Nick Hornby appeared on the British literary scene in 1992 with the publication of his imaginative and moving memoir Fever Pitch, an account of his years as a fanatic supporter of the Arsenal Football Club. Six years later Andrew Anthony called Hornby “the most successful British author of his generation.” (Guardian, 25 August 1998) Fever Pitch was a nominee for a Whitbread Prize and received remarkable critical praise, including the admiration of many people indifferent or even hostile to British football (soccer). When Hornby followed that success by editing another book about football, he seemed to have placed himself in a niche as the intellectual's football fan; however, though he later co-edited a book of sportswriting, he has also made his name as the author of two well-received and popular novels, High Fidelity (1995) and About a Boy (1998). What Hornby offers to many readers is honesty about emotion and an awareness of...