Fiction

Just Like You

Just Like You

  • Downloads：2591
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-17 14:16:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Nick Hornby
  • ISBN：0241983258
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

'A charming - and sharp - love story about what it means to fall for someone who is your polar opposite' Sunday Telegraph
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Lucy married just the sort of man you might expect: a university graduate who runs his own business。 Unfortunately he turned out to have serious dependency issues。

Joseph is shaking off the memory of his last date， a girl who ticked all the right boxes and also drove him up the wall。

On an average Saturday morning in a butcher's shop in North London， Lucy and Joseph meet on opposite sides of the counter。 She is a teacher and mother of two， with a past she is trying to forget; he is an aspiring DJ with a wide-open future that maybe needs to start becoming more focused。 Lucy and Joseph are opposites in almost all ways。 Can something life-changing grow from uncommon ground？

Nick Hornby's brilliantly observed， tender and brutally funny new novel gets to the heart of what it means to fall headlong in love with the best possible person - someone who may not be just like you at all。
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'Truly funny 。 。 。 immensely readable， sharp-eyed and at times hilarious' Guardian

'Comedy for our times' Sunday Times

'Sparkles with tip-top dialogue and pin-sharp comic timing' Daily Mail

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Reviews

Shirley Bateman ，

A diverting and absorbing story with interesting observations on race and falling in love with someone who is nothing like you at all。 Fabulous characterisation and cracking dialogue。 The audiobook is a real treat， read by male and female actors telling the story from the viewpoints of the two main characters: Lucy and Joseph。

Helen ，

Not a lot happens in this May-to-Dec relationship。 As usual， with Nick Hornsby， it is well written & that makes reading it enjoyable。

Ashes ，

I loved this book so much。 It was funny， frustrating， all of the above， not your classic romcom。 Nick Hornby does a perfect and beautiful way of telling this story。 So well written。 Officially one of my favourites

Lynda ，

Hornby’s writing is intelligent and witty and believable and extremely readable。 Set in the time of Brexit and ending in the time of Trump it is a love affair between a 40+ nearly divorced English teacher and a 22 year old black would be musician， working ‘on his portfolio’ in a number of jobs。 Both are highly likeable and their dialogue sparkles。 Hornby explores subtle （and not so subtle） issues of race， and sometimes age difference and education and likes。。。。。 For me， in the end， their relatio Hornby’s writing is intelligent and witty and believable and extremely readable。 Set in the time of Brexit and ending in the time of Trump it is a love affair between a 40+ nearly divorced English teacher and a 22 year old black would be musician， working ‘on his portfolio’ in a number of jobs。 Both are highly likeable and their dialogue sparkles。 Hornby explores subtle （and not so subtle） issues of race， and sometimes age difference and education and likes。。。。。 For me， in the end， their relationship just wasn’t credible enough。 Joseph and Lucy’s sons’ relationship was more real。 Lucy was wonderful。 I loved her and would love to be her but that wasn’t totally credible either。 She was just too in control。 。。。more

Barbara ，

I’ll preface this review with this: Nick Hornby faced an uphill battle by writing his next novel in the shadow of State of the Union。 （SotU was perfect — if you want to read Hornby at his best， that’s the one to read。 It’s also now a TV series with the charming Chris O’Dowd。）Just Like You had Hornby’s trademark wit and banter between characters like SotU， but where it fall apart for me was the structure。 It was a will-Lucy-and-Joseph-make-it-as-a-couple-or-not saga that dragged on for 100 more p I’ll preface this review with this: Nick Hornby faced an uphill battle by writing his next novel in the shadow of State of the Union。 （SotU was perfect — if you want to read Hornby at his best， that’s the one to read。 It’s also now a TV series with the charming Chris O’Dowd。）Just Like You had Hornby’s trademark wit and banter between characters like SotU， but where it fall apart for me was the structure。 It was a will-Lucy-and-Joseph-make-it-as-a-couple-or-not saga that dragged on for 100 more pages than it should have。I found there was a lot of setup to events in the book， and the parts that shone for me — when Lucy’s sons Dylan and Al spill the beans on their mother’s love life repeatedly， when Lucy and Joseph get acquainted with each other’s friends and family — lasted only a few pages at a time。 There was a lot of summarized internal struggle of the characters that could have been better shared by allowing the characters to speak more in conversation。SotU was a will-they-make-it-or-won’t-they drama too， which makes me question Hornby’s decision to write a similarly-themed novel so soon。 What more could you have to say on this subject matter so quickly？ Maybe if I didn’t have SotU to compare it to I’d feel differently， but Just Like You was a ho-hum read for me。 。。。more

