No. 2/5: JULIET, NAKED by NICK HORNBY

Annie’s boyfriend is obsessed with the music of Tucker Crowe - a singer that never really got far and has been forgotten by most. She got used to living with the shadow of this man in her life till one day he contacts her directly. Slowly she gets to know the real Tucker Crowe via email and then even in person. As she is starting to understand this man and his music it becomes clear that she and her boyfriend have little in common. They break up. The real Tucker Crowe is not a hero, but a sad, disappointed man with more broken relationships then he can handle. He is the father of a number of kids, but only the youngest ever had a relationship with him. Instead of dealing with life he has been hiding away for years.
 Did I like the book? Yes! Did I expect a bit more? Yes! I have read other books by Nick Hornby and always enjoyed his realistic approach. It does not all end in happily ever after. Certain challenges that lives serves us just do not get solved by a miracle. I do like that this book follows this approach. It clearly shows how we need each other and how sometimes time has been wasted, just because we lived from day to day without expecting much from our self or others. But somehow I am missing the BUT. In the end of the book it is mentioned that Tucker starts writing and producing music again. It shows that he has learned to move on and that Annie and his son are giving him the strength to do so. His old fans are disappointed by these new songs, but others start listing. He has moved on as well in his music.
 But what about Annie? Has anything changed for her or has she just received a wake up call? That there might be more to life then to settle to how things are? With her being the protagonist there is too little happening. She does get to know Tucker, but their relationship does not seem to have much of a future. She would like to have kids on her own, but that does not seem very likely to happen. While Tucker has gained from meeting Annie, she seems to only be made aware of her needs. A bit disappointing…