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From Booklist
*Starred Review* In his trademark warm and witty prose, Hornby follows four depressed people from their aborted suicide attempts on New Years Eve through the surprising developments that occur over the following three months. Middle-aged Maureen has been caring for her profoundly disabled son for decades; Martin is a celebrity-turned-has-been after sleeping with a 15-year-old girl; teenage Jess, trash-talker extraordinaire, is still haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her older sister years before; and JJ is upset by the collapse of his band and his breakup with his longtime girlfriend. The four meet while scoping out a tower rooftop looking for the best exit point. Inhibited by the idea of having an audience, they agree instead to form a support group of sorts. But rather than indulging in sappy therapy-speak, they frequently direct lacerating, bitingly funny comments at each other--and the bracing mix of complete candor and endless complaining seems to work as a kind of tonic. Hornby funnels the perceptive music and cultural references he is known for through the character of JJ, but he also expands far beyond his usual territory, exploring the changes in perspective that can suddenly make a life seem worth living and adroitly shifting the tone from sad to happy and back again. The true revelation of this funny and moving novel is its realistic, all-too-human characters, who stumble frequently, moving along their redemptive path only by increments. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Four different people find themselves on the same roof on New Year's Eve, but they have one thing in common–they're all there to jump to their deaths. A scandal-plagued talk-show host, a single mom of a disabled young man, a troubled teen, and an aging American musician soon unite in a common cause, to find out why Jess (the teen) can't get her ex-boyfriend to return her calls. Down the stairs they go, and thoughts of suicide gradually subside. It all sounds so high concept, but each strand of the plot draws readers into Hornby's web. The novel is so simply written that its depths don't come to full view until well into the reading. Each character takes a turn telling the story in a distinctive voice. Tough questions are asked–why do you want to kill yourself, and why didn't you do it? Are adults any smarter than adolescents? What defines friends and family? Characters are alternately sympathetic and utterly despicable, talk-show-host Martin, particularly. The narrators are occasionally unreliable, with the truth coming from the observers instead. Obviously, a book about suicide is a dark read, but this one is darkly humorous–as Hornby usually is. Teens will identify with or loathe Jess and musician J. J., but they will also find themselves in the shoes of Maureen and Martin. This somewhat philosophical work will appeal to Hornby's fans but has plenty to attract new audiences as well.–Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
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31 von 33 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
As comic novels go, this book takes on a frightfully tricky subject: suicide.
On New Year's Eve in North London, four lost souls go to a roof of a particularly famous suicide point called "Topper's House" to leap - only to discover a traffic jam (themselves), and, instead of jumping, end up striking up an uneasy alliance/friendship. ("Even though we had nothing in common beyond that one thing," as the character Martin states at one point.) That's the high-concept opening and theme of this novel, in a nutshell.
The four characters:
On New Year's Eve in North London, four lost souls go to a roof of a particularly famous suicide point called "Topper's House" to leap - only to discover a traffic jam (themselves), and, instead of jumping, end up striking up an uneasy alliance/friendship. ("Even though we had nothing in common beyond that one thing," as the character Martin states at one point.) That's the high-concept opening and theme of this novel, in a nutshell.
The four characters:
MARTIN: a disgraced, morning talk-show host who served time in jail for sleeping with an underage girl. Divorced by his wife, humiliated by the media.
MAUREEN: a middle-aged, self-sacrificing (and long-suffering) single mom whose only son is a virtual vegetable. A Catholic who states (p. 77): "I don't believe in luck as much as punishment." She had sex once, with only one man - which resulted in a child, the cross she had to bear (and could no longer bear).
JESS: a bratty, impulsive, volatile, foul-mouthed rebel teen, daughter of a well-known government official.
JJ: a 30-ish "failed" American musician (leader of the defunct cult band, Big Yellow) - now turned pizza delivery boy. (A character most resembling Rob from High Fidelity)
The novel is told from the point of view of these four characters - that is, in alternating monologues (reminding me of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying).
At one point a significant reference is made to Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse, in which the character of Jess suggests the author "killed herself because she couldn't make herself understood."
