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124th out of 1,186 books
—
879 voters
Speaking With the Angel
by
Nick Hornby ,
Irvine Welsh, Melissa Bank, Colin Firth, Giles Smith, Helen Fielding, Dave Eggers, Zadie Smith
,
more…
Nick Hornby…Giles Smith…Helen Fielding…Roddy Doyle…Irvine Welsh…Zadie Smith…Dave Eggers…Robert Harris…Melissa Bank…Patrick Marber…Colin Firth…John O’FarrellCompiled by bestselling author Nick Hornby and featuring brand new stories from the hottest writers on both sides of the Atlantic, Speaking with the Angel is a fresh and funny collection that is sure to be the literary...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
February 1st 2001
by Riverhead Trade
(first published 2000)
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I usually don't buy Anthologies as at best they're like Mix Tapes with a few bum tracks, this one went for a good cause though and was put together by Nick Hornby so I figured hey why not it's got a few bum tracks but it's still pretty strong. A Bit of a Breakdown.
-PMQ, Robert Harris: Very funny very British FPS Account of a Prime Minister having a nervous breakdown, a bit dry but I dug it.
-The Wonder Spot: Mellisa Banks- Look I know Chick Lit is an unseemly putdown that dismisses the work with...more
-PMQ, Robert Harris: Very funny very British FPS Account of a Prime Minister having a nervous breakdown, a bit dry but I dug it.
-The Wonder Spot: Mellisa Banks- Look I know Chick Lit is an unseemly putdown that dismisses the work with...more
A collection of short stories written by friends of Nick Hornby at his request to raise money for an autism education program in England (and in the US if you buy the published in America version). The only requirement Honby gave his friends was that the stories be told in first person. With that broad of a brief, you're bound to get a variety of tone, plot, and of as in any anthology, quality. Colin Firth, for one, should never quit his day job. And Dave Eggars reminded me that writing as an an...more
Jag visste i princip inget om boken innan jag köpte den förutom att det var en novellsamling. Det var först när jag skulle börja läsa den för någon vecka sedan (typ två) som jag upptäckte att Hornby bara är redaktör. Förvisso har han bidragit med introduktionen och en egen novell men majoriteten av samlingen är skriven av andra författare och kända människor. Inte för att jag klagar – det var mycket intressant att ta del av flera författare som jag tidigare inte läst något av.
Det är en mycket in...more
Det är en mycket in...more
A collection of short stories from some of the best contemporary authors from America and Britain. Bonus: Proceeds benefit schools for children with autism.
I was really excited to stumble on this collection of short stories that included not only Hornby’s work, but also stories from Dave Eggers (I loved What is the What and Wild Things) and Zadie Smith (White Teeth is a must read). I would have bought the book if it only contained three short stories, one by each of these authors, but it also i...more
I was really excited to stumble on this collection of short stories that included not only Hornby’s work, but also stories from Dave Eggers (I loved What is the What and Wild Things) and Zadie Smith (White Teeth is a must read). I would have bought the book if it only contained three short stories, one by each of these authors, but it also i...more
Speaking with the Angel, a compilation of short stories by various authors, is occasionally enjoyable, occasionally painful, and thoroughly disjointed. All of the stories are told in the first-person, but aside from that they are all completely different and do not seem to belong in the same book at all. They do not even seem to appeal in any way to the same readers.
The first story, "PMQ" is excellent. In the form of a press conference, a Prime Minister tries to explain some personal incident -...more
The first story, "PMQ" is excellent. In the form of a press conference, a Prime Minister tries to explain some personal incident -...more
It's not that this book is bad (honestly I think GoodReads should add an 'eh it was whatever' rating to their scale so that we could correctly classify books that just sort of 'exist') ...it's just that I'm not entirely confident that anyone put their best foot forward with this collection. At times it almost feels like the authors sat around a table with a hat full of topic ideas and drew slips of paper.... Marber will write the "lose your virginity" story, Smith writes the humanizing prisoner...more
Dedicated to editor Hornby’s son Danny, $2 of the cover price of this collection will be donated to Treehouse, a school for autistic children. Hornby’s explanation of why this collection came about in the introduction is in itself a heart-felt piece of writing. And then he’s topped it with NippleJesus, a story about a nightclub bouncer turned art gallery security guard and his reactions to a controversial work called, you guessed it, NippleJesus.
