Renowned author Nick Hornby speaks at West Hartford Reads – We-Ha

Author Nick Hornby spoke to an engaged audience and answered questions during the latest West Hartford Reads event.

Harlan Levy

Famous British writer Nick Hornby – author High accuracy, About the boy, How to be good and many other bestsellers – performed at King Philip High School last Thursday evening, October 12, entertaining a crowd of approximately 400 people.

He is equally known for his screenplays for award-winning films, including Fever, About the boy, Education, wildAnd Brooklyn, Later, Hornby, 66, took time to answer questions from enthusiastic fans and sign books, including his latest release. Dickens and Prince.

On the latest episode of the West Hartford Public Library’s “West Hartford Reads” program, Hornby, often drawing laughter from the audience, told moderator Julia Pistell that his novels are usually set a few miles from where he lives and feature “modern” characters. . “I try to write about people we all recognize,” he said, “and the lives we live now.”

His protagonists “tend to be in a bit of a state of confusion, trying to find a way out of what’s gone wrong with them,” Hornby noted. “I always thought that most people don’t live the life they want.”

However, he tries not to rub readers’ noses into this idea, because “many people know that life is difficult. And I think there’s a way to do it without being stupid.”

The problems his characters face are universal, Hornby added, and not tied to any particular culture or nationality.

When High accuracy – in which a pop culture-obsessed record store owner recounts his last five breakups – was first published in 1995: “Nobody ever said to me, ‘Oh, this is what it’s like to be English.’ They always said, ‘My brother is like this, I’m like this, my sister is like this,'” Hornby said. “I think the more thoughtful you are about your community, the broader the book’s appeal will be. If you try to write something that everyone around the world will like, it’s pointless.”

A reader recently asked if he was going to write a sequel to this book. No, he said, “because I could never imagine what this guy has been doing since the mid-90s. He expressed surprise that the book has remained so popular for more than a quarter of a century. “It’s surprising to me that people weren’t put off by the density of pop culture references.”

After his 90-minute talk, Hornby answered questions from more than a dozen audience members, ranging from how he chooses topics to advice for aspiring writers. “The main thing is to write,” he replied about the latter, noting that if you could write 500 words a day, you’d have a finished draft within a year (though his books, he admitted, always took much longer).

He has also been praised for his amazing work in recreating the female voice in books such as How to be good (about a woman seeking a divorce), and Just like you (O a white woman in her 40s having an affair with a black man in his 20s). How did he manage to capture the opposite sex so convincingly?

“I think I did a wonderful job and You I think I did a wonderful job,” he replied. “So I don’t care what anyone else thinks,” he said, laughing with the audience. However, he recognized two factors in his life that made his efforts much easier.

“First of all, my father left when I was very young, and I grew up with my sister, mother and grandmother in the house… and I married more than one woman,” he joked, drawing laughter from another audience member. “So the only voices I had for most of my married life were women’s. And if you didn’t learn anything from this experience, what have you been doing all this time?”

His scripts featuring women in key roles also gave him confidence. “I’ve been nominated three times in a row for best actress for these women,” he said, referring to Carey Mulligan in EducationSaoirse Ronan in Brooklynand Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern in Wild“and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Despite this, he admitted that he wanted to get feedback from readers before publishing. He gave some advice on this matter. “Never give a book to a woman and say, ‘This is about women.’ Did I understand correctly?”, because “women” do not exist. There are millions of individual women.”

For example, in How to be good, narrator Kathy jokes about JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald. The first woman he gave it to said, “Women are not interested in politics.” This made him fear that he would receive similar comments again and again. “Women don’t eat carrots.” “Women don’t like it on TV.” He eventually realized, “You have to create a character that you believe is true and just hope for the best.”