mamalemma's review against another edition
4.0
Despite the book title and the description, this is less about Sophie Straw than a tale about a group of writers and actors of a successful
Comedy show in the 1960s; their lives, loves, and professional growth. As such, it was more than I expected. These are well drawn characters, rife with the arrogance and self-consciousness of youth during a turbulent decade. Each of the characters manages significant growth during the book, making it somewhat of a group "coming of age" tale of twenty-somethings. I don't know that I've taken any life truths away from it, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable. Recommend.
Comedy show in the 1960s; their lives, loves, and professional growth. As such, it was more than I expected. These are well drawn characters, rife with the arrogance and self-consciousness of youth during a turbulent decade. Each of the characters manages significant growth during the book, making it somewhat of a group "coming of age" tale of twenty-somethings. I don't know that I've taken any life truths away from it, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable. Recommend.
missamandamae's review against another edition
5.0
I love Nick Hornby! His characters are so delightful, so nuanced. This story of a young British woman wanting to become the next Lucille Ball was just a fun read. The story progressed at a quick pace, offering a look at how BBC worked in the 60s, with various glimpses of British pop culture. Highly entertaining read!
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
4.0
Barbara Parker has grown up in post-War Blackpool and she dreams of becoming a comedienne like her heroine Lucy Arnaz but working in a department store the chances seem low. However Barbara is blessed with looks and determination so, after winning Miss Blackpool and then running away to London, her chance encounter with a theatrical agent gives her something to build on. Barbara doesn't want to be a 'hostess' or a 'dolly bird' so she badgers her agent from proper auditions and her talent and personality win her a part in a new 'Comedy Showcase'. This leads to a popular sitcom and the newly re-christened Sophie Straw is a national treasure but in the swinging sixties times, and the BBC, have to change.
Nick Hornby has successfully managed to plough a furrow between popular fiction and critical acclaim. His work is not highbrow but there's more than just an entertaining story here. Looking at post-War changes in British society and particularly the media Hornby weaves a fictional biography through real-life events and people. There's nothing new or innovative here but, as ever, Hornby's ability to create characters that we connect with makes this a wonderful happy read.
Nick Hornby has successfully managed to plough a furrow between popular fiction and critical acclaim. His work is not highbrow but there's more than just an entertaining story here. Looking at post-War changes in British society and particularly the media Hornby weaves a fictional biography through real-life events and people. There's nothing new or innovative here but, as ever, Hornby's ability to create characters that we connect with makes this a wonderful happy read.
caynasharp's review against another edition
5.0
AMAZING devoured it couldn't get enough, yet I'm not left wanting anymore. The characters are so varied, well developed and complex. It's funny, raw, and everything I could possibly want out of a book. Hornby really did a good job writing about real people who I'm now convinced existed.
yasmine_w's review against another edition
3.0
This was pretty good but around the midpoint, I felt like Nick Hornby was beating me over the head with a handful of themes: Nostalgia! Everyone gets old! The world keeps turning! LIFE. Despite that, it was an enjoyable, summer-y read.
booksaremysuperpower's review against another edition
3.0
A good offering from Nick Hornby, though not a great one. I am a Hornby fan, but I will say this: he has NEVER been a fantastic writer of women. Man-children, yes, this is where he succeeds; women, not so much.
So I shouldn't be so surprised that the most disappointing thing about "Funny Girl" was its titular character, Sophie. She was neither funny (a fact that still puzzles me) nor really the main driver of the entire novel. Why he chose to title his book "Funny Girl" rather than "Funny Show" is beyond me because the best part of the story is the show.
I spent the first 60 pages or so in pure befuddlement. I am told this is a funny book about a funny girl. But when we first meet Sophie (whose real name is Barbara), a small town English beauty queen who dreams of being the next Lucile Ball, she is as dull as dishwater. Her rise from beauty counter nobody at a department store in London to landing a comedy series at the BBC was laughably speedy- she spends, I don't know, 2 or 3 months in a state of panic about becoming an actress before she meets an agent and BAM, books her first serious gig. For those 2 months, though, her journey is just plain bleak and I was anxious to find out when the funny was going to show up.
I mention this because I feel as though Hornby was trying to make some sort of statement: here is a gorgeous ingenue who dreams of making it big and does so quickly, wowing people left and right with comedic chops that no one expected. Whether he's making fun of Hollywood and its churning out of lovely ladies, or he's commenting on the fact that comedic women are seldom given a chance, I'm not sure. But what I am almost sure about is that Hornby didn't have a clear picture on who Sophie was. She's blonde and big busted, but that's about as much physical description that he gives her. She wants to be like Lucile Ball. Ok. Well, is that what her style of comedy is like? Is she into prat falls? Does she make faces? Is her comedic timing just so? We are told it is, but we never see it. Just once, I would have loved for Hornby to give us a scene from the show in full detail where we get to see Sophie be funny. I didn't need a literal translation and blow-by-blow of what makes Sophie funny, but I can read humor in a story and know when a character is funny and she just wasn't.
