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High Fidelity (1995)

by Nick Hornby

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
14,875200364 (3.91)249
Rob is a pop music junkie who runs his own semi-failing record store. His girlfriend, Laura, has just left him for the guy upstairs, and Rob is both miserable and relieved. After all, could he have spent his life with someone who has a bad record collection? Rob seeks refuge in the company of the offbeat clerks at his store, who endlessly review their top five films (Reservoir Dogs...); top five Elvis Costello songs ("Alison"...); top five episodes of Cheers (the one where Woody sang his stupid song to Kelly...). Rob tries dating a singer whose rendition of "Baby, I Love Your Way" makes him cry. But maybe it's just that he's always wanted to sleep with someone who has a record contract. Then he sees Laura again. And Rob begins to think (awful as it sounds) that life as an episode of thirtysomething, with all the kids and marriages and barbecues and k.d. lang CD's that this implies, might not be so bad.… (more)
Recently added byRini55, joshuaLawrenc_, gerritbr, private library, kbarrow, yozzer164, mariaa.aviless, midgemash
  1. 70
    About a Boy by Nick Hornby (Maurizio70)
  2. 10
    The Best a Man Can Get by John O'Farrell (alzo)
  3. 10
    Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn (lampbane)
    lampbane: Another story where music and love are interconnected.
  4. 10
    Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper (SimoneA)
    SimoneA: Both funny and enjoyable books about a young guy rethinking his life.
  5. 00
    Vinyl Junkies: Adventures in Record Collecting by Brett Milano (Sr_Moreno)
  6. 00
    Suzy, Led Zeppelin, and Me by Martin Millar (AsYouKnow_Bob)
  7. 00
    The Song is You by Arthur Phillips (elenchus)
    elenchus: Similar taste in music by the protagonists, but a very different novel. Both very good.
  8. 00
    Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman (chazzard)
  9. 01
    You Comma Idiot by Doug Harris (ShelfMonkey)
  10. 01
    Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno (BookshelfMonstrosity)
    BookshelfMonstrosity: Both are introspective and character-based novels about a witty and music-obsessed young man suffering from relationship problems. Readers who enjoy savvy, music-literate fiction will enjoy the hip, colloquial prose and rich detail concerning popular music.… (more)
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» See also 249 mentions

English (183)  Spanish (6)  Italian (3)  German (2)  Norwegian (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (198)
Showing 1-5 of 183 (next | show all)
Despite the promising setting and subject of this novel, I found little in it that encouraged reading the next page. ( )
1 vote sfj2 | Mar 10, 2024 |
Why haven't I read this book before now?

Witty writing. Prose that pops. Quirky characters. Mr. Hornsby is a talented storyteller and wordsmith. Rob Fleming is the most annoying, and yet endearing, main character I have ever encountered. ( )
  bschweiger | Feb 4, 2024 |
Well-written unlikable character. The ending is just okay; the not-quite-manic-pixie-dream-girl comes to the rescue. ( )
  MakebaT | Jan 15, 2024 |
I loved the movie, but I'm starting to think John Cusack might be why. I didn't like any of the characters in the book and I didn't feel like any of Rob's justifications for some of the things he did made him easier to understand or more likeable. However, I always like stories where people talk about the inner implications of being confronted with change so I did enjoy reading it despite the failed attempt at making a selfish man appear decent. ( )
  jskeltz | Nov 23, 2023 |
I liked it much better than the movie because it is fuller, more fleshed-out about why things are happening and what people are feeling. The fun and silly stuff from the movie is still there, and still funny, and somehow better because of the balance with the emotional stuff. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 183 (next | show all)
Happily, Hornby does not rely on pop-cultural allusion to limn his characters' inner lives, but uses it instead to create a rich, wry backdrop for them... Hornby is as fine an analyst as he is a funny man, and his book is a true original.
added by Shortride | editTime, Gina Bellafante (Oct 9, 1995)
 
Mr. Hornby captures the loneliness and childishness of adult life with such precision and wit that you'll find yourself nodding and smiling.
added by Shortride | editThe New York Times Book Review, Mark Jolly (Sep 3, 1995)
 
What follows unconvincing, because it is too self-consciously the stuff of fiction. As Rob’s life begins to change it becomes harder to believe in it because he starts to behave out of character — Rob like the author starts trying too hard.
added by vibesandall | editEvening Standard (Apr 3, 1995)
 

» Add other authors (24 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Hornby, Nickprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Drechsler, ClaraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hellmann, HaraldTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
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Epigraph
Dedication
For Virginia
First words
My desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable split-ups, in chronological order:
1) Alison Ashworth
2) Penny Hardwick
3) Jackie Allen
4) Charlie Nicholson
5) Sarah Kendrew.
Quotations
People worry about kids playing with guns, and teenagers watching violent videos; we are scared that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands—literally thousands—of songs about broken hearts and rejection and misery and loss. The unhappiest people I know, romantically speaking, are the ones who like pop music the most.
"Wenn man sich überlegt, was beim Mann alles schiefgehen kann! Da gibt es das tut-sich-gar-nichts-Problem, das Tut-sich-zu-viel-zu-schnell-Problem, das Kläglicher-Hänger-nach-vielversprechendem-Start-Problem, das Größe-spielt-keine-Rolle-außer-bei-mir-Problem, das Es-ihr-nicht-besorgen-Problem ... und worum haben sich Frauen zu sorgen? Das bißchen Zellulitis? Willkommen im club. Ein kleines Wie-war-ich-wohl? Dito.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
This is the book; do not combine with the film.
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Rob is a pop music junkie who runs his own semi-failing record store. His girlfriend, Laura, has just left him for the guy upstairs, and Rob is both miserable and relieved. After all, could he have spent his life with someone who has a bad record collection? Rob seeks refuge in the company of the offbeat clerks at his store, who endlessly review their top five films (Reservoir Dogs...); top five Elvis Costello songs ("Alison"...); top five episodes of Cheers (the one where Woody sang his stupid song to Kelly...). Rob tries dating a singer whose rendition of "Baby, I Love Your Way" makes him cry. But maybe it's just that he's always wanted to sleep with someone who has a record contract. Then he sees Laura again. And Rob begins to think (awful as it sounds) that life as an episode of thirtysomething, with all the kids and marriages and barbecues and k.d. lang CD's that this implies, might not be so bad.

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Book description
Recently dumped by his wealthy girlfriend, record store owner Rob Fleming finds himself in financial trouble and sets out on a pilgrimage to ask his former girlfriends where their relationships went wrong and to learn where his life went off track.
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Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0140293469, 0141037350

 

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