Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200958 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

The Observer, October 7, 2007
'Hornby takes away the raw ironies of life and gently rubs away at them to reveal gems of bittersweet truth.'

Telegraph, October 18, 2007
'Very funny...very real'

Arena, October, 2007
'Warm, witty and wise'

Customer Reviews

Slam - oh the irony.
I don't read many books, but I picked this one up on holiday at a book exchange. I gave up a reasonable Dick Francis novel, and not having read a Nick Hornby and heard that he was good, I went for Slam. I'd not done my research properly had I? Having read it, I'd have felt short changed handing in a blank piece of paper. This is dire. If I'd written this as part of my English GCSE coursework, it would have been returned with "waffle", "where's the story?" and "start again" written all over it.

I had to finish it in case there was an interesting twist, and I thought I'd found it in Chapter 16 when we meet a character that is only briefly mentioned earlier on. But no, it goes nowhere.

If you want to listen to a 15 year old skateboarder drone on about nothing, be my guest, but you've been warned. Credit though must go to Nick for writing so much quantity without any quality.

Allegedly, The Telegraph said: "Very funny... very real". eh? It's not funny at any point, and whizzing into the future is not part of my reality. Any interesting bits were written by TH (Tony Hawk) and not NH.
How did this get published?

If you're looking to read this book - do yourself a favour and do a one eighty.

Authentic but not unpredictable
On Thursday I was off sick, so I read Slam by Nick Hornby. It is authentically narrated as a 15 year old skate-boy who thinks that Tony Hawk's autobiography is a guide for life. The book takes the reader through his first relationship and sexual experiences, and how these are influenced by his mum having had him when she was a teenager.

I didn't feel like it cut new ground, as the plot was simple and fairly predictable, but the voices were authentic and contemporary. There were also a few genuinely touching emotional moments. So, on balance I quite liked it. Its the kind of thing you could pick up in an airport, read during the flight, and leave at your destintion :)

Absolute Drivel
I was only able to get half way through the book, and that was after forcing myself to read past the first chapter.

Having read super reviews of Nick Hornby's books, I thought I should give them a go - what a disappointment!.

Apart from a ridiculous story line (previous reviews have shown how weak this is), the whole book is written in a "verbal diarrhoea" style - anything that pops into ones head goes straight onto the page. Its the sort of thing you could produce in one afternoon with a cup of tea and a dictaphone. Probably exactly what Nick Hornby did.

I won't be reading any of his other books - life's too short and there are too many good books around that deserve to be read.

Silverflora