Jonathan Paxton ，

I really enjoyed this book， although I’m not sure it really ‘went’ anywhere。 I’m a big Hornby fan， whilst this isn’t up there with his best it’s definitely funny， draws you in but sometimes gets bogged down with trying to say too much about Brexit / race / age etc。Lucy is a 40 something， newly separated mother of two and， judging by her friend’s enthusiasm is back on the market。 Joseph is in his early 20s， unattached and working a number of part time jobs。 At first I was worried it was going to I really enjoyed this book， although I’m not sure it really ‘went’ anywhere。 I’m a big Hornby fan， whilst this isn’t up there with his best it’s definitely funny， draws you in but sometimes gets bogged down with trying to say too much about Brexit / race / age etc。Lucy is a 40 something， newly separated mother of two and， judging by her friend’s enthusiasm is back on the market。 Joseph is in his early 20s， unattached and working a number of part time jobs。 At first I was worried it was going to be Hornby writing soft porn but fortunately Lucy’s over-enthusiastic and under-sexed friend is sidelined early on。 As Lucy and Joseph begin to find each other interesting and a relationship develops， I found myself rooting for them and loving the casual yet intimate nature of it。 They are vastly different but that is what makes them suitable。 She is educated， professional， organised， politically aware - he doesn’t care for politics or books and just wants to live from one day to the next。 The dates that should work for them （her a high brow writer， him a beautiful young student） are always doomed to fail because they both want to spend time with each other。Noticeably ‘race’ very rarely causes an issue for their relationship， the age difference and social chasm seem to be more important。 The fact he is black seems only to amuse themselves， although there are moments where Hornby tries to show how society can’t avoid the subject。 At times it feels like he’s pushing the societal problems black people face， but it doesn’t really matter to the central relationship。 I could have done with less of Hornby shoving that in my face （a young black man is more likely to get stopped by the police， who knew？） and more of Lucy and Joseph’s interesting conversations on the subject。Generally it’s very funny （as always with Hornby the dialogue really is great） and a great central relationship。 。。。more

Brooke Hayes ，

Quick， easy， made for tv。 Some interesting parallels to real life。。。

Catherine T ，

To put it bluntly: this is incredibly boring。 Reading this was like if someone took all the mundane， uninteresting bits of life and decided to write a 355 page sleeping pill。 （Thanks for curing my insomnia， I guess？） Not only to the characters lack passion but so did the writer。 Did he want to write this？ Feels too much like a first draft with too many unnecessary bits lingering。 Conversations fell flat and pointless， every character read like a cardboard box— unless the character is sex-obsesse To put it bluntly: this is incredibly boring。 Reading this was like if someone took all the mundane， uninteresting bits of life and decided to write a 355 page sleeping pill。 （Thanks for curing my insomnia， I guess？） Not only to the characters lack passion but so did the writer。 Did he want to write this？ Feels too much like a first draft with too many unnecessary bits lingering。 Conversations fell flat and pointless， every character read like a cardboard box— unless the character is sex-obsessed than they’re “hilarious”。 This reads like someone who was into politics trying to write a romance。 It’s dry。 It’s boring。 Not even scandalous in the political department either。 I kept waiting for it to get good。 Spoiler: It did not。 。。。more

Celeste ，

Good readPage-turning at times。 Offered a refreshing perspective on relationships of this nature and the maturity that comes with handling the challenges。

Meghan Powers ，

Pretty average。 A few moments I might think about。 Nothing mind-blowing。 Very readable。 Good if you’re looking for something quick。

