If you have enjoyed any of Nick Hornby's novels in the past then you will probably enjoy this one. Hornby's love of Anne Tyler's novels, an influence which he brings up in most interviews, is manifest in 'A Long Way Down'; his desire to portray the lives and psychology of people who cannot or do not express themselves is almost mathmatically worked out and although he does not do it quite as convincingly as Tyler, these are still the bizzarre, infuriating and loveable characters that make Hornby so enthralling. A funny and absorbing black comedy with the mental states of these characters so genuine that you worry for Hornby's own sanity. ( )

A long long long long way....: Es war schon lustig, es war schon amüsant und die Idee an sich war auch gut.
Aber die Charaktere haben mir nicht wirklich gefallen. Ich konnte mit ihnen nicht sympathisieren. Die eine hat dann doch einfach zu viel geflucht. Und das sage ICH, die Meisterin der Flucherei. Nein, wirklich das war einfach too much und machte sie in meinen Augen nicht sympathisch, bzw. es hatte nichts charmantes, wenn ihr versteht, was ich meine.

Aber das größte Problem war einfach: Die Story war langweilig. Die Geschichten der jeweiligen Hauptpersonen war einfach stinklangweilig, sorry. Ich habe so vieles überlesen, weil es mich nicht gereizt hat.
Ich habe drauf gewartet: Ja, was kommt jetzt? Und es passiert einfach nichts.
Manchmal wurde es dann interessant, aber die Kurve hat es leider nicht gekriegt.

The joy of Nick Hornby is his ability to write distinctive dialogue, to imbue each character with his own speech rhythms and vocabulary, to make you really hear each character as an individual. So a book like this that features an ensemble cast of misfit opposites is absolutely where he excels. Nick Hornby is funny without being frivolous. He can take serious subjects like suicide, and turn them into something funny, sad, and sweet all at once without resorting to being trite. When I want something lighthearted without losing brain cells, Nick Hornby is the perfect remedy, and this is him at his best. ( )

It took me ages to get through this book and I wouldn't have persevered only I was hoping they'd all kill themselves at the end. Anyway, there are some great Hornby one-liners. That's all I can say to recommend this one, which disappointed me after reading About A Boy, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters in this one were just annoying. And their voices weren't different enough from one another - they are all Hornby of course - but even Maureen sounded a bit too much like Jess without the expletives. ( )

Really disjointed, a departure from good form for Nick Hornby - have a read of How to be Good, for a great Hornby book.Far too much dialogue and no character development. ( )