Speaking with the Angel

by Nick Hornby (Editor)

Twelve completely new stories, written by twelve of the most celebrated voices in fiction today; clever, outrageous, witty, edgy, tender, wicked... this is what they meant by "original."

Bestselling author Nick Hornby has brought together a star-studded group of writers to create this one-of-a-kind collection of first-person narratives. Here are Melissa Bank, Roddy Doyle, Dave Eggers, Helen Fielding, Colin Firth, Robert Harris, Patrick Marbis, John O'Farrell, Giles Smith, Zadie Smith, Irvine Welsh, and Nick Hornby himself.

"Speaking with the Angel" is the anthology of the year: hot... hilarious... lively... literary... and all original.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Contemporary, British Literature, Humor, Literary Fiction

233 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Nicholas Peter John Hornby is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir Fever Pitch (1992) and novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists. His books have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide as of 2018. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, Hornby was named the 29th most influential person in British culture. He has received two Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for An Education (2009), and Brooklyn (2015).

Reviews

[Bryce Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't buy Anthologies as at best they're like Mix Tapes with a few bum tracks, this one went for a good cause though and was put together by Nick Hornby so I figured hey why not it's got a few bum tracks but it's still pretty strong. A Bit of a Breakdown.

-PMQ, Robert Harris: Very funny very British FPS Account of a Prime Minister having a nervous breakdown, a bit dry but I dug it.

-The Wonder Spot: Mellisa Banks- Look I know Chick Lit is an unseemly putdown that dismisses the work without engaging it. I don't like to use it. That said this is fucking Chick Lit at its navel gazingiest worst. Bollocks

-Last Request: Giles Smith- Creepy story about an old spinster who cooks the last meals for prisoners on Death Row in a seemingly semi Orwellian future Britain. Like Good Shirley Jackson.

-Peter Shelley: Patrick Maber- I really liked this one, though I don't expect everyone to. After all 13 pages of Teenagers fucking is probably not everyones idea of great literature. But to me this really captures the heat of clumsy eager Teenage sex in away that most works dealing with the subject don't. And it's punk rock and tea fueled first encounter was similar enough to my own first few trips around the block to give me a warm feeling of affection and nostalgia. Of course I could also just be a big old dirty perv, so we can't rule that out. Surprisingly warm coming from the author of Closer.

-I'm The Only One: Zadie Smith- The Anorexic Supermodel of the bunch. Looks fine from far away but get up close and you realize a strong breeze could blow it away. Indulges Smith's worst habits allowing her to write a florid slice of life that doesn't feel like much of a slice or very life like and adds up to nil.

-Nipple Jesus: Nick Hornby- Solid Hornby. Real solid.

After I Was Thrown In The River And Before I Drowned- David Eggers: Well It's David Eggers which Means it was either A) Brilliant or B) Twee Pretentious Shit. Please choose accordingly. Given your foamy mouth bias.

Luckybitch- Helen Fielding- See this is Chick Lit I like.

The Slave- Roddy Doyle- Look I love Roddy Doyle but not when he decides that he needs to be James Joyce.

Catholic Guilt- Irvine Welsh- Wonderfully funny shaggy dog story with a pitch black sense of humor. Like Peter Shelley this one might piss alot of people off but I loved it. The story of a homophobe who gets a very unique Purgatory from St. Peter is more or less the definition of Love it or Hate it. It does after all feature a Priest getting anally violated by The Rape Ghost from Robot Chicken. Makes very good use of Welsh's trademark gutter poetry and keen sense of the obscene.

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's not that this book is bad (honestly I think GoodReads should add an 'eh it was whatever' rating to their scale so that we could correctly classify books that just sort of 'exist') ...it's just that I'm not entirely confident that anyone put their best foot forward with this collection. At times it almost feels like the authors sat around a table with a hat full of topic ideas and drew slips of paper.... Marber will write the "lose your virginity" story, Smith writes the humanizing prisoner story, Eggers decides to write from the POV of a dog (yes...), Welsh beats us over the head with an epiphany, and Colin Firth writes about a dying grandmother (not to worry, none of these are spoilers as all of these conclusion can be drawn from the first two sentences of each piece). Granted, there are some slightly unique takes on cliche'd concepts here...but I was really hoping for some better judgement by our editor (even Hornby's contribution is missing almost all of the human quality usually found in his writing).
In the end all I really take from this book is that you should never become a mime...or something...

[SHUiZMZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting and varyingly eclectic subject-matter for short stories, some more interesting than others. My favorite story was young teenagers fucking their brains out for the first time to the Buzzcocks. Go figure. It was dirty, raw, and graphic. I loved it. I wish it reminded me of the first time I lost my virginity. Sadly enough, my experience was nothing like it.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vedle předních britských autorů se literárně blýsknul i Colin Firth alias Mark Darcy;-)

[Alec Downie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gets an extra star for being a good cause.

A light read with some interesting shorts.

[Cheryl Bentley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories. I really enjoyed all of them until the last three which just seemed to go too dark, and it’s not as if the others were all fun and farce.

[Jan Priddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about these stories. There was two or three I liked very much, several were downright offensive, and one from the viewpoint of a dog I simply refuse to read (seriously, another one?).

The introduction by Nick Hornby is the only memorable contribution. Hornby edited this book as a fundraiser to support autism education, and his story is wonderful and worth the price.

[Bito Teles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ganhei esse livro de presente do meu irmão em 2002. Desde então, quase todos os anos eu volto a ler os contos deliciosos desta coletânia. Jesus Mamilo e Depoimento Ministerial são os meus preferidos e excelentes exemplos de como o humor britânico funciona muito bem também na literatura.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 5 Question Review

Share a one sentence synopsis, please?
A collection of adequate McSweeney-esque short stories by the young literary elite of the early aughts.

What did you like?
The opening story about a runaway Prime Minister was pretty cute (“PMQ”), I appreciated the vulnerability of “The Wonder Spot”, and for an story with 'nipple’ in its title, “NippleJesus” was surprisingly enjoyable and thought provoking. Well done on that count, Mr. Hornby.

Dislike?
Can’t really knock this book too hard as proceeds went to the charity school for severely autistic children which was attended by NH’s son. Although someone should have explained to Colin Firth that the ‘short’ in ‘short story’ isn’t just a kicky prefix. Also what exactly was the message of Irvine Welsh’s “Catholic Guilt” because to me it was like some weird “are homophobes born that way or is it a choice” question. Oh, and c’mon Dave Eggers with your precious telling-a-story-from-a-dog’s-perspective-but-then-killing-him-off-though-it-wasn’t-a-surprise-because-it’s-in-the-title-so-we-shouldn’t-act-all-upset-about-it. The cleverness is exhausting.

Why this book?
Well, I have had an unread Nick Hornby book on my shelf for more than a decade. It’s about mix tapes and I stopped reading it part way through because I was jealous that I didn’t think of it first, even though I’m not a writer. I picked up this book (also on my shelf) thinking it was that book. But it’s not. I have no idea where this book came from even though it has my name in the cover. I sincerely hope I bought it new so the funds supported Treehouse School.

Did anything stick?
"NippleJesus" and the whole “what is art?” question stuck around for about a week and some change. And I’m still mad at Dave Eggers. I’m so glad it’s not the year 2000 anymore so he isn’t being witty and smart all over everything all the time.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dedicated to editor Hornby’s son Danny, $2 of the cover price of this collection will be donated to Treehouse, a school for autistic children. Hornby’s explanation of why this collection came about in the introduction is in itself a heart-felt piece of writing. And then he’s topped it with NippleJesus, a story about a nightclub bouncer turned art gallery security guard and his reactions to a controversial work called, you guessed it, NippleJesus.

My other favorite was PMQ by Robert Harris whereby the Prime Minister is making a statement to the House regarding the incidents of the previous evening. Helen Fielding, Melissa Bank and Roddy Doyle, among others make thoughtful appearances here as well. The most fun, however, was trying to figure out, in Colin Firth’s The Department of Nothing, if being “the pants” was a good thing or bad. As in, “he hated me because I was the pants at football.”

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like short stories. In fact one of best stories I've ever read, including comics and full length novels, is 'The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains', a short by Neil Gaiman. A good short story is like a fling. You meet, smile at each other, embrace, kiss and kiss and kiss some more and all the happy chemicals explode in your head and just when you're beginning to catch your breath, it ends. It's a little supernova in a few thousand words and it impregnates the mind with endless worlds.