Åsmund Ådnøy ，

Husker du innledningen av Mannen som elsket Yngve av Tore Renberg？ Den begynner med å slå fast at 1990 er fortid （boka kom i 2003）， i en lang og berømt innledning。 Nick Hornby skriver ikke en slik åpning i denne boka， men jeg kom likevel til å tenke på Renbergs bok。 Som Renberg skriver Hornby om en fortid som er nær， men definerer likevel at det er FORTID， ikke nåtid。 Nick Hornby prøver å gape over mye， uten at jeg som leser synes at jeg sitter og ser på en mann som holder på å få kjeven ut av l Husker du innledningen av Mannen som elsket Yngve av Tore Renberg？ Den begynner med å slå fast at 1990 er fortid （boka kom i 2003）， i en lang og berømt innledning。 Nick Hornby skriver ikke en slik åpning i denne boka， men jeg kom likevel til å tenke på Renbergs bok。 Som Renberg skriver Hornby om en fortid som er nær， men definerer likevel at det er FORTID， ikke nåtid。 Nick Hornby prøver å gape over mye， uten at jeg som leser synes at jeg sitter og ser på en mann som holder på å få kjeven ut av ledd。 Det er godt gjort， for her handler det om klasse， rase， Brexit， Trump， London， generasjoner og utenforskap。 Dårligere forfattere ville ha mislyktes。 Skal jeg kalle det et portrett av en nasjons skjebne-år （Brexit-året 2016）， for å være litt pompøs？ Noe sånt。Denne romanen minner meg litt om Sally Rooneys Samtaler med venner。 Også der handler det om kjærlighet på tvers av generasjoner （og i begge bøkene drar hovedpersonene på et tidspunkt på ferie til et sommerhus med svømmebasseng）。 Joseph （22） og Lucy （42） forelsker seg og innleder et forhold。 Han jobber i slakterbutikk og hun er engelsklærer med to barn。Det meste av boka handler om samtalene mellom dem， og hvordan omgivelsene reagerer på forholdet。 Jeg synes Nick Hornbys bipersoner til tider kan mangle litt kanter， at de blir litt rekvisitter som skal målbære et synspunkt mer enn at de føles som mennesker av kjøtt og blod。 Men hovedpersonene Lucy og Joseph er til gjengjeld nydelige。 Som leser skjønner jeg ikke helt tiltrekningen mellom dem， men akkurat nok til at jeg tror på den。 。。。more

Amy M ，

This is such a special book。 The characters have such depth， so well written。 Didn’t want it to end and my sister and I find ourselves wondering what happens to these people。

Ben ，

Excruciating middle-class hand-wringing about race and Brexit。 60 year old white man Nick Hornby’s attempted portrayal of a young black man is too dull， clunky and hampered by a terror of sounding unwoke to even be offensive， and instead falls down squarely on the side of cringe， with Hornby dropping in squirmingly outdated urban slang and awkwardly shoe-horning in countless instances of everyday racism like he’s trying to get a full house on his woke bingo card。 The 42 year old middle-class whi Excruciating middle-class hand-wringing about race and Brexit。 60 year old white man Nick Hornby’s attempted portrayal of a young black man is too dull， clunky and hampered by a terror of sounding unwoke to even be offensive， and instead falls down squarely on the side of cringe， with Hornby dropping in squirmingly outdated urban slang and awkwardly shoe-horning in countless instances of everyday racism like he’s trying to get a full house on his woke bingo card。 The 42 year old middle-class white woman who makes up the other half of the on again/off again couple is somehow even more unbearable， like if the Guardian could talk。 The couple have exactly the chemistry you’d expect from two people with negligible personalities。 Their charisma vacuum was only magnified by the unlovely backdrop of Brexit， making the novel a real reverse Sophie’s Choice of which storyline gave you the most visceral urge to walk away from it and never look back。 Take them both， please！ 。。。more

Elly Griffin ，

Fun and easy。 The first third was excellent 。 Then it fell a bit flat。 Still finished it in one day so can’t be too bad！

Kate ，

In this novel there is more than one or two obstacles facing Lucy and Joseph’s relationship。 But it wouldn’t be a good story if their relationship were smooth sailing！ Their liaison begins as a mutual need for companionship。 They each sought a connection without any strings， but it leads to more。They appear to be opposites。 Other than the sex， I wondered just what was the glue that held them together？ Often faced with objections and speculation from many facets in their separate lives， they try In this novel there is more than one or two obstacles facing Lucy and Joseph’s relationship。 But it wouldn’t be a good story if their relationship were smooth sailing！ Their liaison begins as a mutual need for companionship。 They each sought a connection without any strings， but it leads to more。They appear to be opposites。 Other than the sex， I wondered just what was the glue that held them together？ Often faced with objections and speculation from many facets in their separate lives， they try to make their relationship work。 However， it is not only from outside influences that Lucy and Joseph second guess their relationship， but also from of the uncertainty that comes from within themselves。 This was a really good book！ I liked the social challenges the characters faced， the gap in their ages， the bi-racial association， and opposing political affiliations in Brexit。 The troubles and triumphs Lucy and Joseph encountered were genuine and real。 。。。more

