for hornby - disappointing - Rated 
I have been a great fan of Nick Hornby's writing for a long, long time now. I enjoy his style, all his novels impressing me with their dry sarcasm and spot on observations.
Therefore, I was really looking forward to Slam - so maybe I expected too much. This has been his weakest work for me personally. It's still undeniably funny; due to Hornby being a brilliant writer. But something about the story left me feeling indifferent towards what I had read; it's not something that will stay with me, which is disappointing considering Hornby's normal standards.
Teenage Kicks - Rated 
I wasn't particularly looking forward to reading Nick Hornby's `Slam', his first teenage novel. It was nineteen years since I was last a teenager and even then I think I was probably too old for the term to really stick. However this was a novel by Nick Hornby whose `High Fidelity' is my favourite novel; whose `Fever Pitch' is my favourite memoir; I think you get the idea, I like Nick Hornby, I don't however like teenagers. Anyway there was nothing for it, I had to roll up my sleeves, grit my teeth, grasp the nettle and take the book by the spine.
I'm so glad I did, what a fantastic and painfully funny book. Certainly Hornby's best since `About a Boy' with which it sets a fairly consistent tone. This is quite remarkable as `Slam' is written in the first person as a teenage boy. Although `About a Boy' was very insightful into the mind of an adolescent boy and his relationship with the adults around him it didn't have to do it in the boy's voice. `Slam' is written in a very convincing voice of a fifteen year old boy, although the language and passions for music and skating very much tie the novel to the present the spirit in which it is written ties it to teenagers of any generation and consequently I can feel a certain empathy for a teenager I could obviously have fathered.
I don't want to tell you anything of the plot as it would spoil the book to hear about it in my voice rather than `Sam's', trust me it's better than the blurb which relies too heavily on the Tony Hawks fandom to give a balanced appreciation of the book.
I think that the reason that Sam's voice in `Slam' works is that it still resonates with the same passion as Rob's did in `High Fidelity'. Perhaps the reason Hornby and even I can understand this character so well is that we belong to the first generation that never grew up, we are still essentially teenagers. The four hundred or so middle aged men jumping up and down to `Teenage Kicks' at a recent Undertones concert I attended possibly suffer from the same malaise.
On the skids - Rated 
I thought this was a disappointing novel from Nick Hornby. I have read all his books, and have found them progressively better, which is unusual. I thought 'A long way down' was an excellent mix of humour and gravitas, but this one doesn't really cut it. I don't find Hornby convincing writing as a teenager; it seems a rather forced adult view that doesn't really chime with how I see my kids and their friends. The talking poster is frankly annoying pretty quickly. The comparisons with Salinger's Catcher in the Rye are absurd - it's not in the same league. Sorry Nick, I preferred you writing for grown-ups. Some good jokes though as usual, and still better than most contemporary novelists.
Getting slammed - Rated 
Nick Hornby has always specialized in the tales of young, rather lost men in a modern world. "About A Boy," "High Fidelity," et cetera.
Well, this time it's a young, rather lost BOY who is forced to grow up too fast, in Hornby's first foray into young adult fiction, "Slam." It's a gently humorous, rather bewildered story, albeit one that occasionally reads like a sex ed cautionary tale.
Sam is an ordinary kid, from a line of people who always messed up their lives early on. He loves skateboarding, talks to his Tony Hawk poster, wants to be a graphic art designer, and his love life is just starting to bloom. So he's blindsided when his ex-girlfriend Alicia reveals that she's pregnant, and that she intends to keep the baby.
Suddenly Sam is facing Alicia's snobby parents, his shattered dreams, and the fear that he can't be a good dad. Somehow his Tony Hawk poster flashes him months into the future, giving him glimpses of how his life will suddenly twist. And when Alicia has the baby, Sam finds that he needs to grow up in a hurry -- for his son, his parents, and the changes that are happening way too early.
To be honest, my first reaction to "Slam" was a pained groan. Nick Hornby crafts really insightful, unique fiction, and a story about teen pregnancy just seemed so.... simple. After all, there are only a few ways a pregnancy can turn out, and all but one don't make for a very long story.
But Hornby spins the story in his usual laid-back, meditative style, full of contemplative moments and pop culture references. It feels like reading a gently humorous memoir, but one with a painful sting of regret. And Hornby doesn't entirely abandon the "maturing" theme -- it's very much about growing from a child to an adult, and delicately outlines all the conflicting emotions and problems Sam faces.
And surprisingly, though you know pretty much how the story will turn out, Hornby does throw some twists into the story, such as what's going on with Sam's mother. And the whole magical-realism aspect of it -- time travel, the talking poster -- is a little awkward at first, but eventually it settles into the plot nicely.
Sam himself is a likable kid -- he's confused, scared, and tries to be supportive despite not feeling like it. But over time, we see him turning into a young man who will handle his responsibilities. The other characters tend to be thinner -- Alicia is rather whiny, her parents are contemptuous snobs, and Sam's dad is a jerk.
"Slam" is basically a younger version of Hornby's best-loved stories -- the ones that show a boy becoming a man. In this case, literally, and with great sensitivity.
Slightly disappointing teen debut - Rated
Just finished reading Slam, the new Nick Hornby book, and his first foray into teenage fiction. To be cynical, it's as if Nick had said "I'd really like to sell more books. Maybe one way I could do that would be to write something that would be sure to get on school reading lists. Maybe a Catcher in the Rye-lite but with more humour and a single, hot-topic, theme."
Now for starters, I have to say that theme is one of zero interest to me. (And I won't spoil it by telling you what it is.) In fact, if I'd known the theme, I maybe wouldn't have read the book. I don't think there is a lot of substance to Slam other than the theme. And I think that maybe Nick thought the same. To make the whole thing more interesting he has resorted to using two devices. The first is Sam's (the protagonist) inner dialogue with skateboarding legend Tony Hawks. Or rather with statements from Hawk's autobiography. This is a not uninteresting technique and provides some fine humorous moments. I am far more troubled by the second: sending Sam forward in time to educate him on what the future holds for him.
Speaking as someone who reads a lot of teenage fiction, it seems to me like he has misjudged his audience and done them something of an injustice. Despite the "adult" theme, Hornby has oversimplified his technique to the point where his writing is lacking the sophistication and richness that I have come to expect. He could well be writing for a 10 year old.
So what did I like about Slam? Well the trademark Hornby humour is there. However as the theme gets "heavier" it tends to dry up somewhat. And regardless of my comment about the lack of richness, Hornby can't help writing extremely well. The whole thing flows beautifully. So much so that I finished it in a single sitting - couldn't put it down. As far as this 43 year old can tell, he has done a reasonable job of getting inside the head of a 15 year old boy and speaking with his voice. Even if that voice uncannily reminded me of Holden Caulfield from time to time.
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