| Title | : | A Long Way Down |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1594481938 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781594481932 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 368 |
| Publication | : | First published May 5, 2005 |
| Awards | : | Los Angeles Times Book Prize Fiction (2005) |
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.
In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells a story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance, and their own mortality. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances.
Intense, hilarious, provocative, and moving, A Long Way Down is a novel about suicide that is, surprisingly, full of life.
What's your jumping-off point?
Maureen
Why is it the biggest sin of all? All your life you're told that you'll be going to this marvelous place when you pass on. And the one thing you can do to get you there a bit quicker is something that stops you getting there at all. Oh, I can see that it's a kind of queue-jumping. But if someone jumps the queue at the post office, people tut. Or sometimes they say "Excuse me, I was here first." They don't say "You will be consumed by hellfire for all eternity." That would be a bit strong.
Martin
I'd spent the previous couple of months looking up suicides on the Internet, just out of curiosity. And nearly every single time, the coroner says the same thing: "He took his own life while the balance of his mind was disturbed." And then you read the story about the poor bastard: His wife was sleeping with his best friend, he'd lost his job, his daughter had been killed in a road accident some months before . . . Hello, Mr. Coroner? I'm sorry, but there's no disturbed mental balance here, my friend. I'd say he got it just right.
Jess
I was at a party downstairs. It was a shit party, full of all these ancient crusties sitting on the floor drinking cider and smoking huge spliffs and listening to weirdo space-out reggae. At midnight, one of them clapped sarcastically, and a couple of others laughed, and that was it-Happy New Year to you, too. You could have turned up to that party as the happiest person in London, and you'd still have wanted to jump off the roof by five past twelve. And I wasn't the happiest person in London anyway. Obviously.
JJ
New Year's Eve was a night for sentimental losers. It was my own stupid fault. Of course there'd be a low-rent crowd up there. I should have picked a classier date-like March 28, when Virginia Woolf took her walk into the river, or November 25 (Nick Drake). If anybody had been on the roof on either of those nights, the chances are they would have been like-minded souls, rather than hopeless f*ck-ups who had somehow persuaded themselves that the end of a calendar year is in any way significant.
A Long Way Down Reviews
-
(A-) 80% | Very Good
Notes: Despite its grim premise, it's frequently laugh-out-loud. Though I'm not a fan of the shifting first-person perspective. -
jump already! and take the book with you.
-
Oh popular authors, I'm always so nervous about you. I mean, on the one hand I always figure that if so many people like you, there must be something good about you. But then, so many people like harlequin romances, and Dane Cook, and Big Brother. People are idiots. Even when they aren't, they can't always be trusted. My friend Amy actually loved Confessions of a Slacker Wife, and my husband really liked The Innocent Man, a.k.a. Was John Grisham Always This Bad And I Just Didn't Notice?, and my friend Karen lists as her top three books ever Eli Wiesel's Night (awesome), The Kite Runner (also awesome), and friggin Million Little Pieces (total crap). These are bright, funny people. I voluntarily hang out with them. But they actually enjoy books that are total tripe, so the fact that people on the whole enjoy Nick Hornby's books means nothing.
I enjoyed the hell out of Long Way Down. Seriously, I did not expect to love it this much. And then a friend asked me what I was reading, and all I had to say was 'This book about four people who, separately, decide to throw themselves off a tall building on New Years Eve, but then they all get up there and, hey, there's three other people up here. Well, this is awkward' and now she's going to read it, because how hilarious is that? What a ridiculous and somehow totally believable premise!
Ok, so it's New Years Eve, and Martin (because he is an alcoholic ex-morning-show-host who has been in all the papers lately for sleeping with a fifteen-year-old who, to his credit, told him she was sixteen, which isn't exactly illegal, but whose wife left him for it anyways, and took their two kids), Maureen (because her son Matty is a vegetable, always has been and always will be, and she hasn't done anything worth mentioning in the last twenty years besides care for him and become socially awkward), JJ (because his band broke up and his girlfriend left him, although the reason he initially gives is that he has CCR, a totally fictional disease and also a wicked 60's rock band) and Jess (because she has family and relationship problems, but mostly just because she is young and nuts and it seemed like a good idea at the time) have all lugged themselves to the top of Toppers' House with the intention of doing themselves in. But then, how do you toss yourself off a building when there's other people hanging around? No one wants to be the first, and for sure no one wants to be the last. So they get to chatting and eventually decide to go solve Jess's most immediate problem, which has something to do with a boy and an explanation.
That solved, they begin finding other things to do, other things to tether them to the earth and keep them from jumping. Oh sure, they still talk about it, and even arrange to meet back on Toppers' on Valentine's Day so they can finally give themselves the old heave-ho. But with one thing and another, it's really hard to find time to kill yourself, you know?
At one point, Maureen (she of the vegetable son) says, 'You'd think this would be the story of four people who met because they were unhappy, and wanted to help each other. But it hadn't been...it had been the story of four people who met because they were unhappy and then swore at each other.' And it never changes. Martin begins the book by sitting on Jess's head (to prevent her from jumping, which is ostensibly kind but kind of a rough way to go about things) and the last page finds her listing all the ways that he's failed at life.
And yet, even though the characters are perverted (Martin), coarse (Jess), lazy (JJ), and really insurmountably lame (Maureen), and none of them says more than two kind words to each other the entire 333 pages, they're terribly endearing. It's their complete reluctance to be together combined with their absolute need for each other that sets the stage for all of the hilarious moments (of which there are many) and all of the poignant ones (of which there are mercifully few). Nothing really is solved, and no one lives happily ever after, but I closed the book with such a sense of sweet satisfaction. I never do this, because I think it's cheating, but I'm going to steal a line from the New York Times Book Review: 'Hornby is a writer who dares to be witty, intelligent and emotionally generous all at once.'
Hear hear.
(review originally posted on
www.booksidoneread.blogspot.com) -
A former celebrity recently out of prison for statutory rape, a foul mouthed seemingly highly irrational (and rude) daughter of a Government Junior Minister, a middle-aged mother that has spent her entire adult life looking after her severely disabled son, and JJ, failed band member and failed boyfriend - the paths of this eclectic group cross and they form a companionship of sorts, after they each had decided to commit suicide at a popular suicide spot on New Year's Eve at the same time! This is the story of the pact they made and what they did next.