Ceren ，

Just like you is the story about the differences between two human beings in a romantic relationship。 They come across problems like; class， race and age。 If there was ever a book to be a 3 star book it’d be this one， a very nice and calm slice of life book with two very loveable yet very common main characters。 I’m very intrigued by Nick Hornby， and will definitely read more of his work。

Sue Trowbridge ，

Nick Hornby wrote one of my all-time favorite novels， 2009’s "Juliet， Naked，" which was about a subject near and dear to my heart: a cult-favorite musician whose work is appreciated only by a handful of devoted fans。 The rest of his oeuvre has， in my opinion， ranged from very good （"About a Boy，" "A Long Way Down"） to mediocre （"Funny Girl，" "How To Be Good"）。 His latest book， "Just Like You，" is perfectly pleasant—if Juliet was a 10， this one is a solid 7， entertaining but a bit slight。Lucy is Nick Hornby wrote one of my all-time favorite novels， 2009’s "Juliet， Naked，" which was about a subject near and dear to my heart: a cult-favorite musician whose work is appreciated only by a handful of devoted fans。 The rest of his oeuvre has， in my opinion， ranged from very good （"About a Boy，" "A Long Way Down"） to mediocre （"Funny Girl，" "How To Be Good"）。 His latest book， "Just Like You，" is perfectly pleasant—if Juliet was a 10， this one is a solid 7， entertaining but a bit slight。Lucy is a white， middle-class woman living in North London with her two young boys。 In her early 40s， Lucy is separated but not yet divorced from her husband， a recovering addict。 After a couple boring dates with age-appropriate men， she meets Joseph， who works at her neighborhood butcher shop。 He babysits on the side， so Lucy hires him to take care of her kids one evening。The boys love spending time with Joseph， and as she gets to know him， Lucy finds herself becoming infatuated。 She tries to deny her feelings， mainly because Joseph is 20 years her junior。 He is also Black， and even after they begin sleeping together， they decide it’s best to keep their relationship secret—for one thing， how would they explain it to Joseph’s mum， who is Lucy’s age？Most of the action takes place during the run-up to the Brexit referendum， and it seems to dominate the conversation in the same way Trump’s election overshadowed almost everything else in the U。S。 late in 2016。 Lucy and her friends are all avid Remainers， while Joseph’s parents plan to vote Leave， hoping it will lead to better wages。 Joseph himself is undecided: “Lucy didn’t know anyone who was voting out。 None of his neighbors were voting in。 Joseph was somewhere halfway between。 Before all this business， he’d have guessed that everyone was in the middle， really， not that bothered about anything， but he seemed to be all on his own。” By the time November rolls around， the American election causes a more emotional response in Joseph: “‘This bastard retweets stuff from white supremacists… You don’t know。 Really。’ He was angry， and he wanted to pick a fight with the first white person he saw。 This morning， like every other morning， it was Lucy。”Despite the political backdrop， however， "Just Like You" is primarily about a romantic relationship which features a pair of lovers trying to overcome the hurdles that stand in the way of their happiness。 Lucy can never quite stop herself from thinking about the fact that she’s too old for Joseph， while he is taking things one day at a time。 It’s a sweet story about two likable characters， brought to life by Hornby’s crisp and witty prose。 。。。more

John Cooke ，

I love Nick's ability to disect the mundane and bring it to life like an unloved house plant given a second chance。 Tough love to start， it wends its way through some familiar themes and some most of us can only speculate on。 I love Nick's ability to disect the mundane and bring it to life like an unloved house plant given a second chance。 Tough love to start， it wends its way through some familiar themes and some most of us can only speculate on。 。。。more

John Klein ，

An entertaining，light， bright，funny read！ From the first page。 Even there are tricky subject， but lightly handled。I recommend this book warmly for any holidays， or when you want to have a time of from deep conversations or emotional trouble。Nick Hornby writes ， like one is sitting in a bar and having a campari orrange on ice。If you are sure， you do not expect too much， than you will just enjoy！

