Funny Girl by Nick Hornby (Penguin, £7.99)
In this warm and funny novel, Nick Hornby pays homage to the television comedy culture of the 1960s—and examines the changing role and perception of women during the sexual revolution. Barbara Parker, a pretty blonde northern girl, wins Miss Blackpool in 1964. But five minutes after her victory, she dumps the tiara and makes her way to London to find success as an actress in a television comedy about a young married couple. Hornby, who has written the scripts for several successful feature films, has huge fun with the scenes in which the comedy writers come up with ideas. The dialogue is sharp and funny: worthy of his heroes, the comedy writing pair Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Also included in the book are genuine photographs from the era, adding to the sense of its authenticity.
Barbara, who takes the stage name Sophie in London, is at the emotional heart of the book—though her presentation is unsentimental. When her father is taken ill, she refuses to interrupt rehearsals to go back and visit him. She might look like a dolly bird to the married men who regularly try to seduce her, but she has the social poise of a born performer. The love affairs she embarks are hardly deep romances, but she always knows what she is getting into.
Hornby excels at writing highly entertaining and easy-to-read novels that touch on serious themes. In Funny Girl, he has succeeded once again.
In this warm and funny novel, Nick Hornby pays homage to the television comedy culture of the 1960s—and examines the changing role and perception of women during the sexual revolution. Barbara Parker, a pretty blonde northern girl, wins Miss Blackpool in 1964. But five minutes after her victory, she dumps the tiara and makes her way to London to find success as an actress in a television comedy about a young married couple. Hornby, who has written the scripts for several successful feature films, has huge fun with the scenes in which the comedy writers come up with ideas. The dialogue is sharp and funny: worthy of his heroes, the comedy writing pair Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Also included in the book are genuine photographs from the era, adding to the sense of its authenticity.
Barbara, who takes the stage name Sophie in London, is at the emotional heart of the book—though her presentation is unsentimental. When her father is taken ill, she refuses to interrupt rehearsals to go back and visit him. She might look like a dolly bird to the married men who regularly try to seduce her, but she has the social poise of a born performer. The love affairs she embarks are hardly deep romances, but she always knows what she is getting into.
Hornby excels at writing highly entertaining and easy-to-read novels that touch on serious themes. In Funny Girl, he has succeeded once again.
