Modern Love: A Comparison of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity and Juliet, Naked

Abstract

AbstractIn 1995 Nick Hornby published his first novel, High Fidelity, a story about obsession, love and the complications of modern life. Hornby published Juliet, Naked in 2009, where he tackles similar topics to those in High Fidelity. A key difference between these novels is the presence of the Internet in Juliet, Naked, which is not featured in High Fidelity. A comparison of Juliet, Naked and High Fidelity offers an interesting insight into Hornby’s vision of life before and after the spread of the Internet, and how it has affected the characters’ obsessions, communication and their lives in general.This essay is, however, not limited to the changes the Internet has brought, as other topics are discussed in the essay’s several chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction and is followed by a chapter containing background information on both Hornby and the novels, as well as illustrating how these novels were received by critics. The third chapter tackles a dominant theme in both books, obsession, especially male obsession with popular culture. The ensuing chapter deals with love and its complications, and how it is presented in both novels. The fifth chapter focuses on the Internet and the benefits and limitations it brings to modern life. The following chapter addresses the role of women in Juliet, Naked and High Fidelity, and how women are represented by Hornby, who has been labelled a lad lit writer. The last chapter concludes the essay with a general overview of the themes tackled in the previous chapters.