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“What was he doing with her? How on earth could he love her? But he did. Or, at least, she made him feel sick, sad and distracted. Perhaps there was another way of describing that unique and useless combination of feelings, but ‘love’ would have to do for now”
Funny Girl is the sixth full-length novel by British author, Nick Hornby. Set, for the most part, in the mid-to-late 1960s, Hornby’s latest novel gives the reader an intimate look at the making of a TV comedy series. His TV show, cast and crew are fictional, but Hornby firmly establishes the era with historical fact, using mentions of real-life politicians, personalities and events, as well as photographs, an advertisements and a cartoon strip. By adding extracts of scripts, a book cover, reviews, and program notes, he gives the whole thing an authenticity that will delight readers familiar with those years.
Barbara Parker’s heroine is Lucille Ball, and her ambition is to be in comedy TV. She may be beautiful enough to win Miss Blackpool, but she gives it up in an instant to head to London, to become Sophie Straw, and, eventually, to audition for a BBC Comedy Playhouse show. Before too long, she is starring, as (ironically) Barbara from Blackpool, in a hugely popular sitcom series about a married couple, written by her comic heroes, Bill Gardiner and Tony Holmes, and titled “Barbara (and Jim)”.
Characters and dialogue are Hornby’s strengths, and he does not disappoint with Funny Girl. It is impossible not to like and care about this diverse bunch, despite (or perhaps because of) their many and varied flaws: vanity, confusion about sexuality, selfishness, superficiality, timidity. There is plenty of humour, much of it dry, the sort that elicits wry chuckles rather than laugh-out-loud guffaws (“Davie remained undeterred. In his mind’s eye, he said, he always saw Clive as a cowboy. Clive had always thought that Davie needed his mind’s eye tested”).
Topical themes of the sixties feature: feminism, homosexuality and the sexually permissive society (“He was talking about the times they all suddenly lived in, and how hard it was not to be a small boy in a sweet shop with no cash register”). This is a novel in which life imitates art, but also, often, the reverse, as the writers of the show rely on what they know. This funny and moving novel is another brilliant dose of Hornby at his best.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Crabtree's Collection Old Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- BOOKS054667I
- Title
- Funny Girl
- Author
- Hornby, Nick
- Book Condition
- Used - VG PB
- Edition
- 1st PB ed
- Binding
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Riverhead
- Place of Publication
- NY
- Date Published
- (2016)
- Keywords
- "Induces binge reading..."NPR "Fictionalized evocation of the era is, spot-on." Entertainment Weekly Set in 1960s London,
- Bookseller catalogs
- Humor;
Terms of Sale
Crabtree's Collection Old Books
Call or e-mail to reserve book(s). We will hold your title(s) for 7 days upon request. Books from our inventory are returnable for any reason within 7 days of receipt with prior notice those books that we obtain from other dealers as part of a book search may or may not be returnable, depending on the policy of the other dealers). Books listed are "hardback" unless "paperback" is specified. If books have a dustjacket it will be listed with its condition with the condition of the book itself. If there are questions about the condition of a book, feel free to inquire. Send check/money order with order (US$ please), or call/fax/e-mail with credit card information. We also take PayPal payments. Shipping in US via USPS media mail is US$4.00 for the first title, US$1.50 each additional title. Priority USPS US$6.00 first title, US$1.50 additional titles. International shipping individually priced. Maine residents add 5.5% sales tax, or provide sales tax number.
About the Seller
Crabtree's Collection Old Books
About Crabtree's Collection Old Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- VG
- Very Good condition can describe a used book that does show some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or...
- Remainder Mark
- Usually an ink marking of some sort which indicates that the book was designated a remainder. In most cases, it can be found on...
- PB
- ...