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A Long Way Down

3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 · rating details · 36,422 ratings · 2,543 reviews

In his eagerly awaited fourth novel, New York Times-bestselling author Nick Hornby mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who connect just when they've reached the end of the line.

Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is Amer...more In his eagerly awaited fourth novel, New York Times-bestselling author Nick Hornby mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who connect just when they've reached the end of the line.

Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper's House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives.

In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells a story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance, and their own mortality. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances.

Intense, hilarious, provocative, and moving, A Long Way Down is a novel about suicide that is, surprisingly, full of life.

What's your jumping-off point?

Maureen
Why is it the biggest sin of all? All your life you're told that you'll be going to this marvelous place when you pass on. And the one thing you can do to get you there a bit quicker is something that stops you getting there at all. Oh, I can see that it's a kind of queue-jumping. But if someone jumps the queue at the post office, people tut. Or sometimes they say "Excuse me, I was here first." They don't say "You will be consumed by hellfire for all eternity." That would be a bit strong.

Martin
I'd spent the previous couple of months looking up suicides on the Internet, just out of curiosity. And nearly every single time, the coroner says the same thing: "He took his own life while the balance of his mind was disturbed." And then you read the story about the poor bastard: His wife was sleeping with his best friend, he'd lost his job, his daughter had been killed in a road accident some months before . . . Hello, Mr. Coroner? I'm sorry, but there's no disturbed mental balance here, my friend. I'd say he got it just right.

Jess
I was at a party downstairs. It was a shit party, full of all these ancient crusties sitting on the floor drinking cider and smoking huge spliffs and listening to weirdo space-out reggae. At midnight, one of them clapped sarcastically, and a couple of others laughed, and that was it-Happy New Year to you, too. You could have turned up to that party as the happiest person in London, and you'd still have wanted to jump off the roof by five past twelve. And I wasn't the happiest person in London anyway. Obviously.

JJ
New Year's Eve was a night for sentimental losers. It was my own stupid fault. Of course there'd be a low-rent crowd up there. I should have picked a classier date-like March 28, when Virginia Woolf took her walk into the river, or November 25 (Nick Drake). If anybody had been on the roof on either of those nights, the chances are they would have been like-minded souls, rather than hopeless f*ck-ups who had somehow persuaded themselves that the end of a calendar year is in any way significant.(less)

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published May 2nd 2006 by Riverhead Trade (first published 2005)

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Mar 20, 2008 Raych rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oh popular authors, I'm always so nervous about you. I mean, on the one hand I always figure that if so many people like you, there must be something good about you. But then, so many people like harlequin romances, and Dane Cook, and Big Brother. People are idiots. Even when they aren't, they can't always be trusted. My friend Amy actually loved Confessions of a Slacker Wife, and my husband really liked The Innocent Man, a.k.a. Was John Grisham Always This Bad And I Just Didn't Notice?, and my...more Oh popular authors, I'm always so nervous about you. I mean, on the one hand I always figure that if so many people like you, there must be something good about you. But then, so many people like harlequin romances, and Dane Cook, and Big Brother. People are idiots. Even when they aren't, they can't always be trusted. My friend Amy actually loved Confessions of a Slacker Wife, and my husband really liked The Innocent Man, a.k.a. Was John Grisham Always This Bad And I Just Didn't Notice?, and my friend Karen lists as her top three books ever Eli Wiesel's Night (awesome), The Kite Runner (also awesome), and friggin Million Little Pieces (total crap). These are bright, funny people. I voluntarily hang out with them. But they actually enjoy books that are total tripe, so the fact that people on the whole enjoy Nick Hornby's books means nothing.

I enjoyed the hell out of Long Way Down. Seriously, I did not expect to love it this much. And then a friend asked me what I was reading, and all I had to say was 'This book about four people who, separately, decide to throw themselves off a tall building on New Years Eve, but then they all get up there and, hey, there's three other people up here. Well, this is awkward' and now she's going to read it, because how hilarious is that? What a ridiculous and somehow totally believable premise!

Ok, so it's New Years Eve, and Martin (because he is an alcoholic ex-morning-show-host who has been in all the papers lately for sleeping with a fifteen-year-old who, to his credit, told him she was sixteen, which isn't exactly illegal, but whose wife left him for it anyways, and took their two kids), Maureen (because her son Matty is a vegetable, always has been and always will be, and she hasn't done anything worth mentioning in the last twenty years besides care for him and become socially awkward), JJ (because his band broke up and his girlfriend left him, although the reason he initially gives is that he has CCR, a totally fictional disease and also a wicked 60's rock band) and Jess (because she has family and relationship problems, but mostly just because she is young and nuts and it seemed like a good idea at the time) have all lugged themselves to the top of Toppers' House with the intention of doing themselves in. But then, how do you toss yourself off a building when there's other people hanging around? No one wants to be the first, and for sure no one wants to be the last. So they get to chatting and eventually decide to go solve Jess's most immediate problem, which has something to do with a boy and an explanation.