Instead of Hornby's usual well constructed quasi-dark-ish comedy with a human heart and message, this unlikely scenario quickly descends, not too unexpectedly, into farce. A good old-fashioned UK written and set farce. But is it any good? I would say no; like so many farces the book feels like it was written to bring the characters to each farcical moment; in addition with the need to give voices to the two leading female characters, Hornby shows a lack of ability (or interest?) to give them believable characters or dialogue! Sadly after a string of good reads I've finally found a Hornby that very much doesn't make the grade for me, but does make me laugh out loud a number of times. 4.5 out of 12. Obvious trigger warnings for making light of suicides and suicidal thoughts, but also dysfunction, missing family members, the disabled, and even junior Government Ministers. It makes me wonder why, seriously, why did Johnny Depp originally movie option this book (he also provided a quote for this version's cover!)???
2021 read -
I’ve been down, I don’t wanna say depressed. I don’t wanna use the term lightly. There are lots of people with real problems, people diagnosed with clinical depression but I’m not one of those. I’m just a university student with an unpredictable proclivity for melancholia. Sure, I’m a little bit melodramatic at times. But, hey! Who isn’t? And when you feel a bit down in the dumps sometimes you need something relatable and so I gave this a go.
Do you know that feeling when you’re stuck in a long bus ride with friends or you stay over at a close friend’s house and you talk about meaningful things all night? That’s the feel I kind of got from this book. The kind of feeling that shows you even smack talk can give warmth and fuck yous are really I care for yous. The story is told between four narrators at a conversational level that really sets the mood of the novel. These four people find themselves atop the same tower at New Years Eve planning to commit suicide. Unsurprisingly, they postpone, get to talking and somehow their differences in character causes their interactions to be a bit comical. It’s really amazing to see how Nick Hornby is able to balance the tightrope between comical and relatable. Obviously there’s something gooey that pulls you in but there’s also enough humor to make you stay.
What I really appreciated about A Long Way Down is its heartfelt tone. It could have easily been overtly dramatic and begging but it refused to look at suicide that way. It was playful without being offensive, and had just the right amount of crankiness for something with such a sensitive topic. It also doesn’t hurt that most of the characters are British, cause those people have a lot of attitude. A bizarre ball of humanity, fun, and wisdom this is.
This book dealt with the issues of depression and suicide in a really fascinating manner. It presented four different characters, with four different circumstances. I guess it wants to say that each person has their own story, they have their own problems, and consequently their own journeys. But what this book emphasized is togetherness and company when battling these problems. These four people didn’t have anyone they can turn to, and so by some weird act of fate, they found each other. Sometimes all you need is someone to be with, not even to talk to, but just knowing that someone is there for you, that can be a big relief. The four of them drew strength from each other. Maybe that’s all there is to a meaningful life: good company.
You know that feeling when you’ve been traveling a few hours with your friends and you’ve had too much fun talking about stuff you don’t want the ride to end? Maybe life’s like that. Maybe finding the right people to enjoy the ride with will make you stay. Maybe that’s enough of a reason to take the long way down. -
I didn't get into Hornby for the same reason as everyone else, (they like Jon Cusak in High Fidelity). A Long Way Down was recommended to me by a friend and I needed a light read for the summer so I picked it up.
I have never actually laughed out loud while reading a book until I read this one. Running With Scissors was the closest I came, but Augusten Burroughs was such an unrealistic and absurd character, (which is ironic because he was based on a real person), that it seemed too ridiculous to find laugh-out-loud funny.
Hornby's characters were genuine and honest. In my third year of college, after changing my major for the third time, I studied Psychology. I received a more realistic depiction of depression from this story than I found in any of my textbooks that entire semester.
If you've ever had a bad day, a bad week or even a bad year, you can surely identify with the characters in this book. I identified with the American rockstar because what young person growing up in this country doesn't aspire to be famous? For me, it was professional sports, but the thought process was identical: strike it rich, score with hot groupies and rub it in everyone's face who never believed in you...
I also enjoyed this book because the ending is not wrapped with a nice little bow, as any book about suicide should steer clear of. The TV personality learns at the end that they (each of the main characters) had made mistakes that they couldn't ever have back. But the key to going on with your life is finding a little something in each day that makes you want to experience the next. -
This book, as many others, is not for everyone. I can completely understand that many people find those characters annoying and the whole story pointless. Nevertheless I am of the opinion that this book can give you hope. Of course this seems to be a silly thing to say considering the topic and all those miserable characters.
But let me explain. Apparently Johnny Depp called the characters some of the most outstanding he's ever had the pleasure of reading. And I can agree. They're all really fucked up, but also lovable. Sometimes I find myself grabbing the book just to read a page or another to have one of them accompany me. Even though they're really, like REALLY, fucked up they are also absolutely hilarious. Especially Martin. He's so bitter but extremely funny. And I think that the most important thing about this book, apart from the great writing, is that you learn to look at situations with much more humour. You could have easily written a real downer with the same characters. But you look at things in a different way.
It's also remarkable that in fact hardly anything happens that makes their life better, but they have each other and you have them too in a certain way. -
[warning: minor spoilers + suicide mentions + statutory rape]
edit: You know what, this book doesn't deserve my mercy. I really hated it and it still makes me angry whenever I think about it. I'm going to lower my rating to 1 star.
I had to read this book for college, and when I read the synopsis, I thought it seemed quite good. I liked the idea, but the characters completely ruined this for me and not much happened as well.
These characters are VERY PROBLEMATIC! Let's have a look at some quotes that pissed me off:
JJ: “Suicide wasn’t invented for people like this. It was invented for people like Virginia Woolf and Nick Drake. And me. Suicide was supposed to be cool.”
I hope I don't even need to explain what's wrong with this!
