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. ( )

A surprisingly good read. An eccentric plot about four people that independently decide to commit suicide but all decide to do it at the same time by jumping off the top of a building - this is where they all meet. Some great characters. The 18 year old Jess is so obnoxious you want to hit her yourself. I would certainly read more of Hornby's books. ( )

Maureen, Martin, JJ, and Jess just happen to meet up one New Year's Eve on the roof of Topper's House, an establishment in London, but they're not there to celebrate the New Year. Each of these four people have made four different journeys to Topper's House to--top themselves, as the British would say. And three out of four of them are, in fact, British. Anyway, each of these people was expecting some privacy at a time like this, but instead, they wound up embarking on another journey altogether.

Nick Hornby is known for writing humorous stories, and in this novel, he successfully tells the story of how four depressed people grudgingly form a support group, albeit a very unorthodox one, with a good balance of humor and seriousness. The four characters take turns first telling their own stories, then telling their common story, each in a very different voice and perspective.

I was impressed by the way Jess, a teenaged girl who is easily one of the most annoying characters I've ever encountered in or out of a book, gradually morphs into a more controlled and likeable young woman. Her problems aren't miraculously going away, but she's better in every way by the end. And then there's Maureen, who seems to have the most obvious reasons to be depressed, but it turns out that a few doable changes is all she needs to feel much, much better. Martin and JJ need to develop their plan B's, and by the end, they are making a start at that, instead of just despairing.

The unusual thing about this group of four is that they really don't much enjoy each other, don't seem to make each other feel particularly better, but--they are hooked on meeting each other, nonetheless. It keeps them going, and the common connection they feel does force them to look outside of themselves. They become unlikely people in each other's lives, and therein lies most of the humor.

I like that the ending isn't perfect. Everyone is better off than they were the night they agreed to walk downstairs and out of Topper's House, but things are not perfect for any of them by a long shot. I also admire the way A Long Way Down manages to be engaging and light, while being so touching and sad at the same time. Nick Hornby has breathed life into these characters, four people with emerging hope for the future.

It's a very enjoyable, interesting read, and I'd recommend this book! ( )

This was my first Nick Hornby book and my first Audiobook. The combination of the two produced a very pleasurable ‘reading’ experience. I enjoy characters to whom I can relate, and I found something of that in each of them, even though I spent most of the book wanting to punch Jess and slap Martin! I can be easily confused by multiple first person perspectives, but the voices of the actors kept me on track. As for the story itself, a few of the ‘wisdoms’ scattered throughout were hammered home a little too forcefully, but the droll humour made up for it. There were even a few laugh-out-loud moments. I’ll definitely be reading/listening to more Nick Hornby. ( )

Yawn yawn!! Pretentious. Am I the only person who finds Hornby boring and too far up his own rear. ( )

Every time I read a Nick Hornby novel, it strikes me what a frustrated man he must be. Having established himself as the doyen of "lad lit" with "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy", his last two novels appear to be attempts to shake off that straitjacket, first with "How to be Good" ("look", Hornby says, "I can use a female narrative voice too!") and now "A Long Way Down", and yet he's still the obsessive Arsenal fan who writes Top 5 lists in many readers' minds. This novel illustrates why.

Rather than one voice, here Hornby uses four to show us his versatility: disgraced breakfast TV presenter Martin, middle aged single mother of severely disabled son Maureen, tearaway teenager Jess and American failed rock musician JJ. The four meet on New Year's Eve on the roof of a north London tower block known as Topper's House, so called because of its popularity as a suicide spot.

Deciding between them not to end it all that night, the book follows them over the subsequent three months in a series of increasingly implausible scenarios. Although beyond their wish to end their lives, the four have nothing in common, they become a kind of surrogate family. Basically, Hornby has come up with a striking set up but struggles to keep the novel going afterwards as the four bicker with each other and tackle their problems with varying degrees of success.

One thing Hornby isn't celebrated for but which he's pretty good at is creating unsympathetic characters. Jess, a girl in the habit of opening her mouth before engaging her brain, is one of the most irritating characters I've come across in my recent reading, quite deliberately so. Martin, while chastened by time in jail for sleeping with an underage girl, is endlessly self-pitying under his cynical veneer. Much of the book's humour comes from these two rubbing each other up the wrong way.

Inevitably, one's sympathies are drawn to Maureen as the one character who seems to have no way out of her depressing and narrow life looking after her son Matty. It is she and JJ, whose miseries stem from a simple misunderstanding, who find some sort of redemption in the book. On the other hand, Jess and Martin's stories are more open ended. A lesser author might be tempted to provide happy endings for all and tie everything up neatly, so credit is due to Hornby for having the confidence not to do so. Indeed, it shows confidence to write a humourous book about suicidal characters in the first place.