That solved, they begin finding other things to do, other things to tether them to the earth and keep them from jumping. Oh sure, they still talk about it, and even arrange to meet back on Toppers' on Valentine's Day so they can finally give themselves the old heave-ho. But with one thing and another, it's really hard to find time to kill yourself, you know?

At one point, Maureen (she of the vegetable son) says, 'You'd think this would be the story of four people who met because they were unhappy, and wanted to help each other. But it hadn't been...it had been the story of four people who met because they were unhappy and then swore at each other.' And it never changes. Martin begins the book by sitting on Jess's head (to prevent her from jumping, which is ostensibly kind but kind of a rough way to go about things) and the last page finds her listing all the ways that he's failed at life.

And yet, even though the characters are perverted (Martin), coarse (Jess), lazy (JJ), and really insurmountably lame (Maureen), and none of them says more than two kind words to each other the entire 333 pages, they're terribly endearing. It's their complete reluctance to be together combined with their absolute need for each other that sets the stage for all of the hilarious moments (of which there are many) and all of the poignant ones (of which there are mercifully few). Nothing really is solved, and no one lives happily ever after, but I closed the book with such a sense of sweet satisfaction. I never do this, because I think it's cheating, but I'm going to steal a line from the New York Times Book Review: 'Hornby is a writer who dares to be witty, intelligent and emotionally generous all at once.'

Hear hear.

(review originally posted on www.booksidoneread.blogspot.com)(less)

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Apr 24, 2009 Malbadeen rated it 1 of 5 stars

jump already! and take the book with you.

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Sep 05, 2007 Mark rated it 1 of 5 stars

Boy, is there anyone who has offered up more stinkers than Nick flippin' Hornby. And, was he so great to begin with? Even his better, earlier works were marginally good. Nothing life changing.

Which is kinda the point of why he's so awful: he is intentionally trying to be life changing in every book, essay, magazine column or whatever. He thinks he can somehow find the right prose combination for some idea or mindset to click and for it to change one's life ... much like these things do to chara...more

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May 09, 2012 Stefania T. rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Romanzo senza infamia nè lode.
O forse l'ascriverlo alla categoria delle letture "senzainfamianèlode" è già una consistente e minacciosa infamia.
Diciamo, allora, romanzo da me marchiato con il lugubre timbro dell'Indifferenza.
Sono metaforicamente e concretamente la stessa persona/lettrice che ero prima di cominciarne la lettura (bè, ok, lo ammetto, mi è spuntato un brufolo - forse due - nel frattempo, ma non credo di avere il diritto di accusare Nick Hornby di tale misfatto).
Esperienza che non...more

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Dec 09, 2007 Trish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a Nick Hornby fan. And it's more than just enjoying his writing; I have a warm and fuzzy affection for him. So even when one of his books fails to utterly delight and transport me (How to Be Good, for example), I'm still on his side.

Michiko Kakutani clearly has no such affection for Hornby. Her review of A Long Way Down is savage. Her chief complaint is that the book contrives to arrive at an implausibly sappy conclusion. Which is odd, because I think the book admirably avoids easy answers...more I'm a Nick Hornby fan. And it's more than just enjoying his writing; I have a warm and fuzzy affection for him. So even when one of his books fails to utterly delight and transport me (How to Be Good, for example), I'm still on his side.

Michiko Kakutani clearly has no such affection for Hornby. Her review of A Long Way Down is savage. Her chief complaint is that the book contrives to arrive at an implausibly sappy conclusion. Which is odd, because I think the book admirably avoids easy answers or cloying sentimentality.

True, it begins with a colossal coincidence: Four people climb to the top of the same building with the thought of a suicidal plummet. Of course, once Maureen taps Martin on the shoulder, and once they see teen-age Jess taking a run for the parapet, and once JJ arrives with pizza, they can't really jump to their deaths, can they? Instead they munch a few slices and decide to humor Jess by helping her track down her "ex-boyfriend," Chas, who she claims not to have been stalking, unless endless phone calls and unexpected visits to his workplace constitute stalking.

I didn't find it difficult to roll with the premise, in part because the novel is told in rotating first person, first Martin, then Maureen, then Jess, then JJ. As you step into each person's shoes, it's not too difficult to understand why they might mull ending it all, and why a random collision with a stranger might give each one pause.

Kakutani accuses Hornby of coralling the characters into a touchy-feely support group, but that's exactly what they aren't. None of them have much in common beyond their suicidal thoughts, and even those are different shades of blue. Jess is just mad, all impulse and ignorance and id. Martin has royally fucked up, an ill-fated fling with a coke-snorting 15-year-old landing him in the clink and out of his family and job. Maureen is sadled with a disabled son and a life devoid of life. And JJ may claim to be dying of "CCR," but his real problem is an addiction to rock 'n' roll and his inability to score a fix now that his band has dissolved.