By the time the book gets into the world of the BBC the novel picks up tremendously. And it gets funnier, too, even just with the title of the show: Barbara (and Jim). I also got a sense of how terrible television was in England during this time and that the BBC comedy series was a revelation for its time. One of the best scenes in the book is between director and producer Dennis and a critic of the show (who is having an affair with Dennis' wife) during a live chat show where Dennis defends broad comedy. There were other funny moments in the book, but that one was a highlight.
As far as being a novel set in the 60s, I was expecting an Austen Powers-esque Swinging London. Don't get your hopes up. If the author hadn't told us it takes place in the 60s there's no way of knowing. The only indication that it's a book set in the 60s versus the 50s, for example, is the opening of the play "Hair" and the beginnings of Free Love that hits London rather late. Hornby does touch on homosexuality with his two other main characters Bill and Tony, writers for the show. Homosexuality is still illegal in the UK at this time, but you never get the sense that Bill, who is the more out of the closet than Tony, is in any real danger. Rather than apply any depth to Bill's situation or put him in any real threat of losing his job, Hornby just skims over the matter gently.
Much of the book is even keel. There are no dramatic highs or lows, no real comedic stakes. All of the characters, except Bill, go on to have great careers and relatively happy personal lives. I wish something more could have happened in this book. I liked living in the world of the BBC and seeing how comedy started to blossom during this period, but I wasn't wowed by the story to the point where I could say this was a really great Nick Hornby novel. The scenes between the two writers were by far the most funny and gave us great insight into television writing and how the line between reality and fictional TV can easily be blurred.
And I have to admit: every time I heard "BBC" mentioned in the book (I listened on Audible) I started to sing the BBC Song from Austin Powers. It made the book much more enjoyable.
So I shouldn't be so surprised that the most disappointing thing about "Funny Girl" was its titular character, Sophie. She was neither funny (a fact that still puzzles me) nor really the main driver of the entire novel. Why he chose to title his book "Funny Girl" rather than "Funny Show" is beyond me because the best part of the story is the show.
I spent the first 60 pages or so in pure befuddlement. I am told this is a funny book about a funny girl. But when we first meet Sophie (whose real name is Barbara), a small town English beauty queen who dreams of being the next Lucile Ball, she is as dull as dishwater. Her rise from beauty counter nobody at a department store in London to landing a comedy series at the BBC was laughably speedy- she spends, I don't know, 2 or 3 months in a state of panic about becoming an actress before she meets an agent and BAM, books her first serious gig. For those 2 months, though, her journey is just plain bleak and I was anxious to find out when the funny was going to show up.
I mention this because I feel as though Hornby was trying to make some sort of statement: here is a gorgeous ingenue who dreams of making it big and does so quickly, wowing people left and right with comedic chops that no one expected. Whether he's making fun of Hollywood and its churning out of lovely ladies, or he's commenting on the fact that comedic women are seldom given a chance, I'm not sure. But what I am almost sure about is that Hornby didn't have a clear picture on who Sophie was. She's blonde and big busted, but that's about as much physical description that he gives her. She wants to be like Lucile Ball. Ok. Well, is that what her style of comedy is like? Is she into prat falls? Does she make faces? Is her comedic timing just so? We are told it is, but we never see it. Just once, I would have loved for Hornby to give us a scene from the show in full detail where we get to see Sophie be funny. I didn't need a literal translation and blow-by-blow of what makes Sophie funny, but I can read humor in a story and know when a character is funny and she just wasn't.
By the time the book gets into the world of the BBC the novel picks up tremendously. And it gets funnier, too, even just with the title of the show: Barbara (and Jim). I also got a sense of how terrible television was in England during this time and that the BBC comedy series was a revelation for its time. One of the best scenes in the book is between director and producer Dennis and a critic of the show (who is having an affair with Dennis' wife) during a live chat show where Dennis defends broad comedy. There were other funny moments in the book, but that one was a highlight.
As far as being a novel set in the 60s, I was expecting an Austen Powers-esque Swinging London. Don't get your hopes up. If the author hadn't told us it takes place in the 60s there's no way of knowing. The only indication that it's a book set in the 60s versus the 50s, for example, is the opening of the play "Hair" and the beginnings of Free Love that hits London rather late. Hornby does touch on homosexuality with his two other main characters Bill and Tony, writers for the show. Homosexuality is still illegal in the UK at this time, but you never get the sense that Bill, who is the more out of the closet than Tony, is in any real danger. Rather than apply any depth to Bill's situation or put him in any real threat of losing his job, Hornby just skims over the matter gently.
Much of the book is even keel. There are no dramatic highs or lows, no real comedic stakes. All of the characters, except Bill, go on to have great careers and relatively happy personal lives. I wish something more could have happened in this book. I liked living in the world of the BBC and seeing how comedy started to blossom during this period, but I wasn't wowed by the story to the point where I could say this was a really great Nick Hornby novel. The scenes between the two writers were by far the most funny and gave us great insight into television writing and how the line between reality and fictional TV can easily be blurred.
And I have to admit: every time I heard "BBC" mentioned in the book (I listened on Audible) I started to sing the BBC Song from Austin Powers. It made the book much more enjoyable.