My other favorite was PMQ by Robert Harris whereby...more
My other favorite was PMQ by Robert Harris whereby...more
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Like most short story collections, whether multi-writer anthologies or single author collections, I instantly forgot over half of the tales, but will likely remember a few forever. I have a hard time with short stories for this reason, because I feel like so many pages are wasted on me in order to mine for those few gold nuggets that hide between the covers. And memorable or not, those nuggets usually scarcely balance out the time spent reading those stories that will be forgotten before the las...more
Short stories are great fun, and this collection contains my favorite of all short stories, "Nipple Jesus," by Nick Hornby. I enjoy them all, though, and have read most of them twice.
All but two of the stories are from British authors, the most surprising contribution being perhaps from the English actor, Colin Firth. His "Department of Nothing" is quality.
In Eggers' (one of the Americans) story, "After I was Thrown into the River and Before I Drowned," the protagonist is a dog who is proud of...more
All but two of the stories are from British authors, the most surprising contribution being perhaps from the English actor, Colin Firth. His "Department of Nothing" is quality.
In Eggers' (one of the Americans) story, "After I was Thrown into the River and Before I Drowned," the protagonist is a dog who is proud of...more
A few hits, many misses. This is kind of like the movie Grown Ups, where you get all these comedic geniuses together and you think it's going to be an uber-comedy and it just ends up falling flat because everyone's trying way too hard. I have read writing by nearly all of the authors in this collection of short stories, which are by an all-star cast of (mostly British) modern writers, including Nick Hornby, Zadie Smith, Melissa Bank, Helen Fielding, Patrick Marber, Dave Eggers, Irvine Welsh, and...more
A collection of 12 short stories from an incestuous gang of hip, young, mostly-British authors, edited by Nick Hornby. There are a few misses here, but they are outweighed by the hits, some of which are quite good.
The Good: Hornby's "NippleJesus" was the best of the lot, and I also liked the stories by Patrick Marber, Melissa Bank and Roddy Doyle.
The Mixed: Irvine Welsh's contribution was a fascinating mess - I don't think it quite worked in the end, but it was a fun ride. I wasn't quite sure wh...more
The Good: Hornby's "NippleJesus" was the best of the lot, and I also liked the stories by Patrick Marber, Melissa Bank and Roddy Doyle.
The Mixed: Irvine Welsh's contribution was a fascinating mess - I don't think it quite worked in the end, but it was a fun ride. I wasn't quite sure wh...more
This is a collection of short stories edited by Nick Hornby. Authors include Dave Eggers, Helen Fielding, Robert Harris, Melissa Bank, Zadie Smith, Roddy Doyle, Irvine Welsh, Colin Firth, John O'Farrell, Giles Smith, and Patrick Marber.[return][return]I actually read this a couple years ago and lent it to a friend. Then she found it while cleaning her apartment and gave it back to me a few weeks ago. I remember enjoying it but not loving it.[return][return]A portion of the proceeds from the sale...more
One of the best parts of this book is its introduction. Nick Hornby, editor of the collection and author of one of the pieces, has an autistic son, and in a raw and wrenching introduction he stresses the importance of educational institutions to serve such children, who "have no language, and no particular compulsion to acquire it, who are born without the need to explore the world." Accordingly, a portion of each sale benefits autism charities around the world.
This book is an excellent samplin...more
This book is an excellent samplin...more
Found this book on holiday in North Norfolk, raced through a good portion of it then gave somewhere in the midst of the longest tale in the book - a story by 'Colin Firth' (I don't know if it was the nation's gem but the writing was certainly poncey enough).
Anyway owing to constricted space allowed by 'short stories' I felt a lot of the authors built me up to nothing, no drama, no conclusion just a blank page! But the first few pages showed such promise!
However this collection raises money for a...more
Anyway owing to constricted space allowed by 'short stories' I felt a lot of the authors built me up to nothing, no drama, no conclusion just a blank page! But the first few pages showed such promise!
However this collection raises money for a...more
A discontinuos collection of short stories written by a bunch of the most successful Anglo-saxon writers of the 1990s.
Of course there is a fil rouge as well as a purpose behind, something connected with help and equal rights for disadvantaged children led by a Nick Hornby idea.
As it often happens, the short stories of the best known novelists such as Nick Hornby, Dave Eggers, Irvine Welsh and Roddy Doyle are the less interesting ones. A following rising star as Zadie Smith does good. Yet, as fo...more
Of course there is a fil rouge as well as a purpose behind, something connected with help and equal rights for disadvantaged children led by a Nick Hornby idea.
As it often happens, the short stories of the best known novelists such as Nick Hornby, Dave Eggers, Irvine Welsh and Roddy Doyle are the less interesting ones. A following rising star as Zadie Smith does good. Yet, as fo...more
I thought this collection of short stories was a bit of a let down. I actually really like a bunch of the authors that contributed, but most of the stories were forgettable.
