A couple of months ago, I stumbled across the cover of Nick Hornby’s newest novel, and its title brought me to an abrupt halt: Funny Girl. Now, to be completely honest, my attention was grabbed since this book shares the title with one of my favorite musicals (starring my favorite diva, Barbra Streisand), which follows the rags-to-riches story of real-life Fanny Brice, actress and comedian with — shall we say — unconventional looks.
Fanny Brice’s story has been close to my heart for many years, and the thought of getting to read one at least similar was very intriguing to me. I made sure to pick up a copy as soon as it was available.
As it turns out, my undying love for the musical was a bit of a hindrance. As I started the first chapter, the stark difference between these two stories was that the book’s main character, Barbara — an aspiring actress and comedian — was not held back because she was not pretty enough, but rather that she was too pretty. I hate to say that I was almost put off by that fact. (*Note: My association with the title was an unfair one to hold while trying to dive into a new story, but this is how life works.)
After reading the first chapter, I actually put the book down for several days, unsure of whether or not I wanted to continue. But with an approaching library due date, I needed to make a decision. Thankfully, I gave the book another shot and ended up devouring the rest of it in just a few days (as a slow reader without the largest attention span, this is quite a feat).
The book’s story follows Barbara Parker in the 1960s — a beauty queen from Blackpool in northern England who runs to London as fast as she can in the hopes of becoming the next Lucille Ball. After changing her name to Sophie Straw, she manages to charm her way through an audition and star in her very own show.
What I really enjoyed about the book was the vast array of characters. Though Barbara/Sophie is the title character and really gets the story going, there are a handful of people that create the ensemble of main characters, all revolving around the show. There’s Sophie; Clive, her lead counterpart; Bill and Tony, the show writers; and Dennis, the producer. Each character is distinct, and none of them truly mesh together, allowing for plenty of opportunity for hi-jinx, humor, and general entertainment.
While reading these characters try and create a successful sitcom, it’s almost like watching a sitcom in and of itself. Don’t groan yet. Hear me out; the story doesn’t stop there. This isn’t always a fun, biting-humorous read. Between the episodes of organized chaos on set, the reader pairs off with one of our five and takes a look into the life they lead, each with its own secrets and shames that aren’t shared within the group. We take a look at their histories, but not arduously — rather with a genuine investment and curiosity.
The last part of the book includes a large time-lapse so as to find out “where are they now.” To be honest, I went into this portion nearly holding my breath, afraid that everything I had enjoyed would come crashing down with bow-tied endings (the ending is always what makes or breaks a book for me). But it was strangely nice to see that each of them was still flawed in their own way, all while still holding a ring of positivity.
Overall, I enjoyed learning about these characters and following them around. Even as I shook my head and mumbled some choice words over their terrible life decisions at times, I was invested. Although Nick Hornby is a very successful author, this is the first book by him that I’ve read, and it has definitely piqued my interest in his other works (even though, from what I can tell, this story is a great departure from his usual work). After giving it my second shot, I was definitely hooked.
What about you? Have any of you read this and/or Hornby’s other works? What did you think?