What's unfolds then, in this novel, is the characters finding the WORDS to their despair.
WHAT I LOVED:
The humor. Given this horribly dark subject matter, Nick Hornby continually finds a way to make his material and situations amusing.
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE:
Finding this horribly dark subject matter amusing.
Part of the problem with Nick Hornby is that he is a comic novelist in the traditional sense. (As with Shakespeare's comedies, it is the happy ending that defines it as such.)
I kept thinking that this novel might work better as a play or a skit. The opening on the roof is very theatrical, almost like a Samuel Beckett play (full of gallows humor). There rest of the book, essentially, is a series of monologues.
Some people may find A Long Way Down a little shallow, a little contrived and glib, like a TV sitcom run amok. Hornby constantly undermines the seriousness of his subject matter in order to make it bearable; but in doing so he also undermines the weight of it; in a way, he sort of paints himself into a corner from the beginning. The rest of the novel is about Hornby writing himself out of the hole. Give him credit for courage, though.
All the negative aspects aside -- there are A LOT of laugh-out-loud passages in this book; there's enough humor and wit and liveliness for me to recommend it. His writing is still a pleasure to read, his characters full of attitude and intensely likeable, and after The Loser's Club: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez (another recent Amazon favorite of mine), I'm still recommending Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down. Maybe not his best -- High Fidelity still commands that spot -- but still good, a comic novel stretching the limits of what a comic novel should be.
18 von 19 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Format:Taschenbuch
Einen humoristischen Roman über den Selbstmord zu schreiben scheint beinahe unmöglich. Nick Hornby jedoch ist das mit diesem Buch unglaublich gut gelungen. Er beweist einmal mehr, warum er derzeit als Englands größter Autor der Pop-Kultur gilt.
So versammelt er eine íllustre Gruppe an Charakteren, die sich allesamt denselben Zeitpunkt ausgesucht haben, um ihrem Leben ein Ende zu bereiten: am Silvesterabend. Doch damit nicht genug wollen sie auch noch rein zufällig allesamt vom Dach desselben Hauses springen...Aus der Sicht jeder dieser 4 Protagonisten schildert Hornby den weiteren Verlauf, voll von Ironie, bitterbösem Sarkasmus und Wortwitz.
Dabei bildet der erste der drei Teile den wohl besten des Buches. Das darauffolgende Kapitel verliert dann jedoch etwas an Schwung.
Trotzdem ist die Lektüre empfohlen, da man wohl zu diesem Thema kaum ein amüsanteres Buch finden wird...
So versammelt er eine íllustre Gruppe an Charakteren, die sich allesamt denselben Zeitpunkt ausgesucht haben, um ihrem Leben ein Ende zu bereiten: am Silvesterabend. Doch damit nicht genug wollen sie auch noch rein zufällig allesamt vom Dach desselben Hauses springen...Aus der Sicht jeder dieser 4 Protagonisten schildert Hornby den weiteren Verlauf, voll von Ironie, bitterbösem Sarkasmus und Wortwitz.
Dabei bildet der erste der drei Teile den wohl besten des Buches. Das darauffolgende Kapitel verliert dann jedoch etwas an Schwung.
Trotzdem ist die Lektüre empfohlen, da man wohl zu diesem Thema kaum ein amüsanteres Buch finden wird...
13 von 14 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Format:Audio CD
"A Long Way Down" is an outstanding piece of writing. The idea seems contrived at first: Four people want to commit suicide on Toppers House on New Year's Eve. But instead of flinging themselves down, they start talking and helping each other overcome their wish to jump - and that over the next weeks and months as well... And Nick Hornby makes a compelling, moving and humorous book out of it - with some really creative twists and turns!
Ex-Talkmaster and ex-prisoner Martin, mother of a severely handicapped child Maureen, punk who lost sister Jess and failed musician JJ are protagonists as different as can be imagined, and the dynamics between them is breathtaking. Each of them has his/her own individual voice and point of view, and their interactions are lively, sometimes even turbulent. I personally found Maureen and Martin most convincing, but Jess' invention of an angel that looked like Matt Damon made me laugh heartily.