There aren't easy answers. Jess's missing sister isn't going to reappear. Jess won't be hit with a sudden wave of sanity. Maureen's son isn't going to recover (or die). Martin can't undo the damage he's done, or even quickly become the type of person who won't cock up his life so badly. And JJ isn't about to discover a new purpose in life, like caring for Maureen's vegetable son or teaching underprivileged kids to play the guitar. There's no redemptive power of love on display. And the four members of the ad hoc support group never particularly like one another.

So Michiko and I will just have to be at opposite ends of the spectrum on this one.

The question for me, then, is where should this be placed in the Hornby canon? If his best is High Fidelity, and I believe it is, and if About a Boy takes second ... I think A Long Way Down is better than How to Be Good, perhaps the third-best Hornby novel. I like it, but it won't call out to be re-read any time soon. I'd recommend it to fellow Hornby afficionados, but I won't trumpet its merits far and wide, proselytizing to the masses.

I turned down the corner of a page, and Aaron could immediately tell what passage I wanted to quote:

How do people, like, not curse? How is it possible? There are these gaps in speech where you just have to put a "fuck." I'll tell you who the most admirable people in the world are: newscasters. If that was me, I'd be like, "And the motherfuckers flew the fucking plane right into the Twin Towers." How could you not, if you're a human being? Maybe they're not so admirable. Maybe they're robot zombies.(less)

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Oct 24, 2007 Josh Feinzimer rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: to people who are secure enough to laugh at their own despair

Shelves: comedy

I didn't get into Hornby for the same reason as everyone else, (they like Jon Cusak in High Fidelity). A Long Way Down was recommended to me by a friend and I needed a light read for the summer so I picked it up.

I have never actually laughed out loud while reading a book until I read this one. Running With Scissors was the closest I came, but Augusten Burroughs was such an unrealistic and absurd character, (which is ironic because he was based on a real person), that it seemed too ridiculous to...more

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Jul 05, 2009 Kat Mc rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Empathetic Adults

I just read this book in two days. It was great. The story is told from four perspectives, and because of the great writing by Hornby you can't set it down mid chapter. You want to race through the chapters to complete each character's thoughts and the picture each one is painting of the same storyline.

What a great concept too, four strangers meet and share a suicidal moment, and end up sharing more because of meeting each other.

Each character was hilarious in their own right, which was also gr...more

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Sep 10, 2009 brook rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. this book was so infuriating. i found it in borders, on sale for $3. i thought it was a steal, and i really enjoyed high fidelity, so why not? now i just feel ripped off.

the story is about 4 random people that meet on the roof a building. they all want to kill themselves, for completely pitiful reasons. they end up not killing themselves; in fact, they journey through the path to recovery by depending on one another. the thing is, they don't even get along, and none of the characters are very li...more

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Sep 10, 2007 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars

One wouldn't think that a book that begins when the four main characters meet on a roof, each contemplating suicide, could be touching AND funny, but this was. The relationships these characters develop with one another reveal the way that external situations can create unlikely friendships, and how difficult a word like "friend" can be to use or comprehend. To quote the Publishers Weekly review, "If Camus had written a grown-up version of The Breakfast Club, the result might have had more than...more

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Dec 04, 2008 Imogen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn't realize I hadn't written about this, but Kerry just posted that she is reading it and no review from me came up so I will tell you that I liked this book a lot. I mean, I was surprised at how much I liked it- mostly I picked it up on a whim because I was going on a trip somewhere and a UK edition came in, with the laundry line cover, and I said to myself, huh. I am still ambivalent about Nick Hornby, even though what I've read ( High Fidelity and his brilliant, genius, wonderful Believe...more

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Dec 20, 2008 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book almost deserved one star. The only thing that saved it from being a complete and utter waste of my time was that Nick Horny writes the occasional very witty passage, and there were two (count them, two) observations that I found actually interesting. So that totals about five pages that I actually enjoyed.

The rest was quintessential fluffy drivel, which does have its place, but not when the book is discussing suicide, the meaning of life (or the lack thereof), and other such Profound T...more This book almost deserved one star. The only thing that saved it from being a complete and utter waste of my time was that Nick Horny writes the occasional very witty passage, and there were two (count them, two) observations that I found actually interesting. So that totals about five pages that I actually enjoyed.