Maureen: “My own feeling about JJ, without knowing anything about him, was that he might have been a gay person, because he had long hair and spoke American. A lot of Americans are gay people, aren’t they? I know they didn’t invent gayness, because they say that was the Greeks. But they helped bring it back into fashion. Being gay was a bit like the Olympics: it disappeared in ancient times, and then they brought it back in the twentieth century. Anyway, I didn’t know anything about gays, so I just presumed they were all unhappy and wanted to kill themselves.”
Are you kidding me?! First of all, no one INVENTED being gay! Second of all, being gay was never "out of fashion", it was (and in some places still is) taboo, so people didn't talk about it! And just because he is American and, according to you, looks gay, doesn't mean he is. AND NOT ALL LGBTGA+ PEOPLE ARE UNHAPPY! Oh my God, I cannot believe how ignorant Maureen is, I can't believe she has been on Earth her whole life, not Mars or something!
JJ: “Oh, is that right? And this from the girl who can’t deal with being dumped.”
So JJ makes up an illness and says he is dying, because he is ashamed of the real reason why he wants to kill himself. He wants to commit suicide because his band broke up and his girlfriend dumped him. Jess is also depressed because her boyfriend left her. SO JJ IS JUDGING HER FOR HER REASON, WHILE IT'S THE SAME AS HIS?! Hypocrite!
Maureen: “I only ever had intercourse with one man, and I only had intercourse with that one man once, and the one time in my entire life I had intercourse produced Matty. What are the chances, eh?”
The book I've read before this HAS THE EXACT SAME TROPE, so no, it's pretty common I guess. Why are female characters who are "good", sexually inexperienced? Destroy the idea that women can't be sexual in order to be good and likeable!
Martin: “A few years ago, Cindy joined one of those dreadful reading groups, where unhappy, repressed middle-class lesbians talk for five minutes about some novel they don’t understand, and then spend the rest of the evening moaning about how dreadful men are.”
Girls, enlighten me, are we all repressed middle-class lesbians who moan about how dreadful men are? No, I don't thinks so MARTIN! Stop being so sexist! He judges everyone else based on a stereotype that is so incorrect.
JJ: “but when you get music rage, you’re carrying out the will of God, and God wants these people dead.”
JJ seriously is a hipster avant la lettre. Just because you listen to rock music, doesn't mean you are better than other people!
Martin: “I was recognized once or twice, and ended up wearing JJ’s baseball cap pulled down over my eyes, which depressed me. I am not a baseball-cap sort of a chap, and I abhor people who wear any sort of headgear during dinner.”
This book deals with depression and suicide, and you choose to use depression in this context?! Seriously? Oh yes Martin, you should totally commit suicide because you have to wear a baseball cap... omg.
Martin: “I was not a criminal, not really;”
YES YOU ARE!!!! You had sex with a fifteen year old girl while you are over forty years old!!! You are a pedophile! And I don't care that it would have been legal if she was a 100 days older or that he didn't know, it's DISGUSTING! And I was so disappointed in class that a lot of people don't think this way. Some thought Martin didn't do anything wrong because the girl wanted to have sex and he didn't know her age. FIFTEEN YEAR OLD GIRLS SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MORE RESPONSIBLE THAN MIDDLE AGED MEN! Martin should have known better, stop victim blaming!
Martin: “I have come to the conclusion that no one who earns more than, say, seventy-five thousand pounds a year should never be sent to jail, because the punishment will always be more severe than the crime. You should just have to see a therapist, or give some money to charity, or something.”
How self-absorbed can someone be? Do you really think it's a punishment for someone who has tons of money to give some of it to charity?! You shouldn't commit a crime if you can't handle the consequences, regardless the amount of money you have!
Martin: “They’d done nothing at all, and it was not difficult to imagine that they would continue to do nothing at all, and they made me look and feel like a world leader who runs a multinational company in the evenings and a scout troop at weekends.”
This guy had a breakfast TV show! A BREAKFAST TV SHOW! Get off your high horse man!
Martin: “I was imprisoned a) due to entrapment, and b) because society’s attitudes to teenage sexuality are outmoded.”
It's not about teenagers having sex, you idiot! It's about a middle aged man practically raping a fifteen year old!
Martin: “one of my daughters (and I’m sorry to say that I don’t know which one)”
This guy is talking shit about his ex-wife all the time because she doesn't want him to see their daughters, but seriously, HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO SEE THEM, HE CAN'T EVEN TELL THEM APART!!!!!
Okay, I know, this review is very ranty, BUT I HAVE SO MUCH ISSUES WITH IT! This book made me want to kill someone, particularly, Martin! This is fiction, but I know for a fact that there are a lot of privileged white men who think just like him, and that makes me sick!
I only liked Jess. But her chapters were torture, they were written like this: "I'm like... and then he was like... and then I was like....". It's not enjoyable to read that. It's also stereotypical of the writer to assume that all teenagers talk like that.
She's the only reason I didn't give this one star though:
“In other words Martin, were not tolerant of my culture, which is more of a drinking and drug-taking and shagging sort of a culture than his culture. I like to think that I’m respectful of his. I don’t tell him that he should get pissed up and fucked up on drugs and pick up more girls. So he should be more respectful of mine. He wouldn’t tell me to eat pork if I was Jewish, so why should he tell me not to do the other stuff?” -
Ho iniziato convinta di leggere un libro sul suicidio. Un suicidio di gruppo, ma pur sempre un suicidio. Sfogliando le pagine ho conosciuto quattro volti e quattro vite. Tutte diversissime tra loro, quasi agli antipodi. Continuando a leggere ho scoperto che in realtà stavo ascoltando una storia sola e non quattro, ma osservata da quattro punti di vista diversi. Ognuno raccontato secondo uno sguardo diverso, ognuno con il proprio linguaggio. Ho scoperto che alla fine non era una storia sul suicidio o su come lasciarsi andare, ma piuttosto su come "tirare avanti", trovare dentro di sé la forza per continuare a vivere senza lasciarsi andare troppo alla tentazione di fuggire da se stessi.Un bel libro, che si fa leggere tutto d'un fiato.
-
This book almost deserved one star. The only thing that saved it from being a complete and utter waste of my time was that Nick Horny writes the occasional very witty passage, and there were two (count them, two) observations that I found actually interesting. So that totals about five pages that I actually enjoyed.