Tilly ，

Two bland people with nothing in common limp through an unwise relationship。。。 oh and Brexit comes up every other page。 It’s quite possible that I missed the point as I love Nick Hornby usually。 Here though I found I cared nothing for the characters and was actually saying out loud “why are they together then” every few pages。 Not one I would recommend of his sadly。

Lisa Giovene ，

Passando da un estremo all’altro。。。Un romanzo in cui sono ancora troppo giovane per immedesimarmi。L’ho trovato abbastanza vuoto di contenuti， a tratti quasi fosse una sceneggiatura。Ho finito di leggerlo perché comunque è abbastanza scorrevole。

M B ，

An easy-to-read， cute story， good to fill a quiet afternoon。 There’s lots of circular conversations in which the characters misunderstand each other in what’s supposed to be a humorous kind of way， but I found this to be tedious after a while。 I suppose that’s a Nick Hornby thing。 As someone who has dated much younger men （but none with a 20 year age gap） it felt like a pretty realistic， believable plot。

Steve Cushman ，

Excellent， well written story about real life。

Sa' ，

In realtà sono due stelle e mezzo， perché Hornby è sempre sul pezzo e la sua scrittura è in qualche modo particolare， non immediata， richiede "impegno" e la testa deve essere "sgombra"。 Ma la trama e l'argomento non mi è piaciuta affatto， i protagonisti sembrano incollati。 Sarò stata superficiale io nella lettura o Hornby nel riportare le vicende， ma non solo riuscita a cogliere il perché questi due personaggi hanno scelto di stare insieme e perché dovrebbero， sembra che la fatica superi la sodd In realtà sono due stelle e mezzo， perché Hornby è sempre sul pezzo e la sua scrittura è in qualche modo particolare， non immediata， richiede "impegno" e la testa deve essere "sgombra"。 Ma la trama e l'argomento non mi è piaciuta affatto， i protagonisti sembrano incollati。 Sarò stata superficiale io nella lettura o Hornby nel riportare le vicende， ma non solo riuscita a cogliere il perché questi due personaggi hanno scelto di stare insieme e perché dovrebbero， sembra che la fatica superi la soddisfazione。 Ho trovato in alcuni passaggi la storia e il suo sviluppo noiosi。 Cito Lucy che dice a Joseph che non si è mai annoiata con lui。。。ho riflettuto proprio su questo io mi sono annoiata a sentire gli scambi tra loro。Per fortuna si è concentrato maggiormente sulla differenza di età， più che sul colore della pelle， questa cosa l'ho apprezzata molto perché se nelle relazioni umane dovessi individuare un limite， credo che sia quello della differenza di età （in questo caso spiccata） ， piuttosto che differenze culturali （che in questo caso sono relative， dato che entrambi sono tecnicamente inglesi）。 Sarebbe scaduto in un cliché al momento davvero troppo inflazionato。Mi dispiace perché credo che Hornby sia davvero uno degli scrittori contemporanei migliori。 。。。more

Sharon ，

I didn't like this book。 Maybe I'm too old， but not at all interested in the story。 I didn't like this book。 Maybe I'm too old， but not at all interested in the story。 。。。more

Ashley Benjamin ，

A bit hard to get into in the beginning。 I felt like the dialog shared among characters was scattered and hard to follow at times。 Otherwise， it was a good love story about how age， race， sex， etc doesn't matter。 Love is love。 A bit hard to get into in the beginning。 I felt like the dialog shared among characters was scattered and hard to follow at times。 Otherwise， it was a good love story about how age， race， sex， etc doesn't matter。 Love is love。 。。。more

Rhuddem Gwelin ，

Nick Hornby is such a sweetie。 Or at least his books are sweeties。 This one， a low-key love story between a 42-year-old white woman and a 22-year old black man in England is， well， sweet。 It doesn't avoid the questions of racism and agism but deals with them matter-of-factly while still telling a good story about people we can care about。 Nick Hornby delivers！ Nick Hornby is such a sweetie。 Or at least his books are sweeties。 This one， a low-key love story between a 42-year-old white woman and a 22-year old black man in England is， well， sweet。 It doesn't avoid the questions of racism and agism but deals with them matter-of-factly while still telling a good story about people we can care about。 Nick Hornby delivers！ 。。。more

Willie Cherny ，

DNF。 Boring

Rossella Ratti ，

Carino

Heidi Willems ，

Liked other books by this author， but this one was simply boring and well， too simple really。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Just Like You

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Just Like You&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Just Like You&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0