A Long Way Down
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 Paperback cover of A Long Way Down |
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| Author | Nick Hornby |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Riverhead Books |
| Released | 7 June 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) & Audio CD |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 1573223026 |
A Long Way Down is a novel written by British author Nick Hornby, published in 2005. It is a dark comedy, playing off the themes of suicide, angst, depression and promiscuity.
The story is written in the first-person narrative from the points of view of the four main characters, Martin, Maureen, Jess and JJ. These four strangers happen to meet on the roof of a high building called Topper's House in London on New Year's Eve, each with the intent of committing suicide. Their plans for death in solitude, however, are ruined when they meet. The novel recounts their misadventures as they decide to come down from the roof alive - however temporarily that may be.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
- Martin Sharp - The former host of a top rated morning show, Martin made the mistake of sleeping with a girl who was 15 years and 250 days old, a 115 day gap of legality which would ruin his career and his marriage.
- Maureen - A pious, sheltered middle-aged Catholic woman who is left to care for her vegetative son Matty. This has lead to her living the past 19 years of her life in relative seclusion, going only to Church and spending the majority of her time making up stories to tell Matty.
- Jess - A tactless, unpredictable, drug-abusing teenager who carries around the emotional baggage of family issues and an unhealthy obsession for tracking down her ex-boyfriend Chas.
- JJ - An American whose sole purpose for being in London is a relationship with his girlfriend Lizzie who was British. He was in a band, Big Yellow, who until recently had been performing across the UK. JJ lost the band and the girl and has now found himself delivering pizzas via moped.
[edit] Film rights
As with several of Hornby's earlier books, it seems likely that A Long Way Down will be adapted for the screen. Johnny Depp bought the rights to the book before it was even published and has since hired writer D.V. DeVincentis, who previously wrote the script for the film High Fidelity, to write the screenplay.[1] Depp is also quoted on the back of the paperback edition as saying that the book is "Masterful … some of the finest writing, and some of the most outstanding characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading." [2]
[edit] Reviews
"If Camus had written a grownup version of The Breakfast Club, the result might have had more than a little in common with [A Long Way Down] ... a brave and absorbing book. It's a thrill to watch a writer as talented as Hornby take on the grimmest of subjects without flinching, and somehow make it funny and surprising at the same time." - Tom Perotta, Publishers Weekly[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Pamela McClintock, Variety: Book buys for Depp
- ^ a b A Long Way Down page at Penguin Books UK
