56. How To Be Good

by Nick Hornby (305 pgs)

Rating: 5

Katie Carr is a doctor. She cares about people. She cares about world issues. She tries very hard 'to be good.' And she is good to. Isn't she? Ok she doesn't invite homeless people into her home or give away all her excess income but she can still be good. Right? Right!? One would think so but when her husband goes from first class prick to reborn secular saint, he challenges her sense of comparative goodness.

How to be Good is hilarious and sad. It challenges ideas of goodness particularly in contrast to meeting one's own needs. While it does make a lot of very good points I think the most interesting facet was in how it pointed out how difficult it is to argue with the righteous. We know that we need to take care of ourselves and deserve to have the luxuries we work for, but it's hard to argue that when someone pulls a 'but people are starving in India.' How do you defend yourself without feeling like a prick and is it even possible to?

Recommended for people who like to dwell on the grey.