Book Review | A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

I never noticed this book at the library. It was right on the first shelf with a bright blue cover, but I never saw it until last week. I hardly read what it was about. I knew it might be depressing. But in the end, I loved it. 

I always wanted to read Nick Hornby's books, but I never got to it. This was not one of the books on my list of "to be read" but I couldn't have chosen a better one.

So four people are on the top of a building, famous for being a suicide spot, and they all want to jump to their deaths because they're miserable on New Year's Eve. Yes, quite depressing. They're all different and they all end up talking to each other, even though they're really, really different. That's the premise of A Long Way Down.

I enjoyed the first person approach, with each character talking about their experience. Hornby really managed to speak in four different voices, including some speech peculiarities and bizarre inner thoughts that were hilarious. Seriously, how could a book about suicide be so funny?

Not only that, it was also insightful to the point where one could find a piece of valuable knowledge in each point of view even on weird scenes or on character's misfortunes. It's quite difficult to manage that and still have a book that might be considered a comedy.

All in all, this was a very pleasant experience, reading this book. I didn't even feel time passing by and I wish there was more of it in the end. That's what makes me feel like I've read a good book. Like, you want to know what happens but you don't want the book to end. The reader's paradox, I call it.

10/10

Vanessa