Just Like You

I have liked everything I've ever read by Nick Hornby - and I've read almost everything he's written, including his columns and other non-fiction. So I was confident I would enjoy this, and I did, very much. It's not up there with High Fidelity or About a Boy, which are both superb, but it's tender, heartwarming and satisfying and was just the thing I needed.

"Just Like You" is about the romance between Lucy, a 42 year old white divorced teacher of English at a secondary school, and Joseph, a 22 year old Black guy who works a few odd jobs, coaches football (soccer) and is trying out his hand at being a DJ. It's set in - and this will not surprise you if you read Nick Hornby - North London.

Brexit makes an appearance - it is set before and after the original vote - and is used to explore some of the differences around race and class that the pairing naturally raises. But it's handled lightly, without serious depth or analysis - or rancor.

The book is told from the perspectives of the two characters, alternating. I think Hornby does a bit better job of being inside the head of the woman than the man, which is not really that surprising. But he doesn't make a hash out of it - does reasonably well, I think.

If you need a light and pleasant read, with a happy ending, that is, yes heartwarming, but is also not naff or syrupy, and has some heft to its consideration of the issues of its pairing poses, you'll enjoy this.