Ed's Reviews > Juliet, Naked

After wrapping on a particularly rough read (Uwem Akpan's "Say You're One Of Them"), I did not hesitate in the least in choosing Nick Hornby's latest novel, "Juliet, Naked," as my next read. I knew I was entering the Hornby comfort zone, an entertaining and engaging read with plenty of laughs and a good dose of keen observation along the way.

These days I try to avoid knowing too much about a novel, relying on word-of-mouth or my own past experiences rather than a back cover or inside flap blurb. With "Juliet, Naked" I knew the meaning behind the title, the name of a recently discovered "unplugged" album named "Juliet" from an American singer-songwriter, Tucker Crowe, who suddenly and unceremoniously retired 20 years ago. This disappearance only creates a cult following of rabid fans who collect and analyze bootleg copies of old concerts or go on pilgrimages to important places in his Crowe's career. It is on one such trip from their dreary English seaside village to the United States that we meet Crowe-ologist Duncan and his long-time girlfriend Annie, who has grown to appreciate Crowe's music but merely tolerates his obsession with it. The release of the "Naked" album sends shock waves in their relationship as well as Crowe himself and how Hornby weaves this all together was quite pleasant and surprising.

While I am not in similar life situations of the trio of characters, they are around my age (40-ish) so there is still plenty that personally resonated with me, wondering how you got to where you are now and where you are going from here, you know mid-life crisis stuff!

Overall, just love Hornby's story-telling and his skill in slipping in healthy dose of "a-ha" or head-nodding moments. For instance, a last line before a section break goes: "Over the next few weeks, that one word was subjected to more analysis than it could probably stand." I find Hornby kind of gently washes over you, thus the 4 star rating, despite what seems to be a rave here. For me, Hornby is that proverbial warm, dependable, comfortable jacket that feels so good to slip on (pure metaphor since jackets are rarely required here in Phoenix) and "Juliet, Naked" did not disappoint.