Every time I pick up one of his books, I’m reminded of
why I enjoy reading.
It’s simple: I enjoy storytelling. And although it’s the reason why I like
movies and gaming, there’s something about reading a good story that connects
with me more than the other two mediums ever could. I’ve done some thinking and, for myself, I’ve
figured out why. With (most) movies or
games, you’re told a story and you see the action. Even if it’s dialogue, it’s still
action. Everything you see is after the
fact. You’re not really given a glimpse
into the thought process, the weighing of options and possibilities and
everything in between. Even the
expositions in movies give you only so much.
That’s where a good book has its advantage. The thought process is allowed to be
dissected. You get to see what goes
through a character’s head even before he or she makes the simplest decision. You’re given history as to why he or she
might feel a certain way. The thought
becomes richer and deeper. And it’s this
very reason that makes a book more relatable, more connectable. It parallels reality as you have that
build-up, that drama in your head, that playing out of scenarios before you
make some significant decision in your life.
You just need to match the right story with the right person.
But I digress. The
book!
Juliet, Naked tells the story of Annie and Duncan, a
couple who came to be not because they were initially in love, but because
circumstantially, it was fitting. They
had similar interests, so why not. The
most prominent and central interest between them was in the form of Tucker
Crowe – a famed rock musician in the 80’s somewhat akin to Leonard Cohen or Bob
Dylan.
Tucker Crowe, who was a huge star in yesteryear,
disappeared into obscurity at a club one night at the height of his fame. Over the past two decades since his
disappearance, a cult following was built up around him, fueled by the advent
of the internet.
The drama begins when an unreleased live and unplugged
album of Crowe's most famous album "Juliet" arrives at Duncan and
Annie's doorsteps, aptly titled "Juliet, Naked". Duncan, as soon as he listens to it, is
enthralled; it's the best thing he's ever heard. He quickly posts up a glowing review on the
internet in response. The internet geeks
explode. It's the newest material
they've heard from Tucker Crowe in two decades and they bawl in delight.
Annie, however, has a different sentiment.
To her, it's not such a great album. It's in fact, shitty. Not usually one to give into the internet
fanboyisms as Crowologists are wont to do, she drafts up a rather negative
review. As soon as it's up, she's hit
with a wave of backlash from the geeks.
But despite all the noise and internet ruckus on forums,
her review catches the eye of someone in particular. Someone quite important to the fanboys. Yes, Tucker Crowe himself. They begin to build a secret relationship
online, and it's here, that the drama escalates.
The story swings from Annie’s perspective to Tucker’s and
a bit of Duncan’s to give you a full spectrum of views.
As I was suggesting early on, what made Juliet, Naked really
work for me was the relatability of the characters. Sometimes they think how I think and do
things like I do. As I was reading the
book, there were multiple times when I was on the subway, banging the book
against my head because my idiocy felt validated by the characters!
After reading Juliet, Naked, I realized that it helped me
verify either one of three things. That:
a) I’m not a complete
fucking mess,
b) Everyone’s a
complete fucking mess; or
c) I'm not a
complete fucking mess because everyone's a complete fucking mess.
Just reading the way Hornby writes his characters, I’m
convinced there’s no way that the thought processes aren’t from personal
experience. I can’t be the only one like
that! This is a testament to Hornby’s
writing and why he continues to be my favourite author. There’s no other author that I’ve read where
each book I pick up consistently makes me say, “I do that too!”.
The way he writes about relationships, and not even
necessarily the relationships themselves, but everything surrounding them,
continues to echo with me. And it’s not
just romantic relationships, but relationships in general encompassing all branches
like friendships, familial, strangers, etc.
On the whole, I think I enjoyed Hornby’s Slam more, only
because it focused on the adolescent way of thinking and often times, well...
“I’m just a boy inside a voice”.
That’s not to take anything away from Juliet, Naked which
is quite an enjoyable read. It hits all
the right emotional cues and is laced with Hornby’s style of humour
throughout. If you’re not a Hornby fan,
I think this is the way to go. Either
this or High Fidelity. Start there. Til next time, later geeks!
Comments