Short stories are also a good way to discover writers, taste them and try them on for size. I had no idea Colin Firth could write but 'The Department of Nothing' is my favorite story in this collection. I hope he writes a few more.

The diversity of styles in this collection is a marvellous feast to be savoured long after the final full stop.

Enjoy!

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to see the lit circle Nick Hornby pulled together, for a good cause sure, but also to show off some short story skills: Robert Harris' PMQ must have been written while researching for the Ghost. Nick gives his brother-in-law and a few others (like John O'Farrell & Colin Firth) room to impress while filling in the gaps with fluffier, aren't-we-naughty material from other writers. Hornby's own NippleJesus seems caught between these two tendancies, and it's his playfulness with inner monologues that makes it a good read. Also surprising to think how relevant a story like Last Requests has become, when it was written sometime before September 11th.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Egger's short story "After I Was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned" is included in this collection. It's one of my favorites--it's written from a dog's POV and he captures the dog's rhythms and (what a human might guess to be) the dog's mindset so so well. It's storytelling that leaves me awestruck. And, truthfully, it's the one (and only) story that stuck with me long after I read this collection. So, really, I need to just pick up more of Egger's short story collections and novels, eh?

[Lalaine David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book benefits the TreeHouse foundation for autistic children, which Hornby's son attended. In the introduction, Hornby starts off by saying he owes nothing to the readers, only to the contributors of the anthology, which seems like a haughty thing to say for someone who is doing charitable work.

This collection of stories is okay. Some stories are good, Hornby's NippleJesus being the best (he's editor, after all)

Runners Up:

PMQ
Last Requests
Luckybitch
Catholic Guilt
Walking into the Wind

[Marcus Wallis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad read but it wasn’t a great read either.

A book of short stories needs to have one cracker of a story. A story that is so good that it makes people feel that it was worthwhile reading the book for that story alone.

This book doesn’t have a story like that. It has 12 quite readable stories but nothing to knock your socks off.

I want to say something positive so I’ll add that the story Lucky Bitch by Helen Fielding was quite good and my pick of the bunch.

Sorry Colin Firth….I just didn’t get your story.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, perhaps a little too much. I bought it on a whim and it introduced me to Helen Fielding and Zadie Smith, gave me more from Hornby and Welsh and instructed me to steer clear of Eggers in the future (I know many love him, I'm just not there yet.) But I became smitten w/it when I read "Peter Shelley" by Patrick Marber, so much so that I attempted to hunt down his other works which only consist of plays (and I'm not one for plays).

[Jessica Haider · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overall entertaining collection of contemporary short stories by mostly British authors such as Nick Hornby, Roddy Doyle, Giles Smith and Helen Fielding. I mean, come on, one of the stories is titled "NippleJesus", how can you resist that?

[Tracy Camp · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story, PMQ, was very fun. Loved it. A bit hum-drum throughout the rest of the book until my man Irvine Welsh popped up on the scene. The man can do no wrong. Colin Firth's story was my least favorite :(

[Shawn MacDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this book for ages and just now got around to reading it. It's a decent collection of short stories, but there are a few that were a little blah. I actually read Dave Eggers' story someplace before, maybe it was in McSweeney's? I don't know. Anyway, on to the next book.

[Courier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starting the year of with... This? It wasn't great but like, a quick read (at least for my standards lol)
Some stories were at least a little interesting, while some others... Well, borderline offensive to a queer person like me (looking at you catholic guilt story)

[Türker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Hornby'nin editörlüğünde on iki yazardan öyküler. Köle, Memeucuisa ve Rüzgara Karşı Yürümek öyküleri için 3/5

[Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story collection was a chance find - I got it from my building's laundry room book exchange, because I was wanting to read some short stories for writing inspiration, and I like Nick Hornby, who edited it. It's all UK authors and it turns out the anthology was put together for a charitable cause to help kids with autism. The stories are all pretty good, with some fun surprises - who knew the actor Colin Firth could also write excellent literary fiction? And then there was a story about two teenagers listening to a Buzzcocks single and then getting together romantically, by the author Patrick Marber. It was so familiar to me in the details, I became convinced I must have seen a film based on it, and thanks to the internet I was able to confirm it. The story was the basis of a memorable 15-minute-long short film called "Love You More," that I must have seen at some point, from 2008. I looked at the publication date, and the short story collection came out in 2000 - I hadn't realized it was nearly 25 years old because the book looked nearly new! It also has stories from Helen Fielding (Bridget Jones's Diary), Dave Eggers, Zadie Smith, Roddy Doyle, Melissa Bank (The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing), and the guy who wrote Trainspotting, Irvine Welch, as well as by Nick Hornby himself - so a really solid set of stories that did not disappoint.

[Caity Honig · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge Nick Hornby fan, I’m sad to report this short story collected he edited fell flat. I originally intended to talk about a couple of my favorite stories and potentially criticize my least favorite, but I legitimately cannot remember much of any of them.

Don’t get me wrong: they weren’t like painful to read. I chucked at a few. Some definitely made me think. I don’t regret reading it. But the fact that it took me almost a month to get through 225 pages of short stories (a medium famous for being easily digestible) is, well, telling.

TL;DR (wait, can this review be too long for anyone?) if you like Nick Hornby’s writing style, I’d skip this book and read any of his novels. If you like short story collections…well the fact that buying this book sends some money to schools that support kids with autism is pretty cool. I’m not super well read in short story collections, so maybe it’s a decent one. But I suspect there are also better ones out there :/

[Tony Lawrence]

(retrospective review c.2011) Picked up in a second hand book shop, the Book Cellar in St George, Bermuda ... lovely place but so hot!!

This is a fine collection of short stories, seemingly put together from Hornby's friends and assorted glitterati ... and Colin Firth! No stand-out stories, although Hornby's own 'Nipplejesus' was good and John O'Farrell's story about a mime artist was very funny.

I've seen this compared to Bennett's Talking Heads, the Angel being a metaphor (I think!) for each 1st person narrative (and a 1st-dog); often witty, sometimes rude, always thoughtful and evocative.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una colección de relatos escrita por grandes autores de la literatura anglosajona. Si tengo que ser sincera, esta recopilación es muy asimétrica, ya que contiene un poco de todo. Algunos cuentos son soberbios y muy originales, mientras que otros son aburridos o simplemente insípidos. El que los fondos vayan destinados a una buena causa, como es el tratamiento de los niños con autismo, puede ser un buen aliciente para comprarlo. Sin embargo, desde el punto de vista literario me ha parecido un poco decepcionante.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book as a “blind date with a book”— it was wrapped up and the clues made it seem interesting.

The description read:

-British literature
-Prime minister having a nervous breakdown
-Old spinster
-Death row
-Clumsy teenage love
-Supermodel

Some of the description was more accurate than others. I enjoyed a number of stories from this anthology, yet near the end I was struggling to finish it. The book’s cover is also quite strange and unappealing. However, I like that this book was written for a good cause.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this lying on a shelf and read it. It's 12 stories by British authors curated by Nick Hornby as a fundraiser for a school for autistic children (where his son went at the time). The collection came out in 2000 and already feels a little dated in stretches. Maybe everything pre-9/11 has that feeling. None of the stories were terrible but neither hit the highest notes of a short story either.

[Jelena Hiblović · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knjiga je uzeta zbog price Irvina Velsa, bila sam luda za njim i njegovim stivom. Stajala je gosinama ne procitana i sad sam je slucajno nasla. Zanimljiv nacin da se upoznam sa jos nekim engleskim piscima sem Nika, definitivno su mi pojedini zagolicali mastu svojim pricama pa ih imam u planu.Srecna kucka moj favorit.

[Rochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection of diverse short stories. I bought this book because of Nick Hornby and the fact he asked his friends to contribute stories, all proceeds for charity. And secondly because one of his friends is Colin Firth, needless to say he is not a great writer, but it was great fun just the same!

[Giuliano · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did read this book many years ago, I recently purchased it again, wondering why I didn't recall much of the short stories in it. Now I kind of know why: although many of my favourite British writers are indeed included in this collection, nothing is really memorable. They're not bad per se, just lackluster. Can't really recommend it.