Even Hornby fans, of which I'd consider myself one, will find this novel flawed - strong on characterisation and readability (provided you can get past the large amount of swearing), but weak on plot. Based on this evidence, he's not going to top his early work anytime soon. ( )

Novel about 4 characters who meet at the top of a building at new years eve who have planned to all commit suicide. The novel follows them throughout the new year as they deal with thier individual problems and if they can overcome their suicide intentions. This is actually a very interesting novel and touches you emotionally in many ways. ( )

'A long way down' - 'and the best way to fall asleep'...

Hat mich nicht begeistert. Einfach zu negativ. ( )

I'm obviously not normal, right, because I didn't bloody love this book. In fact, I had to force myself to finish it, right, because I didn't want to not finish a Nick Hornby, and I didn't want to be a quitter, and because Hornby does all right with his voices for four different narrators. But the whole time, I kept thinking that Hornby shouldn't write books with characters who are obviously going to be played by that tosser Hugh Grant, and Hornby shouldn't mix little daft snippets of humor with really depressing stuff, because in the end, you just feel shite, you know?

And when one of the characters is just so bloody despicable you want to shake her till her head falls off, and she's just not pitiable or likable or anything, you end up feeling like she's stuffed down your throat, and you cringe every time she bloody opens her farking mouth.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, I didn't like this book. It was gloomy and depressing. Which isn't surprising, considering it's about four people who meet the night they almost off themselves. ( )

Four suicidal strangers meet at a popular suicide spot on New Year's Eve, each with the intent to jump, and their lives are changed by the chance meeting. A heavy subject is dealt with in a very comical way. This would be an awesome...and pretty profound...movie.

Please visit http://www.HomeGirl.typepad.com for more reviews. ( )

Great Book! I did the audiobook. ( )

A Long Way Down tells the story of four people who all decide to commit suicide on New Year's Eve - from jumping off the same building. Naturally, they all meet up, start talking, share each others' stories, etc. They decide to give it a few weeks, and then if their lives still suck, they'll all jump together. I think Hornby did an amazing job of using his trademark snarky humor in treating such a serious subject - without detracting from its seriousness at all. I also like that he completely avoided the cheese: this is not a trademark happy ending. No one's problems really go away, and no one has this sudden epiphany about the meaning of life. Bottom line, it's just an excellent book

I was a bit hesitant to pick up this book, as I was not a fan of How to Be Good, and had several complaints with About a Boy. But I did, and am glad to have done so.

The premise of Hornby's book is simple enough - four different people decide to commit suicide and meet at the spot they have all chosen to jump off. This begins a tale of some sort of redemption and friendship, with plenty of humor along the way. All the characters are well-defined and each has problems that are not easily dealt with, but also not insurmountable. It's the same mix that made me love High Fidelity so much. There is only one weak spot. The angel subplot was annoying and all it made me feel was irritated at the characters. If it was dropped the book would have not lost anything. Make no mistake - this is a book well worth reading, and if it is not Hornby's best it certainly is his most far-reaching.

This is the story of 4 strangers who meet on on a roof top, all with the intention of jumping. Nick Hornby gives us 4 first person accounts of this, and other, experiences. He manages to give each character a very distinct and believable voice, with complete emotional honesty. There are hillarious moments...and many uncomfortably true moments. And don't think in the begining that you will know how it will end...I think you will be surprised. ( )

An enjoyable, light read (bearing in mind it's about suicides). It worked for me ( )

hugely entertaining and substantial, apparently different and bizarre individuals who come together by chance and influence one another in unexpected ways and gradually seem to be real people ( )

I listened to the audiobook version. Another plot synopsis is certainly not needed after all that has been written here, but I do have to add my two cents worth about the merit of this book, which I think has been incredibly overstated by most reviewers. It should be subtitled "the boring lives of stupid people." I'm not saying that the book is unbelievable, just that I wouldn't like to meet any of the characters, I was not amused by their actions, and failed to see that the author had any insights of value to me. Jess, the young female character, could be the most annoying character in modern fiction. Pity she didn't take the leap at the outset of the book. ( )

You would think a book about four people who meet when they are getting ready to commit suicide would be depressing, but it is not. Although none of them end up vastly better off by the end of the book, they all decide that they can cope. In the end, there's not that much difference between those who want to kill themselves and those who don't. A mismatched group, they somehow manage to help each other, too. I enjoyed it. ( )

Not a bad book, I guess I enjoyed it. This is one of those books I put on my list because it got a lot of buzz. It was a little depressing, and there wasn't a whole lot of resolution. And only one (maybe 2) character was especially likeable. ( )

High Fidelity was great -- after that, Hornby's essays are his best work.