The rest was quintessential fluffy drivel, which does have its place, but not when the book is discussing suicide, the meaning of life (or the lack thereof), and other such Profound Topics. The multiple point-of-view narrations could have added a very interesting aspect to exploring suicide and its aftermath, except for the fact that they pretty much all had the same point of view and the same voice -- Hornby's. Every time any character made a witty joke or a clever observation, it could have just of easily come from the other characters, and you got the distinct impression that Hornby had been having a pint with his mates, made some witty comment about T.V. announcers or quiz shows, and thought, "Nick old bloke, write that one down. Your going to want to put that in your next book!" It was fine that the narrator in High Fidelity was a Hornby stand in, but when the 16 year old punk-rich girl, the middle-aged T.V. host, the 50 year old woman with a disabled son, and the fallen rock star are ALL Hornby stand ins it gets a bit much.
Okay, some of this might be considered "Spoilers" so beware (I'm not calling them spoilers, cause there's nothing to spoil, but there you are). To start, the premise is both ridiculous yet tediously predictable: four people meet on a roof to kill them selves! Who wants to bet they DON'T jump? Who wants to bet the improbably become entangled in each other's lives? Who wants to bet they end up improbably helping one another learn Important Truths about Themselves and Life? Who wants to bet that, when they meet up in 90 days on the roof to jump, none of them kill themselves, because they now all want to live? Who wants to bet that they all get sort of Warm, Fuzzy, Life-Affirming Endings, even if one or two are Extremely Deep in that they learn No Meaning is The Meaning?
Not that I want to spoil anything, but anyone taking those bets is very likely to win. The ending was truly worse than I had expected. It was good for a few chuckles, but then so are ZIggy and Garfield, yet I avoid them on a daily basis. It might have only taken me a week of twice-daily 20 minute bus-rides to finish this, but it was still a waste of time -- I could have been reading vampire romance manga. -
I'm a Nick Hornby fan. And it's more than just enjoying his writing; I have a warm and fuzzy affection for him. So even when one of his books fails to utterly delight and transport me (How to Be Good, for example), I'm still on his side.
Michiko Kakutani clearly has no such affection for Hornby. Her review of A Long Way Down is savage. Her chief complaint is that the book contrives to arrive at an implausibly sappy conclusion. Which is odd, because I think the book admirably avoids easy answers or cloying sentimentality.
True, it begins with a colossal coincidence: Four people climb to the top of the same building with the thought of a suicidal plummet. Of course, once Maureen taps Martin on the shoulder, and once they see teen-age Jess taking a run for the parapet, and once JJ arrives with pizza, they can't really jump to their deaths, can they? Instead they munch a few slices and decide to humor Jess by helping her track down her "ex-boyfriend," Chas, who she claims not to have been stalking, unless endless phone calls and unexpected visits to his workplace constitute stalking.
I didn't find it difficult to roll with the premise, in part because the novel is told in rotating first person, first Martin, then Maureen, then Jess, then JJ. As you step into each person's shoes, it's not too difficult to understand why they might mull ending it all, and why a random collision with a stranger might give each one pause.
Kakutani accuses Hornby of coralling the characters into a touchy-feely support group, but that's exactly what they aren't. None of them have much in common beyond their suicidal thoughts, and even those are different shades of blue. Jess is just mad, all impulse and ignorance and id. Martin has royally fucked up, an ill-fated fling with a coke-snorting 15-year-old landing him in the clink and out of his family and job. Maureen is sadled with a disabled son and a life devoid of life. And JJ may claim to be dying of "CCR," but his real problem is an addiction to rock 'n' roll and his inability to score a fix now that his band has dissolved.
There aren't easy answers. Jess's missing sister isn't going to reappear. Jess won't be hit with a sudden wave of sanity. Maureen's son isn't going to recover (or die). Martin can't undo the damage he's done, or even quickly become the type of person who won't cock up his life so badly. And JJ isn't about to discover a new purpose in life, like caring for Maureen's vegetable son or teaching underprivileged kids to play the guitar. There's no redemptive power of love on display. And the four members of the ad hoc support group never particularly like one another.
So Michiko and I will just have to be at opposite ends of the spectrum on this one.
How do people, like, not curse? How is it possible? There are these gaps in speech where you just have to put a "fuck." I'll tell you who the most admirable people in the world are: newscasters. If that was me, I'd be like, "And the motherfuckers flew the fucking plane right into the Twin Towers." How could you not, if you're a human being? Maybe they're not so admirable. Maybe they're robot zombies. -
I may have forgotten how to do this entirely, so bear with me!
4 Unexpected Stars
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby was a surprising read for me. Not only did I find it unique for the genre/sub-genre itself; but I also found it surprising how much I enjoyed reading it. There is plenty of evidence on my “read” shelf of the fact that suicide related books generally do little to nothing for me (excepting The Virgin Suicides).
As you can probably surmise, this is a story which revolves around that incredibly difficult subject. However, contrary to many books of its sub-genre (is it even a sub-genre?) it glorifies neither death nor life, which I found refreshing. The characters within it are not always likeable, indeed one in particular I find overall detestable, or even relatable. They simply are. And that, as I said, is extremely refreshing.
I remember writing some philosophical line, in some random musing that may or may not have been intended as a beginning to a novel, which said: When we say it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, we forget that this is only true in hindsight when the distance of time has dulled the edges of that pain. At the time no one wants to hear this statement that everyone seems to want to say, because it isn’t even true at that point. It isn’t even a loss, it’s still a losing not yet finite.
“ If you're old and happy, I can imagine that you'll smile to yourself when you hear me going, he broke my heart. You'll remember someone who broke your heart, and you'll think to yourself, Oh yes, i remember how that feels. But you can't, you smug old git. Oh you'll remember feeling sort of plesantly sad. You might remember listening to music and eating chocolates in your room, or walking along the embankment on your own, wrapped up in a winter coat and feeling lonely and brave. But can you remember how with every mouthful of food it felt like you were biting into your own stomach? Can you remember the taste of red wine as it came back up and into the toilet bowl? Can you remember dreaming every night that you were still together, that he was talking to you gently and touching you, so that every morning when you woke up you had to go through it all over again? ”
The four main characters who meet on the roof in this novel are all there for different reasons. A criminal, an artist, a rebel and a mom. Two of them are there over fame once had and now lost, one of them is there for the dream of love destroyed and the last is there because she doesn’t even know how to dream…..
