... Anyway, when the charity book list came round at work I made the effort to buy two books at just 25p each, and one of these was "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby.
Anyway, I began the book with no preconceived ideas, and pleasantly surprised I was!
Nick Hornby
I'd never read any ... Read review
Advantages: Easy read, excellent writing style Disadvantages: Perhaps trivialises issues, but it's just a story!
...haven't been in much of a reading mood so far this year, for some unknown reason I just cannot be bothered, and I have spent hours on the train sat staring into space and wishing I was in the mood to read more. Anyway, when the charity book list came round at work I made the effort to buy two books at just 25p each, and one of these was "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby.
Anyway, I began the book with no preconceived ideas, ... ...have seen the film "About a Boy" numerous times which is based on his book of the same name - it's virtually impossible to watch TV in the UK and not have seen this film as it seems to be on at least 3 times a week.
Nick Hornby has written various fiction and non-fiction books, and anthologies. "A Long Way Down" is his fourth novel and was published in 2005.
'''My Book''' more
I haven't been in much of a reading mood so far this year, for some unknown reason I just cannot be bothered, and I have spent hours on the train sat staring into space and wishing I was in the mood to read more. Anyway, when the charity book list came round at work I made the effort to buy two books at just 25p each, and one of these was "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby.
Anyway, I began the book with no preconceived ideas, and pleasantly surprised I was!
Nick Hornby
I'd never read any of Nick Hornby's stuff before, although of course have seen the film "About a Boy" numerous times which is based on his book of the same name - it's virtually impossible to watch TV in the UK and not have seen this film as it seems to be on at least 3 times a week.
Nick Hornby has written various fiction and non-fiction books, and anthologies. "A Long Way Down" is his fourth novel and was published in 2005.
My Book
My copy of the book is paperback and 256 pages long with a bright orangey-red cover. The Story
It's New Year's Eve, and 4 stranger's paths cross on top of Toppers' House, a renowned suicide hotspot in North London. Tonight's the night they're going to end their lives, or were going to until they met each other, and formed a strange sort of 'gang'!
Martin - Martin had it all - wife, kids, nice house, well paid job as presenter on a popular breakfast TV show. However his life changed when he slept with a 15 year old girl (he thought she was 16 you see), ended up in prison, lost the wife, the kids, and the job. His life is a mess, and being 'famous' everyone knows about it, there's no escape, except for suicide.
Maureen - Poor Maureen, in her fifties, and alone in life except for her severely disabled son Matty, a result of the one and only time she had sex 20 or so years ago. Her life basically consists of cleaning up Matty's sh*t, and going to church (although even thewre she doesn't really feel that she fits in). It really is a sorry existence, and it's no wonder that she wants to end it all.
Jess - 18 years old, Jess is the youngest of the group. With severe mood swings, Jess is a liability and could kill herself at any minute. Having just split up with her boyfriend Chas, Jess is suicidal since she hasn't had an explanation from him. However, there's more to her situation than that - family issues which have sent her off the rails a bit.
JJ - JJ is from the US. He was in a band, and had a girlfriend. Now he is delivering pizzas to Toppers' House (well you might as well eat pizza before you jump). Does he really have a reason to want to end it all in comparison to the others? Does it really matter? The fact is that he does want to.
Martin, Maureen, Jess and JJ have a bond. It's not your usual friendship. It's not even a group of people supporting each other through emotional distress - in fact they have nothing in common (aside from the suicide thing) and don't even like each other. However, since New Year's Eve they are linked, and the story is about this relationship which they share for the following months. More about the Book
The book is written in sections (rather than chapters) of several pages, narrated by the four characters - each has a different writing style which reflects their characters. However, there were a couple of times when I had to check who it was talking. There book is sturctured into three parts.
To say more would be to give away the plot. There are funny moments and moments of despair. I wouldn't say it's a book which will help suicidal people see that there is suddenly a reason for living (that's not really its purpose). However, there are some parts which might provoke thoughts about how things can get better. Despite the serious subject matter it is a fairly light read. I got through the book over the course of 2 days, so it's definitely an easy read.
I felt varying degrees of sympathy and empathy for the characters (and I can relate to a lot of the feelings on a personal level) - but none of them really stand out. I mean, Maureen seems to have the worst situation. But even so, it's quite frustrating that she's never done anything about it before. A lot of the problems the characters seem to have brought on themselves...but then that's the case with life really.
Frustrating as it is, and unrealistic as the story is - it is just that, a story. So, there's not too much point dwelling on the ins and outs of it! Finally
Nick Hornby is an excellent writer - black humour, just how I like it! I feel that the book would appeal to those who like writers such as Ben Elton, Rob Grant and Andrew Holmes (3 of my favourite writers). But I'd say that even if you're not a Ben Elton fan you should still give it a go.
Since reading this I went on BookMooch (a site where you give away books you don't want and get books you do want) and have ordered "About A Boy" and "How to Be Good" also by Nick Hornby. Nothing better to get me back into a reading mood than finding a new author - well, new to me anyway! I've already finished "About a Boy" and would highly recommend, although have to say I can't get Hugh Grant out of my head.
Advantages: Very easy to read, well written and very witty Disadvantages: You might stay up to late reading it!
A Long Way Down is the latest in a string of big hit books written by the oh-so witty Nick Hornby. Previous titles you may have heard of include About A Boy, High Fidelity and Fever Pitch. If you have read any of his books before then you will already know how funny this guy is. If you haven't then I suggest you find out.