The standouts were the ones by Patrick Marber, Nick Hornby and the one I liked the most was the last in the collection, by John O'Farrell. I liked the irony at the end of O'Farrell's piece.
Oddly enough, the one that is the most memorable was the Roddy Doyle piece. I didn't like the story at all, but the imagery with the rat...more
The standouts were the ones by Patrick Marber, Nick Hornby and the one I liked the most was the last in the collection, by John O'Farrell. I liked the irony at the end of O'Farrell's piece.
Oddly enough, the one that is the most memorable was the Roddy Doyle piece. I didn't like the story at all, but the imagery with the rat...more
Overall, I appreciate that there was a theme holding the book together, and that the book was put together and put out for a good and noble cause. I love Nick Hornby -- his stories, his writing style -- so I figured I shouldn't miss out on any of his books, even if this was not the usual.
But, as in most anthologies, there were some forgettable ones, some that took me forever to finish because they sort of dragged, and some that I just had to take since they were part of the collection. Most were...more
But, as in most anthologies, there were some forgettable ones, some that took me forever to finish because they sort of dragged, and some that I just had to take since they were part of the collection. Most were...more
I am usually very wary when buying anthologies, because more often than not, you always get at least one or two fantastic stories, while the rest are mediocre, or terrible even. And after my experience with Nick Hornby's "About a Boy" - my first for him - I really didn't know what to expect, and I was looking forward to his story the least (yes, you must have deduced by now that I hated About a Boy).
However, this book pulled me in from page 1, with Hornby's very moving introduction. Hornby dedic...more
However, this book pulled me in from page 1, with Hornby's very moving introduction. Hornby dedic...more
Speaking With the Angel is a collection of short stories edited by Nick Hornby. Since I'm a big Hornby fan I had to pick this up.
The book started really strong. It had some good, funny and memorable stories. One of my favorites is the first one - PMQ by Robert Harris. It's about an English politician who goes on a wild romp through England and then has to justify his actions to the court. It's funny - a bit of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for adults. Another favorite was Last Requests by Giles Smith. Th...more
The book started really strong. It had some good, funny and memorable stories. One of my favorites is the first one - PMQ by Robert Harris. It's about an English politician who goes on a wild romp through England and then has to justify his actions to the court. It's funny - a bit of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for adults. Another favorite was Last Requests by Giles Smith. Th...more
A collection of short stories by various writers, edited by Nick Hornby. The proceeds from this book go to schools that specialize in educating students with autism, a good cause important to Hornby, whose son is severely autistic. I liked most of the stories, especially the following.
The best of the lot was Nick Hornby's 'Nipple Jesus'. The title refers to an art exhibit featuring a collage of pictures of breasts cut from magazines that form a picture of Jesus. It is narrated by a club bouncer...more
The best of the lot was Nick Hornby's 'Nipple Jesus'. The title refers to an art exhibit featuring a collage of pictures of breasts cut from magazines that form a picture of Jesus. It is narrated by a club bouncer...more
Without question, this is my favorite collection of contemporary short stories. The cast of writers is drool-worthy:
Roddy Doyle, who makes gold from paper and ink; "Closer" playwright Patrick Marber; Mr. Darcy himself, Colin Firth; Nick Hornby, who edited; Zadie Smith; Helen Fielding; Irvine Welsh; Zadie Smith; Dave Eggers; Melissa Bank, who wrote the terrific "The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing" (which is also a great great great GREAT book); Giles Smith; John O'Farrell; and Robert Harris...more
Roddy Doyle, who makes gold from paper and ink; "Closer" playwright Patrick Marber; Mr. Darcy himself, Colin Firth; Nick Hornby, who edited; Zadie Smith; Helen Fielding; Irvine Welsh; Zadie Smith; Dave Eggers; Melissa Bank, who wrote the terrific "The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing" (which is also a great great great GREAT book); Giles Smith; John O'Farrell; and Robert Harris...more
i honestly picked up this book because i was fascinated by the cover. Those little plastic doll heads really spoke to me. But enough about my particular psychosis.
i found this collection of contemporary short stories surprisingly enjoyable. The voices all seemed fresh and original and some of the stories have really stuck with me. That's the way it goes with short fiction collections i think. For example, i find most of Bradbury's sci/fi short stories forgettable but each of his well known colle...more
i found this collection of contemporary short stories surprisingly enjoyable. The voices all seemed fresh and original and some of the stories have really stuck with me. That's the way it goes with short fiction collections i think. For example, i find most of Bradbury's sci/fi short stories forgettable but each of his well known colle...more
I like Nick Hornby, and picked up this book for a quick read. However, this book is not BY Nick Hornby, it is COMPILED by Nick Hornby, which is a big difference. Some stories were very clever, but some were downright nasty. Really. Such that I think I recycled the book instead of sending it to charity or loaning it to a friend. You can thank me later.
