With the help of an alternative healer, whom he provides boarding at his house, much to the wife’s chagrin, he tries to enlist even his neighbours into his well-intentioned but quixotic projects of charity. The story moves along with hilarious incidents as the husband dreams up bigger and bigger projects of kindness. Which parent wouldn’t want their children to grow up inclusive, empathetic, and kind? But what if altruism crosses practical boundaries? But when she analyses his intentions, she does not find anything wrong. His benevolent actions often put her and her two kids into awkward situations. The difficulty in accepting this new, improved version of her husband manifests in the form of her inner turmoil. But was this what she wanted? He goes from a self-absorbed, judgemental, nit-picking columnist whose perpetual anger against everything and everyone around spills into his writing to a chronic altruist-a volte-face. At the end of it, you only want what is best for the family as a unit.Ī transgression on the wife’s part makes the man of the house turn a new leaf. However, I think the author did not want us to stand by anyone. It makes it difficult to root for anyone. Unfortunately, the onus of thinking from various perspectives falls on the wife because of the first-person narration.īut the redeeming factor of having the narrator go through emotional turmoil to explain others’ actions is that no one is perfect in this story. What makes the book interesting is that there are multiple points of view despite being a first-person narration. Written in the first person, it is the wife’s voice that you hear throughout the book. The story drags for the first few chapters, making you wonder if this is what you wanted to sign up for.
During a mundane call to remind her husband of an errand, a doctor married to a columnist inadvertently lets it slip that she wants to lead a separate life. The story begins with a declaration of intent to divorce. True to his writing style, Hornby displays his acute perception of the world around him and the people inhabiting it in How To Be Good. You think the book is about something, but it turns out to be something entirely different by the end. The more I read his fiction, the more I realise how deceptive his narration is. How to be Good is the fourth book I have read from Nick Hornby’s repertoire.
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