The rest was quintessential fluffy drivel, which does have its place, but not when the book is discussing suicide, the meaning of life (or the lack thereof), and other such Profound Topics. The multiple point-of-view narrations could have added a very interesting aspect to exploring suicide and its aftermath, except for the fact that they pretty much all had the same point of view and the same voice -- Hornby's. Every time any character made a witty joke or a clever observation, it could have just of easily come from the other characters, and you got the distinct impression that Hornby had been having a pint with his mates, made some witty comment about T.V. announcers or quiz shows, and thought, "Nick old bloke, write that one down. Your going to want to put that in your next book!" It was fine that the narrator in High Fidelity was a Hornby stand in, but when the 16 year old punk-rich girl, the middle-aged T.V. host, the 50 year old woman with a disabled son, and the fallen rock star are ALL Hornby stand ins it gets a bit much.

Okay, some of this might be considered "Spoilers" so beware (I'm not calling them spoilers, cause there's nothing to spoil, but there you are). To start, the premise is both ridiculous yet tediously predictable: four people meet on a roof to kill them selves! Who wants to bet they DON'T jump? Who wants to bet the improbably become entangled in each other's lives? Who wants to bet they end up improbably helping one another learn Important Truths about Themselves and Life? Who wants to bet that, when they meet up in 90 days on the roof to jump, none of them kill themselves, because they now all want to live? Who wants to bet that they all get sort of Warm, Fuzzy, Life-Affirming Endings, even if one or two are Extremely Deep in that they learn No Meaning is The Meaning?

Not that I want to spoil anything, but anyone taking those bets is very likely to win. The ending was truly worse than I had expected. It was good for a few chuckles, but then so are ZIggy and Garfield, yet I avoid them on a daily basis. It might have only taken me a week of twice-daily 20 minute bus-rides to finish this, but it was still a waste of time -- I could have been reading vampire romance manga.(less)

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May 01, 2012 Clay rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book, as many others, is not for everyone. I can completely understand that many people find those characters annoying and the whole story pointless. Nevertheless I am of the opinion that this book can give you hope. Of course this seems to be a silly thing to say considering the topic and all those miserable characters.

But let me explain. Apparently Johnny Depp called the characters some of the most outstanding he's ever had the pleasure of reading. And I can agree. They're all really fuc...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Inge *Studying for Exams* rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: difficult-topics, emotional, god-have-mercy, high-expectations-got-disappointed, less-personality-than-a-paper-bag, main-character-is-a-dumb-cow, meh, put-a-sock-in-it, realistic-fiction

I had high hopes for this book, because my brother recommended this to me. My brother. The one who:
- tried to make fun of me for liking books on a book fanpage
- only reads books when they're written by either Barney Stinson or basketball players
So when that guy says a certain book is good, you go for it.

This is the story of four people who want to commit suicide on New Year's Eve. Of course, this is pretty much the most popular night to rob yourself of your own life, so it's not that surprising...more I had high hopes for this book, because my brother recommended this to me. My brother. The one who:
- tried to make fun of me for liking books on a book fanpage
- only reads books when they're written by either Barney Stinson or basketball players
So when that guy says a certain book is good, you go for it.

This is the story of four people who want to commit suicide on New Year's Eve. Of course, this is pretty much the most popular night to rob yourself of your own life, so it's not that surprising that they all end up together. Martin was first. He's lost his marriage, his kids, his job and his reputation because he slept with a 15-year-old who told him she was 18. He did his time in jail, but of course, that doesn't change everything. His life is ruined. Just when he is about to jump, Maureen climbs up to the rooftop. It's a lot harder to jump when you've got an audience.

Maureen is a middle-aged woman with a son who is a vegetable. He has never been able to say a word, he's just there, breathing. Maureen's entire life revolves around taking care of her son, up to the point where she has no job, no friends, no hobbies, no life. So what difference would it make to her son if she was gone?

Enter Jess. 18-year-old Jess who stalks a guy named Chas because he slept with her and then broke it off without an explanation. Jess is a teenage girl and has moodswings, so that's why she finds herself on that rooftop on New Year's Eve.

The fourth guy is JJ. He used to be in a band. They failed. He's also lost his girlfriend, the one he moved to England for. Now he's a pizza deliverer. Not exactly a glamorous job. He's the final member of this Suicide Team. They end up talking a bit and decide to give it a few more weeks, where they try to help improve each other's lives. That's the beginning of an usual friendship between four very unusual people who would never have spoken to each other if it wasn't for New Year's Eve.

It sounds good, but that's all. The premise was good, the actual story not so much. Even though it's only 257 pages, it was too long. There were a lot of redundant parts and it made the story quite boring. Maybe my brother lied to me just so he could get rid of the book.

Bastard.(less)

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Dec 17, 2011 Christina (Reading Thru The Night) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, contemporary

Summary:

Four people meet on top of a building New Year’s Eve night planning to plummet to their death.

The characters in six words:

JJ: Depressed musician who’ll never be famous
Martin: Newscaster likes young girls; marriage over.
Maureen: Dowdy mom cares for vegetable son.
Jess: Borderline Personality who’s sister goes missing.