It’s a compelling, interesting and often frustrating read, that I found by turns unsettling and hilarious. -
I just read this book in two days. It was great. The story is told from four perspectives, and because of the great writing by Hornby you can't set it down mid chapter. You want to race through the chapters to complete each character's thoughts and the picture each one is painting of the same storyline.
What a great concept too, four strangers meet and share a suicidal moment, and end up sharing more because of meeting each other.
Each character was hilarious in their own right, which was also great, suicide humor is top notch apparently. I like that Hornby was willing to risk making light of death and people's depression.
It made me laugh out loud, and then suck in a breath or two when a point was made that struck a chord of sobering truth with me. Hornby refers to a lot of pop culture that was easy to identify with for me, making it even more relevant. He makes readers realize that life is sad, it's hard, it's complicated, but it's also joyous and hilarious, and we have to take it for what it is...for whatever it is you can make of it. Life is so hilarious that I made an ass out of myself in public while reading this book (because I was laughing so loud and embarrassingly). -
I'm such a freakin' fence rider. I can see why people would love this book. I can see why people would loathe this book. But can I pick one side or the other myself? No. Heck, I can't pick out pizza toppings or ice cream flavors, so why should I be able to figure out whether to give this book one star or five? I hope I'm not the only one who feels this way about reviewing books... I feel so isolated.
Four people decide to kill themselves and go to the local suicide hotspot on the suicide night of the year, New Year. Upon seeing others up there and making some interesting/vulgar/half-hearted/deceitful introductions they decide to postpone their introductions with death for a while.
So, the book's not really plot driven. But I never really felt like it was character driven either. I can't think of a single character that I... ummm... wait. I can't think of a single character. That can't be a good thing in a character driven book. So we've got these four forgettable characters coming together to deal with their crappy lives.
Ah, but crappy lives, that's something we can all relate to. Let me clear things up, my life is basically perfect. I've got a great family, a great home, and a job I love. But I bet everybody has something in them that says, "yeah... but if I only had this..." Not that those desires are enough to make us suicidal, besides everybody has had crappy moments in life, otherwise what allows us to appreciate the good?
I wanted to like this book more. I want to give it a five star review, but the more I think about it, (and I've sat here... just sat here... thinking/daydreaming for like 4 minutes now) the more I'm wondering if the only reason I like it at all is because I'm supposed to and because Nick Hornby just collaborated with
Ben Folds on a really tight album... in one
song Hornby voice-overs how Dickens created over 13,000 characters - a character a day - and what's Hornby done? Dropped the kids off at school, listened to The National album, and played a stupid computer game... "that's why I'm not Dickens... kids."
That made me like Hornby a little more, but I'm not sure that it made me like his book any more. Maybe he could blame my not giving his book 5 stars on his kids. Or maybe I could blame it on mine. Either way, I need to find a scapegoat. -
One wouldn't think that a book that begins when the four main characters meet on a roof, each contemplating suicide, could be touching AND funny, but this was. The relationships these characters develop with one another reveal the way that external situations can create unlikely friendships, and how difficult a word like "friend" can be to use or comprehend. To quote the Publishers Weekly review, "If Camus had written a grown-up version of The Breakfast Club, the result might have had more than a little in common with Hornby's grimly comic, oddly moving fourth novel."
-
this book was so infuriating. i found it in borders, on sale for $3. i thought it was a steal, and i really enjoyed high fidelity, so why not? now i just feel ripped off.
the story is about 4 random people that meet on the roof a building. they all want to kill themselves, for completely pitiful reasons. they end up not killing themselves; in fact, they journey through the path to recovery by depending on one another. the thing is, they don't even get along, and none of the characters are very likeable or relatable even on their own. in sum, this is basically 300 pages of bickering. as messed up as it may sound, the best part is when they are on the roof again for a reunion and someone un-related actually does take the plunge (i'm not even worried about giving this away, because the book is so bad). they all realize how they never could have actually jumped, and things really aren't so bad. oh, but thats only about halfway through. the rest of the time is more bickering! yay! and the character jess is probably the worst fictional character i have ever encountered. all of her chapters made me want to gauge my eyes out.
it took me forever to finish this short novel, but i just wouldn't give up hope. i kept waiting for it to get good. even when i got to the end i checked the last few blank pages to make sure i wasn't missing anything. turns out i wasn't missing anything, but the book certainly was.
i wonder if its too late to return it and get my 3 bucks back? -
Romanul se concentrează în jurul celor patru personaje principale, din ale căror perspective sunt povestite întâmplările: Jess, Martin, Maureen și JJ.
Personaje
Ceea ce aceste personaje au în comun este faptul că se cunosc în noaptea de Revelion, în Turnul Sinucigașilor, toți fiind pe cale să se arunce de pe clădire din diferite motive. Jess este o adolescentă care suferă din dragoste și diverse probleme emoționale cauze și de fondul familial, cum vom afla ulterior; Martin este un fost prezentator celebru care a fost la închisoare după ce a făcut sex cu o minoră, lucru care i-a distrus reputația și familia; Maureen este o doamnă de cincizeci de ani al cărei fiu s-a născut paralizat și incapabil să îndeplinească vreo funcție umană fără ajutor, iar acest lucru a ținut-o pe mama sa singură acasă pentru o perioadă de 19 ani; JJ este un tânăr care și-a pierdut trupa și iubita și nu găsește niciun alt sens în viață fără muzică.
Turnul sinucigasilor Nick Hornby Pe cartea aceasta am pus mâna într-o perioadă tocmai oportună lecturării ei, astfel încât am putut empatiza foarte bine cu personajele și motivațiile acestora. La început ne confruntăm cu niște oameni nihiliști, care nu-și doresc decât să se termine odată coșmarul; situația de la final este aproape complet diferită, ceea ce poate a și cauzat atâtea opinii negative în legătură cu acest roman.