However, I do hope that my purchase of the book helped the charity for autism that the project was funding. For whatever that's worth.
However, I do hope that my purchase of the book helped the charity for autism that the project was funding. For whatever that's worth.
When I saw the line-up of authors on the cover of this book, I was expecting to be blown away. There were a few stories that stood out from the rest, but I felt like the majority of them were stories I would have seen in a fiction class, not a published collection of stories. NippleJesus by Nick Hornby, was probably my favorite, along with PMQ by Robert Harris. Colin Firth's The Department of Nothing struck a sentimental chord, but I'd say the rest were about average, not leaving too much...more
Mixed bag of first-person stories edited by Nick Hornby, a benefit collection to fund specialty education of children with autism. Standouts for me were Nick Hornby's own "NippleJesus," and Dave Eggers' take on a dog's first person narrative of life and death, "After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned." Although all were well written, many of the "stories" seemed more to me like character sketches, extended jokes, or a chapter pulled from a longer piece to help out Hornby's cause.
There are some really terrific short stories in this collection, and a few surprisingly disappointing ones from authors I have liked and respected. I highly recommend "PMQ" by Robert Harris - very funny. Also, "Luckybitch" by Helen Fielding, "NippleJesus" by Nick Hornby, and "Walking in the Wind" by John O'Farrell. These stand outs were all entertaining, but also managed to illuminate characters fragility and flaws.
I was disappointed in Dave Eggers and Roddy Doyle's contributions. Maybe because...more
I was disappointed in Dave Eggers and Roddy Doyle's contributions. Maybe because...more
I'm always a little wary of collections of short stories - particularly those that include contributions from multiple authors, because you're never really sure what you're going to get. However, when I started this book it was the end of March and with only four books down for the year, I needed something I could digest pretty quickly. I actually enjoyed most of the stories found in Speaking With the Angel - particularly Nick Hornby's own contribution, "NippleJesus," along with Zadie Smith's "I...more
The first few stories in this collection were quite good. I thought Hornby's story "NippleJesus" was knockout. I refused to read Eggers' story (from the POV of a dog and starting out with the lines "Oh, I'm a fast dog. I'm fast-fast. It's true and I love being fast I admit I love it."). I also could have done without Irvine Welsh's contribution. But again, the first several were great...
Nick Hornby brings together a bunch of his friends to do short stories in a book intended to raise money and awareness for a school in the UK (and a counterpart in NY) for autistic children (like his son). I feel like an anti-autistic jerk for only giving this two stars, but there were definitely some low points here -- Melissa Bank's contribution was right awful, and for some reason Colin Firth writes a long piece which was kind of weird and bumpy, albeit touching in its own way. Nick Hornby's...more
Like any anthology, the short stories vary in quality, so don’t get discouraged by my average rating, some of them are really good. My sub-rating:
-Robert Harris: PMQ − 5*
-Melissa Bank: The Wonder Spot − 3*
-Giles Smith: Last Requests − 5*
-Patrick Marber: Peter Shelley − 4*
-Colin Firth: The Department of Nothing − 4* (well done, Mr. Darcy!)
-Zadie Smith: I’m the Only One − 2*
-Nick Hornby: NippleJesus − 4*
-Dave Eggers: After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned − 1* (major disappoint...more
-Robert Harris: PMQ − 5*
-Melissa Bank: The Wonder Spot − 3*
-Giles Smith: Last Requests − 5*
-Patrick Marber: Peter Shelley − 4*
-Colin Firth: The Department of Nothing − 4* (well done, Mr. Darcy!)
-Zadie Smith: I’m the Only One − 2*
-Nick Hornby: NippleJesus − 4*
-Dave Eggers: After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned − 1* (major disappoint...more
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Nick Hornby is the author of the novels A Long Way Down, Slam, How to Be Good, High Fidelity, and About a Boy, and the memoir Fever Pitch. He is also the author of Songbook, a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award, Shakespeare Wrote for Money, and The Polysyllabic Spree, as well as the editor of the short-story collection Speaking with the Angel. He is a recipient of the American Acade...more
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Apr 24, 2010 12:45pm