‘In Lucy’s experience, these were the two genders, boys and readers...’
Fever Pitch and High Fidelity, London writer Nick Hornby’s first two novels, genuinely changed my life. You wouldn’t be reading these words if not for my early introduction to those two novels, and for that, I am deeply sorry. Joking aside, Fever Pitch took my obsession with football and gave it a voice, I saw myself reflected in its pages. Similarly, and along with the film Almost Famous, High Fidelity, Hornby’s love letter to music, inspired me to write about music, which eventually led to film, which led me here. He has a lot to answer for…
Just Like You, Hornby’s latest novel (released in 2020) follows the exploits of a 42-year-old mother of two and English teacher Lucy, and her burgeoning relationship with local butcher and aspiring DJ Joseph. The kicker is that Joseph is 20 years Lucy’s junior, and they very much inhabit different worlds.
Set against the backdrop of Brexit, Just Like You is a gentle and compassionate look at all sides of the culture war. Hornby doesn’t pick sides, instead allowing his disparate characters to explain themselves. This isn’t a political book by any means, however. Instead, it is a story about love and relationships, it touches on race and sexual politics but avoids heavy-handedness or sloganeering. The characters feel lived in and genuine, and like much of Hornby’s work, his latest is a real page-turner that I devoured in a week and then missed when it was gone.
While, for my money, Hornby has never matched the white-hot genius of his earlier work, Just Like You is still a worthy addition to an almost flawless bibliography. Thoroughly enjoyable.