This story tackles one of the most morbid of subjects in one of the most hilarious, yet poignant, ways. At times you will be ... ...characters flung together in such a way. The relationships that exist between the four are most strange.
THE MAIN CHARACTERS
Martin
Martin is a former breakfast TV presenter who has recently been released from prison after serving a stretch for sleeping with a fifteen year old. As if that wasn't bad enough on its own, he was married at the time. Subsequently his marriage broke down and his wife wanted nothing to do with him. On top of this he ...
mattydalton 11.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
Advantages: Portrays four very different points of view, very funny, touching in places Disadvantages: A little too simplistic, which makes it hard to believe
...disappointed. However, if you want a sweet, sensitive story of four suicidal people thrown together, with a lot of comedy, then you will love it. As for me, I wasn't expecting anything particularly deep, but the story just fell a bit short of my expectations.
New Years Eve, four very different people wind up at a local suicide spot, a place called Toppers' House. Martin is a TV presenter who has messed up his life by cheating on his wife and sleeping ... ...but has been aged by a tough life where she was dumped by her fiance (the only man she ever slept with) and was left to bring up a son so disabled that he can't do anything other than eat and sleep. Jess seems at first to be just a silly 18 year old who decides to throw herself off a tower block because she's recently been dumped, though her real problems are revealed later. JJ is an American whose band broke up a few omenths ago and who was recently ...
DoubleFantasy11 18.04.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
Advantages: You will have a laugh Disadvantages: There are none.
A Long Way Down
Nick Hornby in his inimitable and funny way has managed to make a very funny novel based on suicide.
He always shoots straight at the moral dilemma and hits the funny bone. It doesn't matter how dire the situation Hornby always finds some good in life. He is often sneered at by the literati as being full of middle class angst. Take no notice he is full of wisdom and they are full of S***. What is the central theme? It revolves around ... ...of these people develops into a farce as they try to decide whose going first.
Who are these crazy people?
Martin Sharp a TV personality who has been convicted of sleeping with a 15-yr old girl and in the process lost his wife and family. He maintained that suicides were treated by the coroner as being mentally unstable using the phrase that "the balance of his/her mind was disturbed". He says that the coroners report should read" He took his own ...
silver40 08.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
Advantages: Very funny, Very observant book. Disadvantages: The narrative can get a tad grating at points.
Nothing like a good old taboo to get the juices flowing.
Mr Hornby (first name Nick) is one of the more observant writers I know of. Yeah ok, so I'm not the most well read person in the world so there are probably others who make him seem like he goes around with blinkers on, but he always manages to hit the nail on the head with the people he creates. Another talent of his is not really having a point to his stories and all at the same time having ... ...Martin, who is well educated, a tad famous and a bit of an arsehole (his words, not mine). His narration is possibly the easiest to stomach as it tends to be written more as a writer would narrate a story. Real words, proper punctuation, intellectual comments.
Maureen is next to arrive on the scene. She is a lot quieter, far too easily impressed by anything and tends to be a little bit of a prude. She's also rather god-fearing to boot. I found her ...
ryanando 10.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
Advantages: Funny, and full of offbeat humanity. Disadvantages: Shies away from the darker emotional depths.
...on to the roof of a tower block intending to throw yourself off - but it's New Year's Eve, so it's like Piccadilly Circus up there. What do you do? What is the etiquette in a situation like that? Who jumps first? Should they toss for it, or form an orderly queue by the edge? Ladies first maybe? Nick Hornby's latest attempt to get to grips with the meaning of life is narrated by four very different people, complete strangers in fact, who meet on the ... ...sound like the storyboard of a Radiohead video, but don't let that put you off - this is not a depressing book. In fact the gallows humour soon had me snorting with laughter. I was in love with it by page twenty: at which point a young American called JJ turns up to deliver pizza - this is on the roof of a tower block, remember! He is the last of the four to arrive, and describes the others like this:
"A middle-aged woman who looked like someone's ...
PJE_ 01.05.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
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Advantages: Some good writing Disadvantages: Unprepossessing characters
read this at the same time as NickHornby's new novel "A LongWayDown which is entirely about suicide. The in the periods in which they were written must be a differentiating factor, otherwise you'd be forgiven for thinking that the British version of suicide is a much more prosaic and humdrum matter. If anyone should think this offensive - many of us will know someone who has either carried it out, dabbled in it or threatened to do it - think again. Suicide SHOULD be prosaic, basic and uncluttered with faux high-art matters. Those who would kill themselves should do so with their eyes open, but should not be fooled into it by romanticising the event. It is taking your life pure and simple, and causing a lot of pain to those who are left behind.
The main character in this novel is Mihaly, a middle-class chap from Budapest with a romantic ...
Narrated in turns by a dowdy, middle-aged woman, a half-crazed adolescent, a disgraced breakfast TV presenter and an American rock star cum pizza delivery boy, A Long Way Down is the story of the Toppers House Four, aka Maureen, Jess, Martin and JJ. A low-rent crowd with absolutely nothing in common - save where they end up that New Year's Eve night. And what they do next, of course. Funny, sad, and wonderfully humane, Nick Hornby's new novel asks some of the big questions: about life and death, strangers and friendship, love and pain, and whether a slice of pizza can really see you through a long, dark night of the soul.
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