海角大神

Barbara is built like a beauty queen, with blonde good looks her roommate announces she would cheerfully kill her for. (She announces it so often that Barbara is actually a little concerned for her safety.)

But the high school graduate has no use for a tiara and sash. Instead, she craves a banana peel and a rubber chicken in Nick Hornby鈥檚 ode to the 1960s, Funny Girl.

鈥淏arbara knew she didn鈥檛 want to be queen for a day, or even for a year,鈥� Hornby writes after Barbara wins a beauty contest in Blackpool that her aunt and father thought would satisfy her desire for a bigger life. 鈥淨ueens were never funny, not the ones in Blackpool anyway, or the ones in Buckingham Palace either.鈥�

Barbara worships Lucille Ball, dissecting and memorizing every episode of 鈥淚 Love Lucy,鈥� although sadly, we never hear whether her favorite episode is 鈥淰itameatavegimen,鈥� the one where Lucy takes up wine-making, or the one where she gets a job in the chocolate factory.

鈥淭he world seemed to stand still for half an hour every Sunday, and her father knew better than to try and talk to her or even rustle the paper while the program was on, in case she missed something,鈥� Hornby writes. 鈥淚t was, she sometimes felt, a bit like being religious.鈥�

So Barbara lights out for London, where life as a shopgirl in a shared flat feels further away from Hollywood than even Blackpool. After a half-hearted effort at finding a sugar daddy (on the advice of her roommate) goes awry, Barbara lands an agent, the mostly benevolent Brian.

He is baffled by his newest client鈥檚 desire to make people laugh when she can just stand there and have people throw money at her. Brian tells her it will be years before she needs to worry about being funny. 鈥淒ecades, probably. Look at you!鈥�

Now renamed Sophie Straw, Barbara鈥檚 first audition is authentically disastrous, with a stage director telling her, 鈥淸I]f I cast you, it would show that I鈥檇 given up, d鈥檡ou see?鈥�

But then she gets a chance at a 鈥渞otten鈥� script called, 鈥淲edded Bliss?鈥� (The punctuation mark becomes a running gag.)

鈥淚t was even worse than Brian had made it sound, but when she was back at doing the washing-up, probably in a couple of months鈥� time, she鈥檇 be able to tell her father that she鈥檇 met the writers of 鈥楾he Awkward Squad.鈥� It would be the only memory of London worth keeping.鈥�

The writers and producer are under no illusions about the quality of their latest effort. When Barbara comes in with her bombshell looks, northern accent, and comedic timing, they rewrite everything around her and 鈥淏arbara (and Jim)鈥� 鈥� newly renamed to the enduring consternation of the leading man 鈥� becomes a runaway hit.

Hornby, author of 鈥淗igh Fidelity鈥� and 鈥淎bout a Boy,鈥� for the first time does some time-traveling in one of his novels, recreating London on the verge of immense social change.

Barbara, while appealing, isn鈥檛 the most interesting character in the novel. That honor goes to the two writers, Bill Gardiner and Tony Holmes, who meet in 1959 at an Aldershot police station when they are arrested for 鈥渋mportuning in a men鈥檚 lavatory.鈥�

The two embody an ongoing debate about the role of popular entertainment and the responsibilities of those who create it. Tony wants a quiet life and to be able to keep writing, while Bill is determined to be taken seriously as an artist.

鈥淲hy doesn鈥檛 he hate anything we write?鈥� Bill wonders about their boss.

鈥淚s that what you鈥檇 prefer? That our boss hated what we do?鈥� Tony asks.

鈥淵es,鈥� said Bill. 鈥淥f course.鈥�

While Tony is delighted to be paid to make millions of people laugh, Bill believes that true art must challenge and anger. As Hornby has made clear in both speeches and his own writing, he鈥檚 pretty firmly in Tony鈥檚 camp, but he lets the tortured artiste get in a few shots of his own.

鈥淵ou want to be respectable,鈥� Bill accuses Tony, who really doesn鈥檛 see this as a criticism.

Meanwhile, as the ratings of 鈥淏arbara (and Jim)鈥� go up, 鈥淏ill, in a spirit of desperation, began to take his novel seriously.鈥�

Using a clown shoe to hammer home his point, Hornby also includes an actual debate about the purpose of entertainment, having the TV show鈥檚 diffident producer, Dennis, take down a pompous professor on camera in possibly the funniest scene in the novel.

For a novel about a groundbreaking sitcom, 鈥淔unny Girl鈥� is sadly short on snort-milk-out-your-nose moments. But it does offer plenty of Hornby鈥檚 warmth and generosity of spirit. And he does an excellent job of recreating the vibe of 1960s London, down to the unlikely details such as having a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page record the TV show鈥檚 theme song.

The title of 鈥淔unny Girl鈥� might be a bit of a misnomer, since Barbara always seems more ing茅nue than comedienne. But the novel fits squarely in Hornby鈥檚 tradition of offering quality entertainment that respects readers鈥� intelligence without making novels feel like homework. Consider it comfort food, prepared by a master.