Customer Reviews

Long Way Down

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So many books come recommended to me from friends, the Internet, bestseller lists, etc, that it gets mind boggling sometimes just trying to tell who is right. Sure, I bought, read, and loved some of the ones recommended to me. Books like McCrae's Katzenjammer, Patterson's Lifeguard, and Kidd's Secret Life of Bees. I loved them-all different. But the premise of A LONG WAY DOWN. You CAN'T go wrong with that! What a knock-out idea for a book. And what the author does with this material is even better than the idea! The story begins with four people from very different backgrounds who use New Year's Eve, not as a time to make for resolutions for the coming year, but instead to resolve to end their lives by jumping off a building. Coming together at such a low point in their lives unites the foursome, which includes a down on his luck talk show host, an older woman caring for a disabled son, a teen girl who can't handle her first breakup, and an American guy in his 20s whose band broke up and girlfriend dumped him. As an English writer, Nick Hornby uses the American to show some of the cultural differences in language, which I found hilarious. Anyway, although they don't always get along, the group gives each other support, simply by sharing the same depressing feeling that there is nothing more to live for. Must also recommend the highly unusual KATZENJAMMER (Soon to be a major motion piciture) and the really bizarre and thoroughly enjoyable TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, both which are equally as good as ALWD. I look forward to more books by Mr. Hornby as he's one heck of a great writer with wonderful ideas!

I read "A Long Way Down" from cover to cover immediately upon its arrival. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. If you enjoyed Nick Hornby's "About a Boy" and especially "How to be Good" or such other titles as "My Fractured Life", "Good Grief", "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" and "Fight Club", then you should be as delighted with "A Long Way Down" as I was. It is a book I can read again and encourage others to. Good stuff!

Fantastic read- Hornby tells the tale of four would-be suicide victims, as different as they can be, from each of their own perspectives. No sappy words or formula-fiction here: just a biting, witty take on something many people have thought about at one point or another. It's a serious issue, but Hornby write's about it so it becomes laugh-out-loud funny. One of the best contemporary novels I've read this year!

Nick Hornby is probably known best for "About a Boy" and "High Fidelity" but creedence should be given to his lesser-known efforts as well, such as this one, about a group of people meet on a rooftop on New Years Eve and have a common goal: to commit suicide for different reasons. Because of this commanality, form an interesting, complicated bond that changes throughout the novel through slow revelation and at times, laugh-out-loud dialogue.

The book seems shallow at first, a mockery of what is a serious psychological disorder. But the lighthearted tone of the novel is met halfway with brilliant moments of darkness and reflection, such as various moments involving middle-aged Maureen, who realizes her own stark loneliness while on vacation, and also comes to the revelation that she does not know how to truly live, having given her life to her disabled son and even moments of the rebellious, difficult (yet at times, annoying and unrealistic) Jess, who at the heart of her problems with her boyfriend and parents, misses her vanished sister. It seems Hornby makes a point of demonstrating that these characters are at odds with themselves in more ways than one, including their complicated friendship that sometimes seems to be of convenience but in the end, is a strong mutual bond of respect and love, even unbeknownst to the characters themselves.

At times, Hornby's writing style can be over-explicit and he allows little work for the reader while exposing, in very plain detail, characters' thoughts and revelations (for example, we do not necessarily need to be told that Jess wants her sister to come back - it is already implied; yet, Hornby goes into detail on the matter, making the book sometimes frustrating in its approach to the human psyche). As well, these characters and their situations are at times far-fetched and unbelieveable, despite being incredibly entertaining (such as when Jess tells tabloid magazines that the reason they spared their lives was because of an angel they saw). Although not without its problems, Hornby's always-entertaining dialogue makes for a great, complex, cerebral yet hilarious and lighthearted read that is sometimes so sad you forget that it's funny and sometimes so funny you forget that it's sad. What seems at first like a hopeless disregard for life's turns of events, in the end turns into a celebration of what rebirth, second chances, life and unexpected friendships can do for someone. It is definitely worth the read!

I picked up "Long Way Down" as the hardcover happened to be on clearance at a local bookstore. I loved "High Fidelity" and thought this book would be less then impressive due it being new and already on clearance.
Luckily for me, it had been put there by mistake and was removed the next day.

