Speaking with the Angel

by Nick Hornby

Paperback, 2001

Status

Available

Call number

823.0108

Genres

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

Riverhead Trade (2001), Edition: 1st Riverhead trade paperback ed, Paperback, 233 pages

Description

Hear someone who speaks entirely in the language of the Third Way, as imagined by Robert Harris. Listen to someone who has a small hostile creature in his room, as told by Roddy Doyle. Ten voices, ten completely new stories, narrated by ten different characters. And all written by ten of the most exciting and popular writers around. This sparkling collection has been put together by bestselling novelist Nick Hornby who also contributes an introduction about TreeHouse, the educational charity for autistic children. All royalties from the sales of Speaking with the Angelare going to TreeHouse.

User reviews

LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne

I bought this because I was curious about Colin Firth's story. (Good!) I have also read the others (generally, also good) except for the one by Irvine Welsh, which I stopped reading after two pages. I don't need to bother with that kind of language.

The problem with this as a collection is that

there is nothing holding it together.

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9 more

LibraryThing member librarybrandy

I picked this up because I was looking for a reasonably light and fun, but not brainless, collection, so Nick Hornby seemed the way to go. Mission accomplished; that's exactly what this was. Some stories were better than others, but that's to be expected in any collection.

A portion of the proceeds

from the cover price go toward schools for kids with autism, making me feel like a big jerk for having bought this used. Ah, well.

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LibraryThing member ursula

A rather uneven collection of short stories by various writers. I enjoyed Nick Hornby's and Colin Firth's stories the most.

LibraryThing member vicarofdibley

collection of stories some good some ok, brought to gether to raise money for the Treehouse Trust for Autistic Children

LibraryThing member wordygirl39

I like so many of these writers and the cause is one of the better ones. Buy this book and help Nick run his foundation. Bonus track: actor Colin Firth turns out to be a pretty fair writer!

LibraryThing member FarzurHoelle

There are some good stories featured in this collection. I especially enjoyed those by Hornby himself, Roddy Doyle and Patrick Marber.

LibraryThing member phoebesmum

Short stories, written for a good cause, but which fail to stick in the mind. Hornby’s introduction, however, in which he talks about his son's autism, does, as does the afterword by a woman who’s benefited from the cause he’s supporting.

LibraryThing member KLmesoftly

Edited by Nick Hornby, this collection of short stories includes the work of some excellent and often best-selling contemporary writers. This sort of collection is usually a mixed bag for me as a reader, but Speaking with the Angel was made up almost entirely of high-quality, entertaining fiction.

High points were the efforts of Dave Eggers, Zadie Smith, and Hornby himself, and the only story I didn't enjoy was Irvine Welsh's unsubtle, unfunny "Catholic Guilt You (Know You Like It)." I'll second one reviewer's note that even Colin Firth's piece is surprisingly good.

Overall, the collection is very strong (and very worth recommending).

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LibraryThing member traciolsen

This compilation has my very favorite short story, which succinctly describes a deeply held view I have about art. It's the one by Nick Horby, who I just love to bits and pieces, and it's called Nipple Jesus. Also, proceeds go to autism research, so come for the Nipple Jesus, stay for the altruism.

LibraryThing member AngelaLam

Great anthology!

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