Părerea mea este însă faptul că situațiile s-au transformat într-un mod complet logic iar sfârșitul este pe măsură. Replica finală chiar sună a ceva în genul “lucrurile nu par a se fi schimbat, dar cu siguranță încă sunt în mișcare”.
Prezentare
E interesant că ne confruntăm cu două personaje de sex feminin și două de sex masculin, din diferite generații. Putem astfel observa diferențele dintre mentalitățile acestora: Maureen este foarte bisericoasă, nu acceptă cuvinte vulgare și se exprimă cu greu în privința relațiilor de natură sexuală dintre doi oameni; Martin, de asemenea, are o anumită maturitate exprimată prin faptul că acceptă să-și asume responsabilitatea față de Jess, chiar dacă cei doi nu se înțeleg deloc bine; JJ este ca orice alt muzician fără speranță, un intelectual neînțeles, care caută sensuri profunde acolo unde ele nu există neapărat; Jess și-a pierdut sora cu ceva ani în urmă, este tipul copilului bogat dar nefericit și privește viața cu superficialitate, având însă momentele ei de iluminare și conștientizare a sinelui.
În curând, fiecare dintre cele patru personaje își vor dori să îi ajute pe ceilalți – lucru care reprezintă într-un fel și motivul pentru care nu s-au sinucis inițial. Romanul este întru totul despre motivația de a trăi, sensul vieții și lucrurile care ne fac să ne continuăm existența chiar și atunci când ajungem în situații disperate. E interesant să observăm cum fiecare dintre personaje își găsește propria motivație în acest sens; prietenia ce se formează între ei pe baza acestui subiect este cea care le deschide căile spre noile oportunități pentru viitor, sau mai degrabă, le dovedește că mai au încă un viitor înainte. Cu toții conchid că își doresc de fapt să trăiască, doar că într-un mod diferit.
În cadrul întâlnirilor periodice, ei stabilesc diverse alte perioade pentru “a mai da o șansă vieții să li se întâmple”, ca să mă exprim așa. Mai întâi a fost vorba de 90 de zile, iar la finalul romanului își propun alte șase luni de viață, după care să se întâlnească din nou în Turnul Sinucigașilor pentru a înțelege felurile în care viața lor s-a schimbat și dacă își mai doresc sau nu să moară. Nu există nimic care să nu-mi fi plăcut la carte. Chiar și personajele episodice sunt simpatice iar întâmplările amintite, pline de haz.
Concluzii
Cu toate acestea, romanul nu este un pamflet și poate fi luat drept unul filosofic, psihologic, care pune pe masă o grămadă de teme de gândire. Mesajul principal este acela că majoritatea oamenilor se gândesc la un moment dat să se sinucidă – unii o fac, alții nu; Turnul Sinucigașilor explorează diferența dintre aceste două acțiuni, prin exemple concrete. Este ușor de citit, plină de suspans și realistă. O recomand persoanelor care sunt poate în căutarea sinelui sau își doresc să înțeleagă mai bine acest “fenomen”, dacă poate fi numit așa, suicidul. -
Who would think a book about four people who contemplate suicide on New Year's Eve would be funny? It is. They all show up on the same rooftop and decide not to jump, although they're not quite sure what to do once they've made that decision. Hornby gives us four wildly different first person narratives and we go on their journey of discovery together. Especially hilarious is the character Jess, a foul-mouthed, maddening, infuriating and ultimately lovable teenager. This is a delightful and quirky book and I loved it.
-
Suicide is no laughing matter. Atleast that's what I thought till a few months back. Then I happened to watch this excellent movie called 'Hemlock Society', which was a dark comedy-drama about suicidal people. And now comes along Nick Hornby's only high-concept novel till date - 'A Long Way Down'.
'A Long Way Down' is about four people who meet on New Year's Eve on top of a London building, each planning to jump off & putting an end to their seemingly miserable lives. Martin is a disgraced former TV presenter, Maureen is a single mother raising a chronically-disabled son, Jess is a rebellious teenager & JJ is a has-been in the American rock scene. As the night progresses, the four of them somehow develop an unlikely alliance & understanding towards each other. Do they still jump off the building, or do they take the 'long way down'?
What's so 'high-concept' about it, you might ask. Given the fact that this book falls under popular fiction, the style of narration is one I've hardly come across before in the genre. I won't exactly call it chapter-less, but the story is narrated by these four characters - each giving his side of the story in sync with the main plot. It also ensures that this happens to be Hornby's best work as far as characterisation is concerned.
Nick Hornby's ability to make the reader laugh in the most unlikeliest of circumstances is perhaps one of the hallmarks of his writing, which is very much evident in this book too. What I also like about this book very much is how clearly Hornby expresses the conflicting emotions each of his characters go through in the different situations that arise throughout the course of this book.
The only drawback of this novel is its rather sappy ending, which is too sweet for its own good. Nevertheless, it left me smiling as most of Nick Hornby's books do.
4 stars to this dark, funny novel. Given I'm a fan of Hornby's works, I'd rate this alongside his best works 'About A Boy' & 'High Fidelity'. Highly recommended for fans of popular fiction. -
(Forse questo libro meriterebbe una stella in meno, ma ormai mi sono affezionato.)
“Non buttiamoci giù” è un libro veramente geniale. L’autore è riuscito a parlare di un tema delicato, quello del suicidio e delle ragioni che portano una persona a volerlo attuare, in modo molto originale e ironico, senza mai risultare pesante ma, allo stesso tempo, facendoti riflettere e commuovere molto e strappandoti qualche risata.
Il linguaggio, soprattutto quello di alcuni personaggi, può essere leggermente scurrile in alcune parti ma senza sfociare nella volgarità.
La prosa è molto scorrevole e ho apprezzato alcuni riferimenti riguardanti la letteratura e la musica presenti nel libro.
Jess è il personaggio che mi ha divertito di più e credo che Maureen sia uno dei miei personaggi preferiti in assoluto, a parer mio non si può non amarla.
Sicuramente leggerò qualcos’altro dell’autore e guarderò il film tratto dal libro. -
Книжка, которая и спустя 15 лет хорошая — вот это я понимаю подарок на Новый год.