The NYT’s says: “At its heart, [it] isn’t really about suicide itself, anyway…it’s more about what happens when you don’t kill yourself…”

I couldn’t have said it better.

My...more

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May 29, 2011 Alexandra rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: belletristik

Vier Personen treffen sich zu Silvester zufällig auf dem Dach eines Hochhauses, weil sie sich umbringen wollen. Da man bei so einer intimen Aktion aber lieber allein ist, verschieben sie den Termin und beginnen, sich gegenseitig zu helfen. Eine sehr spannde Geschichte, die Hornby da eingefallen ist, mit viel Potenzial, in die Verzweiflung unterschiedlichster Seelen hineinzuschauen, was dem Autor auch sehr gut gelingt.

Leider wird stilistisch alle 2-3 Seiten die Geschichte aus der Perspektive ein...more

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Oct 27, 2008 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hornby, goodmodernfiction

Four characters, and I mean that in every sense of the word, meet on New Years Eve in London and decide to jump off a roof and put an end to their troubles. Two men, two women, three Brits and one American, they suffer from such maladies as an embarrassing and public sex scandal, caring for a vegetative dependent child, the break-up of a band and a girlfriend, and general emotional baggage and family issues. None of those things seem like very good reasons to commit suicide, but that is exactly...more

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Jul 31, 2008 Joni rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teenagers/adults

Highly enjoyed this book. The plot was strong, and the characters and their situations were vivid and believable. Lots have people have been saying that they were annoyed by the fact that the four main characters are so stereotypical, but i actually think that that was what made the book work. It was because they were so typically different that their interactions were so funny and interesting...if that makes sense?

The only thing I would say, I was a bit put-off by the huge amount of swearing, b...more

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Sep 23, 2007 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those who've felt depressed

Sometimes when you listen to a book on audio CD, it's hard to tell if the characters sound so alive because the author wrote them that way, or because the voice actors are brilliant. I'll have to take a look at the actual book to be sure, but Hornby's use of fillers such as "like," "you know," and "whatever" made his dialogue writing quite realistic.

That's a good thing when an entire book is composed of inner monologues. If only this book existed when I was auditioning for those dreadful high sc...more

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Sep 20, 2007 Luke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature, fiction

Interesting weaving of 4 first person accounts of a group that meets on a roof just before they attempt to commit suicide. At times, I wanted to put it down and give it up, namely at the point that the teenage character takes over the narrative. Much like Harry Potter in the 5th book, fictional teenagers are done best when they drive you nuts as an adult reader. Each character is brilliantly deep, and the title of the book is a metaphor for the further falling that someone can do after consideri...more Interesting weaving of 4 first person accounts of a group that meets on a roof just before they attempt to commit suicide. At times, I wanted to put it down and give it up, namely at the point that the teenage character takes over the narrative. Much like Harry Potter in the 5th book, fictional teenagers are done best when they drive you nuts as an adult reader. Each character is brilliantly deep, and the title of the book is a metaphor for the further falling that someone can do after considering that suicide is their only option left.

Nick Hornby hasn't really caught me since "About A Boy" and "High Fidelity", both of which I highly recommend. "How To Be Good" digs into a much more serious fare compared to his previous two outings, and lacks the little touches of Hornby's personality that I truly loved in his previous novels: his humor and his passion for music. There is a character that clearly embodies both of these aspects in "A Long Way Down", and I was drawn to him more than the others.

Hornby hits a few profound notes:
Jess, the troubled teenager, talks about the fact that she could try to be good, but left to herself she can't do it. It's like telling a bathtub full of water to pull the plug but not let the water drain; it just can't happen. Brilliant illustration of sin.
The whole concept of this suffering community of souls, all with different entry points, are able to carry each other through. One of the characters is a devout Catholic, and she is never ridiculed for her having faith; in a way, she's the one they most respect because she has stuck with it the longest and continues to struggle with her hurts.

In the end, a mostly satisfying read, but should follow a reading of the rest of Hornby's catalog. I enjoy every one of his books, but much like those U2 fans still waiting for another "Joshua Tree", I long for another "High Fidelity" from Hornby. But like a good music fan, I understand that Hornby will continue to explore his art rather than trying to play the same note for his entire career.(less)

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Apr 26, 2007 Nancy rated it 2 of 5 stars

In "A Long Way Down," four very different people are brought together by their shared desire to commit suicide. Hornby tells the story in first-person narrative, switching between each of the four characters. He tries to make their voices distinct from each other, but he does this very superficially. For example, the teenager uses a lot of slang and curse words, and the matron winces mentally whenever the teenager curses. Otherwise, their voices are identical: very breezy, chatty, light - typica...more

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Jul 17, 2007 Reader rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: from_the_library

So I recently finished A Long Way Down by Nick Hornsby. I really liked the film High Fidelity. I know we could all get distracted by the fact that I saw the movie without reading the book, but this is one of the rare times I haven't read the book. Besides, it would detract from my point. By now you are probably asking what my point is. My point is the F word. Now I can appreciate a good vulgarity when placed appropriately. I can even understand their judicious use in time of stress or high spiri...more

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Apr 21, 2008 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who appreciates dry humor

Recommended to Kate by: Matt

I had no idea what this book was about. Someone recommended the author to me and I couldnt find the book they recommended. This book was on sale for $5.67 so I figured what the hell.

