A Long Way Down

by Nick Hornby

Book Overview

"One New Year's Eve, four people with very different reasons but a common purpose find their way to the top of a fifteen-story building in London. None of them has calculated that, on a date humans favor for acts of significance, in a place known as a local suicide-jumpers' favorite, they might encounter company. A Long Way Down is the story of what happens next, and of what doesn't." --The New York Times Book Review

A...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594481938
• ISBN13: 9781594481932
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

5 Stars

It was great fun from the very first page! This book is funny, dark, and lighthearted all at the same time. I loved hearing the stories through each characters voice. I recommend it to everyone.

Funny and Touching

I've read a few of Nick Hornby's books, but I must admit it took me awhile to get to this one. I just wasn't sure how entertaining a book could be when it focuses on the accidental meeting of four suicidal people.... But once I started reading I discovered it is great! On New Year's Eve four complete strangers meet at the top of a building with the purpose of killing themselves. Instead of jumping off, though, they make a pact to wait a few weeks and meet again to see if life has improved. The book is about what happens in their lives over the course of those weeks. One of the things I liked most about the book is that Hornby avoids an overly sappy happily-ever-after ending. While it is a sweet book with a good ending, it is also about real people with real problems, and Hornby acknowledges that their problems will not be solved in 330 pages. I recommed this book - you won't be disappointed!

Very well done

I have never read Mr. Hornby's work before. I found this book delightful, funny, thought provoking, as well as emotional. At times the characters (2) can be annoying, but I believe that was the intention. And it works. I couldn't put it down, I really cared about these 4 people. Pick it up definately, and you might also learn something about yourself.

Don't miss this!

This is another excellent novel from Nick Hornby who has yet to write anything that I have not enjoyed. It is the story of four very different characters. Maureen is a downtrodden single parent whose life is dedicated to caring for her severely disabled son. Martin is an obnoxious daytime TV presenter who has been the subject of a high profile sex scandal. JJ is a musician who always wanted to be a rock star but now deliver pizzas. Jess is an impulsive teenage tearaway. It is hard to imagine a group with less in common. What does bring them together is a tower block - Toppers House - in London on New Years Eve where each arrives intending to leap to their doom. They inevitably discuss what has brought them there. I must say that I feared that they would understand each others pain and then hug each other living happily ever after in a community. But they don't. In fact whenever I thought I knew where it was going it went off in a different direction. Never predictable and never dull. They are certainly not a likeable bunch. Why else would they be at Toppers House in the first place? But they are a fascinating group of oddballs and their mutual dependency is both touching and amusing. The subject matter is never trivialised even though there are several laugh out loud moments. The writing is always excellent. Watch out for Maureen's discovery of Nick Drake's music. That is a real `waterworks' moment. Don't be put off by the gloomy subject matter. This is his best to date and should not be missed.

Fantastic - what else can I say?

I'd read the review for this months ago in Kirkus, and my first thought was, "How is Hornby going to pull off a book around such an odd topic?" Well, I should have known better than to worry, as Hornby pulls it off with humor and great flair. As you probably already know, the plot involves 4 people who meet while preparing to jump to their deaths from a famous suicide spot. Instead of doing so, they band together to form one of the strangest support group/families you'll ever read about. I think many who read this one will feel bad about laughing out loud at certain passages, given the darkness of the subject. However, the ability to make us do that, to be able to laugh at topics like death and suicide, is what makes Hornby a great writer. Even in deadly serious situations, he's able to inject his wit and make us take things just a little bit lighter. I've been waiting for this one, and it was well worth the wait. Not only do I feel like my expectations and anxieties were met, but that they were easily surpassed. I can't recommend this one highly enough. With all the poor fiction that gets released every week, it's such a great feeling when a gem like this one comes along.