Рада, что книжный клуб ее прочитал; рада перечитать ее сама.
Рекомендую подсовывать подросткам сразу после «Отцов и детей», чтобы лучше понять проблематику, да и языком посовременнее. Единственное, что, по отзывам, по-русски она получилась совершенно не смешная, поэтому надо сначала подростков обучить английскому) -
Four strangers meet at arguably the lowest point in their lives and form an unlikely bond. Unlikely because these four people are so very different from each other that under normal circumstances they would never ever cross paths.
I laughed right out loud at several times while reading - not what I expected at all.
I enjoyed how each character took turns telling the story - of their lives, their loves, their sorrows. As the book progressed it was like peeling the layers of an onion, the reader gains deeper and deeper insight into each character as we go along.
Each character has both a distinct voice and personality as well, and it was written in such a way that they were actually speaking to the reader - loved that.
Jesse to the reader after explaining why she was on the roof - if you're old and happy, I can imagine that you'll maybe smile to yourself when you here me going, He broke my heart. You'll remember someone who broke your heart, and you'll think to yourself, Oh, yes, I can remember how that feels. But you can't you smug old git. - then follows the rather lengthy explanation of what Jesse thinks you remember contrasted with what she is experiencing.
Maureen to the reader on her reasons for and against - because that's why I was up there-there wasn't quite enough to stop me.
Jesse explaining why the bookclub didn't work out - you should try and read the stuff by people who've killed themselves! We started with Virginia Woolf, and I only read like two pages of this book about a lighthouse, but I read enough to know why she killed herself. She killed herself because she couldn't make herself understood......because in the olden days anyone could get a book published because there wasn't so much competition.........whereas now they'd go, No, dear, go away, no one will understand you. Try Pilates or salsa dancing instead.
Martin to Jesse in response to her comment that she had not attempted suicide again as she had been busy - "Terrible, isn't it, how that happens? You'll have to block out some time in your diary. Otherwise life will keep getting in the way."
Lighthearted, yet thoughtful. This is a keeper for me.
2nd read
Enjoyed this just as much as the first time. -
This is a dark comedy for it is about suicide and reading this is both entertaining and thought-provoking.
This is my 1st book by a contemporary British author, Nick Hornby (born 1957). His other works, High Fidelity (1995), About a Boy (1998) and How to be Good (2001) all ended up in New York Times Bestsellers and two have already been adapted to movies. I just picked up this bargain book as I was intrigued by its plot. I read later that Johnny Depp bought the story while it was still being written. The movie is now in the making. So, I squeezed this in while trying to finish Stephen King's The Shining which is taking me forever to read.
Four people meet each other for the first time on top of The Topper's House, a 49-storey building in London, where most people go to commit suicide by jumping down to their death. It is New Year's Eve that incidentally has the record of the highest (followed by Valentine's Day) number of suicide attempts in this history of London. The four are:
Martin - a middle-age TV show host who slept with a 15-y/o girl (who said she was 18). Martin was imprisoned for 3 months, divorced by his wife who no longer allows him to see their two little daughters. Then he got sacked from his TV show and is now working in a cable station for a program that none of his friends has seen. He was the first to go up the Topper's House.
Maureen - a 51-y/o single mother to 19-y/o autistic Matty. She got impregnated only by having sex once with her husband who left her when he realized that their son was autistic. Since the time she got pregnant, she has not gone to vacation and she misses her work I love the different colors of pen, the paper with different sizes and normal life as she has to devote 100% of her time now to take care of Matty who does not know anything going on around him. Among the four, Maureen provided the insights on how a lonely life can make a person think of committing suicide.
Jess - an 18-y/o daughter of a politician who is the Minister of Education. She went to Topper's House looking for her boyfriend Cas who seems to be avoiding her. Upon knowing that Cas was not there, she went up to the rooftop and found Martin and Maureen thinking of jumping down. Jess has a strained relationship with her parents as she was suspected of having stole the earrings of her elder sister Jen who ran away from their home.
JJ - is an American rockstar wannabe who went to London with his girlfriend. His carreer did not take off, his band got disbanded so his girlfriend left him. He now works as a pizza boy and was delivering an order when he went up to the rooftop. There he found the 3 and they ended up eating the pizza while thinking of whether to jump or not.
Did they jump to their death on that New Year's Eve? The answer is no. They talked that they realized that there are solutions to their problems. Hornby has this theory that a person contemplating suicide has to give himself or herself 3 months (one season) to see if suicide is the answer to his or her problems.
Or course, I am not telling you whether they jumped on March 31 or 3 months after New Year's Eve. That would be too much of a spoiler.
Saving now. Hope Goodreads will save this without any issue. I typed a similar review last Saturday but it hanged and got lost. I thought that my first review was better since the story was still fresh in my mind. Anyway, I am just typing this again for the sake of having a proper review.
-
Did I enjoy this book: There’s got to be at least one character in a book that I care about. I was slogging through a modern classic–I won’t name it here–with the least likable set of characters I’d ever encountered. I pushed through to the halfway mark, and then I said, “Why am I doing this? I’m going to find a novel whose people touch my heart.”
I was lucky enough to pick up Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down. I really enjoyed the book.
The cover of my copy of A Long Way Down shows four pairs of shoes hovering over a blue sky. The wing tips are fallen talk show host Martin’s. The comfortable oxfords are 51-year-old Maureen’s. Teenaged smart-mouth Jess owns the black Keds (and the red socks), and the boots belong to rock star wannabe JJ. These four unlikely compatriots meet atop Topper’s Tower in London one New Year’s Eve. Each climbs to the roof alone, intending to jump and end a life that no longer has meaning.
They come down in a pack, on a mission to find Jess’s erstwhile boyfriend. Then, mission accomplished, they find they can neither break their connection nor complete their original mission.
The book is told in all four voices, so we get inside each of their heads–miserable screw-up Martin, who had it all and lost it via his own stupidity; self-effacing Maureen, whose life has been spent caring for a son so disabled he has no awareness; the jilted Jess, whose sister is missing–a probable suicide; and musician JJ, who lost his band, his love, and his will to live.