This turned out to be one of the best books Ive read in a long time. The manner in which its written is different from anything that I have experienced before. The back and forth between characters happens so fast that it almost has the spirit and appeal of British comedies. If you dont appreciate the British sense o...more

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Dec 16, 2008 Elle rated it 1 of 5 stars

I tried to finish this book on two separate occasions, and could not. It kept loosing me. I just did not care about the characters enough.

Nick Hornby is a hit of miss for me, but I like his clever cheek enough to keep trying.

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Apr 23, 2013 Francesco Galdieri rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romanzo, letteratura, inglese

Chi ha gi� letto un libro di Hornby e si appresta a leggerne un secondo, gi� sa cosa si aspetta: uno stile molto moderno, svelto, efficace, delle pagine di estrema bravura messe l�, all'improvviso. Ma chi ha letto (come il sottoscritto) come suo primo libro Alta fedelt�, non pu� che rimanere deluso di fronte a questo Non buttiamoci gi�. Per carit�, il libro non � male ed � godibile, ma ci si aspetta ben altro da uno che ha scritto una roba come Alta fedelt�, esaltante, profondo e strabordante di...more Chi ha gi� letto un libro di Hornby e si appresta a leggerne un secondo, gi� sa cosa si aspetta: uno stile molto moderno, svelto, efficace, delle pagine di estrema bravura messe l�, all'improvviso. Ma chi ha letto (come il sottoscritto) come suo primo libro Alta fedelt�, non pu� che rimanere deluso di fronte a questo Non buttiamoci gi�. Per carit�, il libro non � male ed � godibile, ma ci si aspetta ben altro da uno che ha scritto una roba come Alta fedelt�, esaltante, profondo e strabordante di verit� spiattellate brutalmente in faccia al lettore. Tanta � stata la voglia di di procedere nella lettura di Alta fedelt� e la tristezza di averlo finito, tanto ho trovato banale Non buttiamoci gi�, fin dalle prime pagine: proprio come in Piccoli suicidi tra amici di Arto Paasilinna, il libro ha inizio con l'incontro inaspettato di due suicidi, ognuno dei quali rovina la concentrazione all'altro. Ai due si aggiungono altri due strani personaggi, anch'essi aspiranti suicidi. E, proprio come il libro del finlandese, rimandano l'estremo atto in data da destinarsi ed approfondiscono la loro conoscenza. A questo punto i binari di Piccoli suicidi tra amici e Non buttiamoci gi� si separano totalmente (e meno male, altrimenti sarebbe stato plagio), ma il libro di Hornby sembra non decollare mai: le vicende della sgangherata banda proseguono rimandando continuamente il suicidio e, inaspettatamente (sono ironico, eh) iniziano a pensare che, forse, al suicidio non ci sarebbero mai arrivati. Questo � tutto. Non c'� altro se non le seguenti cose positive: - L'intera storia � narrata, a turno, dai quattro protagonisti e le varie parti non si sovrappongono. Ciascuno di essi scrive in un modo diverso dagli altri e rigorosamente dal proprio punto di vista. E' interessante, quando avviene, il cambio di visuale repentino durante un avvenimento - I quattro personaggi sono ottimamente caratterizzati: Martin, un presentatore televisivo finito in galera dopo aver fatto sesso con una minorenne (ironia della sorte, date le ultime notizie di cronaca) che "dimostrava di essere maggiorenne", Maureen, una donna che "lavora" a tempo pieno con il figlio handicappato ridotto ad un vegetale, Jess, una trasandata e sboccatissima ragazza (la pi� divertente del gruppo, ovviamente), JJ un americano sbarcato in Inghilterra dopo aver perso la band in cui suonava e la ragazza che amava - Lo stile di scrittura di Hornby, che include anche gli improvvisi momenti seriet� e profondit�. Peccato che in questo libro tali momenti si contano sulle dita di una mano - Due volte mi sono rotolato dalle risate. Una di queste � il momento in cui, sul tetto del palazzo da cui Martin e Maureen avevano deciso di buttarsi, fa la sua comparsa Jess. Nota a margine: con Alta fedelt� ho riso di gusto quasi ad ogni pagina Ecco a voi un brano scritto da Martin: Citazione: Se posso spiegare perch� volevo buttarmi dal tetto di un palazzo? Certo che posso spiegare perch� volevo buttarmi dal tetto di un palazzo. Cavolo, non sono mica deficiente. Posso spiegarlo perch� non � un fatto inspiegabile: � stata una scelta logica, la conseguenza di un pensiero fatto e finito. E neanche di un pensiero troppo serio. Non voglio dire che fosse un capriccio - solo che non era tremendamente complicato o angoscioso. Vediamo un po'... immaginate di essere, che so, un vicedirettore di banca di Guildford. Avevate gi� accarezzato l'idea di emigrare quando vi viene offerto un posto di direttore in una banca di Sydney. Be', d'accordo che la scelta � abbastanza lineare, ma viene naturale rifletterci un momento, o no? Se non altro per capire se vi sentite di fare armi e bagagli, di lasciare amici e colleghi, di sradicare moglie e figli. Magari vi mettereste a sedere con carta e penna e stilereste una lista di pro e contro. Esempio: CONTRO: genitori anziani, amici, golf club. PRO: pi� quattrini, migliore qualit� della vita (casa indipendente con piscina, barbecue ecc.), mare, sole, niente consigli comunali di sinistra che vietano le filastrocche infantili politicamente scorrette, niente direttive UE che mettono al bando le salsicce britanniche ecc. Non c'� storia, che ne dite? Il golf club? Ma vi prego. Naturalmente, i genitori anziani potrebbero imporvi uno stop di riflessione, ma niente di pi�: uno stop, e neanche troppo lungo. Dopo dieci minuti sareste al telefono con l'agenzia di viaggi. Bene, io mi sentivo cos�. In breve: non avevo abbastanza motivi per fermarmi, e ne avevo in quantit� per buttarmi. Nella lista dei miei "contro" c'erano solo le bambine, ma non era neanche da pensare che Cindy mi permettesse di rivederle. Non ho genitori anziani e non gioco a golf. Il suicidio era la mia Sydney. E lo dico senza offesa per le bravissime persone che vivono a Sydney. Il libro, il cui titolo originale � A Long Way Down, � edito da Guanda, � stato tradotto da Massimo Bocchiola e costa 8 euro e mezzo.(less)

