Review of Funny Girl

Funny Girl by Nick Hornby
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Reading during the school year is vastly difficult. I was never the kind of guy to be reading more than one book at a time before I became a teacher, but now, if I want to read anything for pleasure, it seems to be necessary. That being said, there were whole weeks when I wasn't able to pick up this book, which gave me a segmented experience with the whole thing.

I am a huge, ridiculously loyal, "all-time top 5" fan of Nick Hornby. When he puts something new out, I MUST read it. Honestly, this is not my favorite by him, but I still gave it four stars. I thought it had a very interesting cast of characters, from the "Funny Girl" herself, first known as Barbara, then as Sophie Straw, then cast as a woman named Barbara on a television show to Tony, Bill, Clive, and Dennis, who surround the production of the TV series. I liked Barbara (Sophie(Barbara)) immediately due to her wanting to escape the mundane life for which she was destined. Could Blackpool be the Amarillo, Texas of England? Perhaps.

I did, however, feel that in the space of the novel, that some of the other characters lacked development and became cliches, but it really could have been my segmented experience with the book. It could also be that I got over-involved with Sophie's character from the get-go, and believed in my mind that we would be taking this ride with Sophie and that the other characters would just be supporting cast. Nonetheless, I felt there was some underdevelopment except maybe for Clive, who only works as a walking cliche. Bill was a character that seemed very stereotypical to me, and I don't feel that he should have come off that way. Tony had some fascinating moments, including his ambiguous (even to him) sexuality. Dennis seemed to mostly hide in the background (which makes sense for a television producer) until he becomes more central to the events.

Hornby does a magnificent job of painting a picture of swinging London on the verge of sexual, political, and ideological revolution in the 60's, but unlike many books set in the time period I have read before, the main character doesn't get completely swept up in the ephemera of the time. She adapts to the new London while still holding on to part of her Blackpool roots. I found the character of Sophie likable, relatable, and (most importantly) believable.

The author surrounds the events of the books with people real and fictionalized as well as pop culture events that make the story of Barbara (and Jim) seem real and made me as a reader, feel like I was reading non-fiction at points. I felt like a fan of the fictional serial, despite never having seen an episode.

I would recommend this book to Anglophiles, Hornbyphiles, and to film and television history buffs. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

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