Hornby successfully manages to avoid sentimentality. Instead, there's a lot of humour in his novel, but also a lot of insight and truth about hardships, about the reality of life - the author never ridicules the tragedies of his protagonists' lives. Hornby respects that such hardships are highly subjective, that they often have no easy solutions, but need step-by-step changes to make living with them bearable. As a consequence, "A Long Way Down" doesn't have the over-the-top happy ending of a Sophie Kinsella novel, and this is one of the many merits of "A Long Way Down".
Brilliant and delightful novel. 5 stars.
PS: As audio book, buy unabridged - I cannot imagine what could possibly be left out of "A Long Way Down", every word is so well-placed in the text! A slight drawback of the unabridged audio book: Kate Reading reads both 51-year-old Maureen and 18-year-old Jess, and this is slighly puzzling at first and needs some getting used to - especially as she is spot-on as Maureen but not so convincing as Jess. The men's voices are superb, and it's a great pleasure to listen to the CDs. Highly recommended.
Ex-Talkmaster and ex-prisoner Martin, mother of a severely handicapped child Maureen, punk who lost sister Jess and failed musician JJ are protagonists as different as can be imagined, and the dynamics between them is breathtaking. Each of them has his/her own individual voice and point of view, and their interactions are lively, sometimes even turbulent. I personally found Maureen and Martin most convincing, but Jess' invention of an angel that looked like Matt Damon made me laugh heartily.
Hornby successfully manages to avoid sentimentality. Instead, there's a lot of humour in his novel, but also a lot of insight and truth about hardships, about the reality of life - the author never ridicules the tragedies of his protagonists' lives. Hornby respects that such hardships are highly subjective, that they often have no easy solutions, but need step-by-step changes to make living with them bearable. As a consequence, "A Long Way Down" doesn't have the over-the-top happy ending of a Sophie Kinsella novel, and this is one of the many merits of "A Long Way Down".
Brilliant and delightful novel. 5 stars.
PS: As audio book, buy unabridged - I cannot imagine what could possibly be left out of "A Long Way Down", every word is so well-placed in the text! A slight drawback of the unabridged audio book: Kate Reading reads both 51-year-old Maureen and 18-year-old Jess, and this is slighly puzzling at first and needs some getting used to - especially as she is spot-on as Maureen but not so convincing as Jess. The men's voices are superb, and it's a great pleasure to listen to the CDs. Highly recommended.
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Ist halt gebraucht...:-)
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Veröffentlicht am 23. Februar 2010 von Villette
Nick Hornby's "A Long Way Down" - A Refreshing Read
The novel "A Long Way Down" written by Nick Hornby tells the story of four people who try to commit suicide on New Year's Eve and meet each other on top of the tower block they... Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 8. Februar 2010 von Victoria Hummer
Lovely, touching, funny...
Nick Hornby is such a great storyteller. He uses in this stories the perspectives of four people and gives everyone such an inidvidual character. Hornby captures the human nature. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 25. Januar 2010 von F. Schade
Toll!
Eine Lese-Delikatesse! ... Wobei das Thema an sich ja schon einiges verspricht: 4 Selbstmörder begegnen sich zur Jahreswende auf einem beliebten Selbstmörder-Hochhaus, um... Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 12. Juni 2009 von H. Beving
Sehr gute Stimmen, sehr interessant.
Das Hörspiel lässt sich ohne Probleme abspielen.
Die Geschichte wird von mehreren Personen erzählt und ist deswegen besonders interessant zum zuhören. Lesen Sie weiter...
Die Geschichte wird von mehreren Personen erzählt und ist deswegen besonders interessant zum zuhören. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 29. Mai 2009 von J. Fricke
Charakter und Sprache
Die Figuren werden beim Sprechen noch plastischer für den Hörer. Jess zum Beispiel verleugnet als Punkerin mit hartem Londoner Cockneyakzent offensichtlich ihre Herkunft... Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 8. März 2009 von Urs Sauberwinkel
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