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Mar 31, 2013 Rosa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Probablemente la novela de Nick Hornby que m��s me ha gustado, y esto es bastante relevante dado que estoy hablando de uno de mis escritores favoritos. La historia: 4 personas que han decidido suicidarse en Nochevieja coinciden en lo alto de uno de los edificios m��s famosos para tirarse desde el tejado en Londres. Bajan y de repente se establecen v��nculos entre ellos.

El estilo es original, en primera persona pero desde el punto de vista de los 4 personajes, es decir, el narrador va alternando...more

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Apr 02, 2009 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Someone recommended this book to me. And, to be honest, I thought that it would be really drug out and depressing. I mean, it's about five people who wanted to kill themselves. However, Hornby uses humor and gritty friction between the characters to lighten the novel as a whole, while not omitting the seriousness of their situations. I laughed throughout the novel. But, towards the middle of the book, I realized that as crazy as these characters might sound, I related to some of them. I related...more

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Feb 26, 2009 Prashant R rated it 5 of 5 stars

Up, Up and away !

Nick Hornby does it again.. he does it with the same characteristic panache and wit...but instead of this one central lovable (loser) character, he has 4 distinct voices and people who love grow to love and care for as you savor your way through this book.
Martin Sharp(disgraced British TV presenter), Jess( 18 years old, volatile and opinionated), JJ (American has-been rockstar in London) and Maureen (god fearing, single mum), meet in circumstances that can only be described as p...more Up, Up and away !

Nick Hornby does it again.. he does it with the same characteristic panache and wit...but instead of this one central lovable (loser) character, he has 4 distinct voices and people who love grow to love and care for as you savor your way through this book.
Martin Sharp(disgraced British TV presenter), Jess( 18 years old, volatile and opinionated), JJ (American has-been rockstar in London) and Maureen (god fearing, single mum), meet in circumstances that can only be described as providential...they all plan to commit suicide from the roof of Toppers house in London, on New Years Eve. From thereon they become acolytes in the journey of their often meandering, perceivably empty, but ultimately fulfilling lives.

Nick Hornby's capacity to evoke emotional depth and meaning in circumstances which often appear to be frivolous and fleeting, are in ample display here.

For me the book was endearing on two counts...one in Hornby's ability to create 4 distinct voices, through which this life affirming tale is narrated...and two in creating Maureen...the 51 year old single mum who has lost herself in looking after her invalid son for over 20 years.

