Slam

NH could write a sprawling, epic novel; he has the facilities to do so. Instead, he writes simpler, more relatable stories. I use the word 'relatable', because almost everyone can identify with the struggles of these characters.'Slam' could be his MOST relatable story. It's about parents... and children... and children parents. The book is narrated by a 15 yr old skateboarder who initially seems oblivious to the world, but proves anything but.The story can't be sold in the plot description; no first-time author could have gotten this book published with a 10 minute meeting. I'll bet NH would agree. His reputation brought this book to print and it could be his best work.FUNNY is the first word I use when describing NH books (I've read them all). 'British humor' isn't the proper description. He has spent much of his life in the US and understands our comedy as well as any American writer. The laughs are consistent, but he isn't a joke-teller. NH provides an inner-dialogue, where failed attempts at comedy are as funny as the spoken word.'Slam' delves into a very serious subject: teen pregnancy. A comic turn on that subject may discourage some readers from embarking, but NH keeps it classy. This is a story which SHOULD be read by teens and WILL be enjoyed by grandparents. There is very little romantic love in this yarn; it remains on the periphery. NH has too much respect for sex to trivialize it.I'll end with a bit of classic Hornby. Some context may be lost, but this is a teen's perspective on parenting:"It was hard, but it was hard in the way that holding your breath for 5 minutes is hard, not in the way that maths exams are hard. In other words, any idiot can at least have a go at it."Simple... brilliant... Hornby

I was trying to think of how to review this book and I thought of two ways. One is the simple, plot based review:Some dude gets his girlfriend pregnant and he learns life is like skating, one slip-up and your whole life can change for the worse.The problem with Hornby is that Hornby doesn't write for the plot. Sure, he usually has clever plot hooks, a single guy goes to single parent support group meetings to hit on women with a higher chance of being loose anywhere except a brothel but ends up unexpectedly bonding with a woman's kid, but the plot isn't what makes Hornby worth reading. Hornby is worth reading due to his execution - his ability to craft everymen male leads and tell their tales with a lot of wit. In Slam, the wit is missing but the male character is much stronger, much more relatable.I honestly feel like Sam, the male lead, is a character every guy can look at and say, "Yeah, that's pretty much the stuff I think and feel." I feel like this is a book women should read so they can get an inside look at how men actually think and feel and why we do or say the stuff we do.This is the first book Hornby has written where I felt like the characters were living, breathing people. I think Slam has his best developed female characters. Looking back on his earlier work, that isn't saying much, but this time he really nailed the women.The other thing about this book is Hornby is finally getting a grasp on how to end his books. With About a Boy and High Fidelity, it was clear he had no idea how to end so he had everything work out phenomenally well like a bad sitcom. In A Long Way Down, Hornby was finally moving away from the sitcom ending to the open-ended ending, but he still was grasping for a resolution. With Slam, Hornby has finally let a book end with confidence. The Q&A at the end was a cute way of saying, "I'm out of stuff to say. For further adventures of the future of Roof, write your own!"Overall, an excellent book I'll be recommending to every woman I know!

Slam is a coming-of-age story, of sorts. It is the story of a skating (don't say "skateboarding"!), Tony Hawk-worshiping sixteen year old, Sam. Sam falls in and out of love with the beautiful Alicia very quickly. But not quickly enough to keep from getting slammed (i.e., wrecking on your skateboard, or, in this case, getting a girl knocked up). Sam shares with us as he goes through the emotional whirlwind of having a child in one's teens.Hornby has a gift for giving his characters unique voices, and his Slam narrator is no exception. As always, Hornby's fiction is honest, and emotional without resorting to cheap tricks to manipulate the reader.I do tend to feel that Hornby's endings at times lack punch -- but this is, perhaps, a result of the honesty in his writing - and the fact that his novels are character driven, as opposed to some absurd tale of mystery and suspense (see John Grishem, Dan Brown, etc.) Because the characters and stories ring true, as in life there often isn't an ending, as such.Hornby is a terrific writer, who continues to produce stories and characters who are funny, sympathetic, and relatable to men (and women?) on both sides of the Atlantic. Slam may be his best since About a Boy. I'm looking forward to seeing Juliet, Naked.

I read this book after High Fidelity, which so far is NH's best. This one is better than I expected and though it's apparently listed as YA, it doesn't read as one. It kept me interested the entire time, which is the single most important thing a book can do for me, and it was believable, which is the second. I put this between the two books listed above, which is a whole lot better than I can say about most books I try to read. Money was not wasted.

An easy read, but not his finest work. A teenage pregnancy and some poignant moments but not a book that you'll struggle to put down

👍

Having enjoyed 'A long Way Down' and 'Juliet Naked' I expected to enjoy this too. Sadly I was disappointed to the extent that I struggled to get half way through this book and then just read the last couple of pages to get a gist of what I may have missed. Not much it would seem.I hated the time travel, was I missing something? Why not just write it as it happened rather than using this strange and seemingly unnecessary plot device?Can't recommend this I am afraid.

A gift. Well liked by receipient

This is another good read. I just love the style of writing and wry humour.