

Loading... A Long Way Down (2005)by Nick Hornby
![]() Top Five Books of 2020 (137) » 11 more 2000s decade (34) Books Read in 2017 (1,691) Books Read in 2006 (19) Books Read in 2015 (2,033) Books Read in 2019 (3,225) KayStJ's to-read list (1,457) Unread books (709) No current Talk conversations about this book. I had looked forward to reading this because I thought it was going to be a funny book. (I know suicide isn't funny) but the premise of this sounded like a fun read. It wasn't fun, but it was thought-provoking. A couple of characters were totally annoying, but even they give us something to think about. ( ![]() You wouldn't think a novel about suicide would be funny, but alas, this one is. Its also sad, and a little depressing at times, but so is life. This is a book about 4 very lost and lonely people, I could relate to all of them at one point or another, well, kinda. Jess was by far my favorite. I've always meant to read a Nick Hornby book, so this tale of four would-be New Year's Eve suicides seemed a good, if slightly perverse, choice to finish out my year. Very engaging, witty, and instructive take on a serious subject. Het was even geleden dat we nog eens een plak Nick Hornby tussen onze boterham legden, maar we waren er bij voorbaat van overtuigd dat het ons ging smaken. Hornby heeft een vlotte en toegankelijke stijl en weet als geen ander humor op papier te zetten. Hetzij door de karakters van zijn personages, hetzij door de flitsende dialogen of de situaties waarin de lezer meegezogen wordt: Hornby's boeken hebben vaart en zijn enorm prettig leesvoer. Daarnaast slaagt hij er ook nog in de condition humaine met rake bewoordingen te schetsen en laat hij zijn personages herkenbaar door het leven laveren zonder in cliché's te vervallen. Ook hier - waar 4 potentiële zelfmoordenaars elkaar ontmoeten op het dak van een flatgebouw - zijn de situaties geloofwaardig, de personages aandoenlijk en herkenbaar en de plot realistisch en warm. Heerlijk boek, ondanks het zware thema. I feel this book didn't deliver as much as I had hoped. Admittedly, my hopes are always high for Hornby. I really liked the first 150-200 pages but as I was waiting for Hornby's usual insight, I was left sort of empty handed. Well maybe not empty handed. Let's say only one hand was filled. Some characters were rambling on about things that really didn't 'click' with me, I wasn't sure what they were on about sometimes, or sometimes I didn't know why they were going on about it. Don't get me wrong, I love pointless rambling, but it just wasn't of Hornby's usual level, nearing the end. I still finished this book quite quickly though, and the characters were quite lively painted as usual. Jess did sometimes get a little on my nerves, but that was the point, I'm sure. I was more disappointed about JJ, really. He was the musician, a young guy who had lost faith in music, love and life, but somehow I couldn't relate much to him. I'd still say this is a quite enjoyable book, especially the first part. It's a quick read and I still adore Hornby's style. The chapters were switched between the characters, each rehashing the events in their own style, which I found quite amusing. 3.5/5
...Hornby doesn't confuse the simplicity of this thought with the impossibility of sometimes living it. For all his light touches, he is never superficial enough to suggest that these lives that have fallen apart, in four of the millions of ways lives may do so, can easily be patched up and renewed. Whatever limited consolations the book's survivors find in each other, Hornby resists melodramatic resolutions or glorious moments of redemption, and he doesn't smuggle away or refute all the reasons his characters took with them to the rooftop where they met, the ones that urged them toward the edge rather than down to the ground the slow way, back into the world.
Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper's House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances. No library descriptions found. |
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914 — Literature English {except North American} English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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