This band of misfits screws up regularly and sometimes spectacularly. They’re drifty and lunatic, self-centered and clueless, and yet–I care about each one.
Would I recommend it: I recommend A Long Way Down if you want a funny book with likable characters that admits to hope. Don’t look for saccharine, though–true love doesn’t come waltzing through the door, nor do the foolish become wise with the flash of a Hogwarts’ wand. But people on the wrong course do manage, with determination and an odd kind of courage, to turn their baggage-heavy ships. They get by,–yes, they do,–with a little help from their odd cast of friends.
As reviewed by Pam at Every Free Chance Books.
http://everyfreechance.com/2015/03/gu... -
I came to this book not knowing what to expect; I knew that people spoke highly of Nick Hornby, and that his books elicit thought and introspection, and I was coming from a background of mostly fantasy and sci-fi readings, so I was a bit cautious about approaching the book.
Having said that, I am glad to have taken the plunge, because this is quite honestly one of the most amazing books I've had the pleasure to read. Nick Hornby really nails the mood and the characterization here, and I have nothing but praise for having managed to create four main characters, each of which having their own unique sets of problems and mannerisms, yet really not so different from humankind in general. You read their thoughts, and their conversations with others, and you just find yourself relating to something Martin thought, or JJ said, or Jess's cavalier swearing and youthful confusion. It is all very stellar, really.
Of note is the ending, which I shall not spoil here, but it was something that I was worried about all through the book. I feared Hornby would screw it up, or make it unnecessarily depressing or unbelievably happy, but then as I read the ending, I found myself feeling satisfied by the conclusion. It made sense, for those people to come to these conclusions, and I didn't find myself struggling to swallow it, as is sometimes the case.
I think that in the near future I might be thinking a bit more about the themes discussed in the book, but this is not the place for it. This is a review, and thus my review of it as that it was a marvelous book, well worth the time. -
Four people decide to commit suicide by jumping off a roof at midnight on New Year's Eve. They don't know each other, it's just that they've all chosen the same roof and the same time to jump. After some awkward discussion, they each recognize that what was supposed to be their dramatic final gesture in fact shows a marked lack of originality. While that only makes them feel worse about themselves, the moment has clearly passed and they agree to go back down and have a drink.
With this absurd beginning, we meet Martin, Maureen, JJ, and Jess. They confess the reasons that brought them to this point. Martin was a TV talk show host who lost everything and went to jail after sleeping with an (unbeknownst to him) underage girl. Maureen, a single mother with a severely disabled grown son, is overwhelmed by loneliness and the endless stress of caregiving. JJ is broke, has lost his girlfriend, his best friend, and his dream of making it as a musician. Jess is privileged but desperately unhappy and generally screwed up.
These four people couldn't have less in common, except the one big thing that brought them together. They decide to form a support group of sorts, agreeing to meet regularly and then after 90 days, reevaluate the whole “jump off the roof” idea.
I laughed out loud a LOT while reading this book. The pacing was uneven and the end just a tiny bit anticlimactic, but I recommend it highly if you enjoy dark humor. -
After reading some most popular reviews here on GR, I did not expect to like the book at all, I thought it was going to be one depressing read. I was so wrong!
Set in London, this story revolves around 4 characters meeting on New Year's Eve on the rooftop of Topper’s house - a famous suicide spot. We hear them all talk with brutal honesty and sincerity about their personal circumstances that led them to the decision to end their lives. Even though the characters are all so, soooo miserable and lame, they are highly entertaining and funny. You just want to hug them and make them a really strong cup of tea....or G&T. I particularly loved the dialogues, Hornby has got one wicked sense of humour. I genuinely laughed out loud a lot, which you wouldn't expect with a book about 4 suicidal individuals. Easy 5 stars from me. -
Per una challenge dovevo scegliere un libro a partire da un elenco e, dato che questo ce l’avevo in casa, ho deciso di prenderlo in mano. Non l’avessi mai fatto!
I primi capitoli, in realtà, non sono nemmeno così male: ci troviamo infatti davanti ad un gruppo di persone che, per motivi differenti, stanno pensando al suicidio. Risulta quindi preponderante il tema della depressione e della morte, motivo per cui, seppure m’immaginavo qualcosa di un po’ diverso da parte dell’autore, all’inizio mi sono trovata ad avere delle alte aspettative dell’intero romanzo.
Andando avanti, però… che noia! Per tutto il tempo mi è sembrato non succedesse niente di particolare, tutti gli eventi si trascinavano e io dopo poco non avevo più la benchè minima voglia di leggerli.
A ciò si aggiungono anche quattro personaggi davvero odiosi. Jess sin da subito si dimostra essere quella più fuori di testa e la più insopportabile, ma in realtà non è che gli altri siano molto meglio… che proprio non sono riuscita a mandare giù c’è Maureen, che ho trovato praticamente apatica. I pensieri dei quattro, comunque, non si discostano molto l’uno dall’altro e questo è stato per me un problema mentre leggevo, dato che il romanzo è narrato dai quattro punti di vista: spesso era complesso, per non dire impossibile, capire chi stesse parlando senza leggere il titolo del capitolo, soprattutto questo mi capitava quando si alternavano Jess e JJ.
Nel complesso un libro davvero noioso, che non mi ha lasciato niente e che non consiglierei nemmeno al mio peggior nemico. -
I’ve been a reader for so long but never have I ever read a book quite like this.
I seen this book in a charity shop and read the blurb and it called to me, those few lines gripped me and had me needing to read this book and honestly, I’m so glad I snatched it up and decided to read it.
This book follows the lives of 4 people who ultimately, wanted to end their lives on New Year’s Eve but after the first up on the tower block was interrupted and the other two joined everything went in a different direction.
Martin, Maureen, Jess and JJ each have their own problems, their own reasons for wanting to end their lives and though out this book we get to see why and their stories are sad to read, we get to know them more and love them for who they are.
This book was so much more than I thought it would be, I couldn’t put it down at all and ended up devouring it within hours. It was funny, addictive and sad all rolled up into one amazing read.
Nick Hornby truly is an amazing writer, surprisingly this is my first read from this author but most definitely won’t be my last. I can’t wait to see what his other books are like.