"you know that things aren't going well for you when you cant even tell people the simplest fact about your life, just because they'll presume you're asking them to feel sorry for you. I suppose it's why you feel so far away from everyone, in the end; anything you can think of to tell them just ends up making them feel terrible" In Maureen, Hornby's created a character who leaps out of the pages of the book and tugs straight at your heart strings...I am sure, I am not alone in wanting to give Maureen a tight warm hug and to tell her, that it will all be allright...i am sure, i am not alone, in venerating an individual who has sacrificed all that life has to offer, just to ensure that her invalid son gets a "normal" life...

You do excuse Hornby for the slightly sappy "looking at the London eye" kind of ending...because by then you have been deeply involved in these characters and are your self thinking of all that they have to live for.

Let me not forget to tell you that you do have a rocking good time, as well through all this.

5 bright and shiny stars !!! (less)

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

Nick Hornby seems to be a likeable guy, which may make critical examination of his work a tricky business for some__not that his alleged personality prevents some well-known critics from outright hooliganism. Sure, Hornby the journalist sounds a lot like Hornby the novelist; that's part of his charm. It is easy to imagine his early characters as stand-ins for their author. But as he expands his fictional milieu, Hornby's distinct voice seems to be a double-edged sword. Can that voice be embodied

...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the heck* out of this book. I had read Hornby's High Fidelity, and liked it, and read his collections of literary essays, The Pollysylabic Spree and Housekeeping and the Dirt, and I occasionally read his blog, and I must say, I just like the way he writes. I mean, it isn't Proust, but the books are funny, and well written and he has something to say (largely about figuring out how to live your own life best you can, and be as happy as you can), and I just enjoy them. And it isn't as ea...more I enjoyed the heck* out of this book. I had read Hornby's High Fidelity, and liked it, and read his collections of literary essays, The Pollysylabic Spree and Housekeeping and the Dirt, and I occasionally read his blog, and I must say, I just like the way he writes. I mean, it isn't Proust, but the books are funny, and well written and he has something to say (largely about figuring out how to live your own life best you can, and be as happy as you can), and I just enjoy them. And it isn't as easy as it seems to write a funny, light book well, as evidenced by all the crappy books that get written along those lines. So I guess I am declaring myself a Hornby fan, and I am going to read the rest of his stuff, too. Because it's not demanding reading, but it is enjoyable, and I think it's well done. And I tore through this book - my friend Ellen lent it to me yesterday, I started it on the bus ride home, and basically didn't put it down. Well done, Nick Hornby.

The premise of A Long Way Down is that four people who all intended to commit suicide by jumping off the Toppers' House tower (which is a big tall building in London, I guess), instead run into each other doing it, and don't. And they, instead, get involved in each other's lives. And it sounds self-helpy, but it isn't - there is no faked up happy ending, just a decision, eventually, that as bad as things are they are better off alive, and they end the book on the slooooow process of trying to fix things. Which sounds more like oh, Doestevsky than a comic romp, but the book is actually quite funny - I laughed aloud, which I rarely do (particularly in the scene when they interacted with Jess's ex, Chas). The New York Times Book Review said "Hornby is a writer who dares to be witty, intelligent and emotionally generous all at once" and I think that is just about spot on. Too often funny books are either mean spirited (see, e.g., Evelyn Waugh), or emotionally empty (see, e.g., Wodehouse), but this was funny and said something, and I actually really liked it.

*Heck, because this is part of my new, almost a mom, effort to clean up my language.

(less)

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Jan 07, 2009 Reszzpati rated it 3 of 5 stars

In his forth novel, the author known for his genre of 'laddism' dwell deep into the matter of 'life on the edge' as his characters were intending to commit suicide (by jumping from a 15-story building- hence the title ' A Long Way Down'), each with their own reason.
Readers of his three previous novels would anticipate his pattern on precise, wry understanding of a certain kind of modestly privileged, emotionally clumsy white 30-something male; he skillfully pinpointed habits and emotional foibl...more

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About Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby is the author of the novels A Long Way Down, Slam, How to Be Good, High Fidelity, and About a Boy, and the memoir Fever Pitch. He is also the author of Songbook, a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award, Shakespeare Wrote for Money, and The Polysyllabic Spree, as well as the editor of the short-story collection Speaking with the Angel. He is a recipient of the American Acade...more

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Quotes from A Long Way Down

“How do people, like, not curse? How is it possible? There are these gaps in speech where you just have to put a "fuck." I'll tell you who the most admirable people in the world are: newscasters. If that was me, I'd be like, "And the motherfuckers flew the fucking plane right into the Twin Towers." How could you not, if you're a human being? Maybe they're not so admirable. Maybe they're robot zombies.” — 562 people liked it

“A man who wants to die feels angry and full of life and desperate and bored and exhausted, all at the same time; he wants to fight everyone, and he wants to curl up in a ball and hide in a cupboard somewhere. He wants to say sorry to everyone, and he wants everyone to know just how badly they've all let him down.” — 435 people liked it

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