This book was amazing. I would go so far to call it a modern classic. Due to its current nature, only the test of time will see if tomorrows culture will still accept this book and all its references as phenomenal.

The characters as so well developed and all end up being hilarious in their own right. The pace of the book is great and makes it hard to put down. The premise is original. Especially original is what is made of the premise. I was elated see the conclusion of the book as anything other than a crap "happily ever after" typical ending.

There seems to be a new literary movement in the UK right now and I suppose Mr Hornby is at the forefront ( inspiring others like Tony Parsons, Steve Horsfall, Mike Gayle etc). The style of 'A long Way Down' is indictive of the 'UK Lifetsyle genre' focussing on character driven tales the pulls the reader in through familiarity or sympathy. The characters in the book represent a theme of despair (suicidal) and yet Nick Hornby is able to gain empathy through humor and structured characterization. Very Good.

For anyone looking for a good multi-genre, sarcastic dramatic comedy "A Long Way Down" is a winner. Nick Hornby writes with the same fluent wry humor that catapulted "High Fidelity" to the top of the charts and adds the seasoned multi-character ebb and flow influenced by such contemporaries as John Irving ("Until I Find You"), Rikki Lee Travolta ("My Fractured Life), Richard Perez ("The Loser's Club") and Michael Cunningham ("Specimen Days"). "A Long Way Down" is Hornby's most ambitious and rewarding work to date and one to treasure.

Although I generally prefer novels with a single protagonist, I ultimately enjoyed "A Long Way Down" in which the story is told by four separate POVs. This novel begins hilariously with a bunch of people at the end of their rope, on the verge of suicide atop a roof in London on that most suicidal of nights: New Year's Eve.

Here, a kind of suicide gang is formed, and ultimately this provides an excuse for some situation comedy-style conflict. Actually, this is quite a goofy book. Despite it's dark premise, it's mostly very light in tone. Nick Hornby -- whose other great books include "High Fidelity" (a masterpiece) and "About A Boy" -- can't help but see the comedy in the darkest situations.

We have JJ, whose rock 'n' roll dreams have reduced him to being a pizza deliver boy. We have Martin, former morning talk show host, who has disgraced himself (a romance with an underage girl, which destroyed his marriage and career). We have Maureen, a sad-sack, sympathetic mother who has never enjoyed her life; and we have Jess, a bratty and often obnoxious faux punk, who of course comes from a privileged family.

This is a light read, mostly, and there is enough friction between the characters to create a self-sustaining drama in which the characters come to grips with their wrecked lives. This is not a morose book at all. Ultimately, Nick Hornby's stamp is on every page; this is NOT Dostoevsky or Jean-Paul Sartre. Nick Hornby is a "middle brow" literary talent, not an academic or meta-fiction post modernist, thank god. I enjoyed this Amazon purchase and would recommend it along with another novel: "The Losers Club" by Richard Perez, which is also quite funny and similar in tone, but with a single protagonist, which makes for a quick, lively read.

If you're looking for a non-homework type literary experience, pick up a copy of "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby. It's great fun!

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Nick Hornby is such an absolutely amazing author. I read "A Long Way Down" without putting it down once. It is page after page of captivation. Hornby can tell a story. It doesn't seem to matter if it's a male main character, a female main character, or four main characters (which is the case with "A Long Way Down"), the fact is Hornby knows how to use his characters to tell a story that is engrossing and entertaining. The plot is almost secondary to just his ability to create an engaging succession of events. I also recommend "My Fractured Life", "The Starter Wife", and "Polysyllabic Spree."

Nick Hornby is such an absolutely amazing author. I read "A Long Way Down" without putting it down once. It is page after page of captivation. Hornby can tell a story. It doesn't seem to matter if it's a male main character, a female main character, or four main characters (which is the case with "A Long Way Down"), the fact is Hornby knows how to use his characters to tell a story that is engrossing and entertaining. The plot is almost secondary to just his ability to create an engaging succession of events. I also recommend "My Fractured Life", "The Starter Wife", and "Polysyllabic Spree."