A Long Way Down

By: Nick Hornby

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Simon Vance, Kate Reading

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

In his eagerly awaited fourth novel, New York Times best-selling author Nick Hornby mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who connect just when they've reached the end of the line.

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.

©2005 Nick Hornby (P)2005 Penguin Audio and Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"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)

“It’s like The Breakfast Club rewritten by Beckett.... What makes the book work is Hornby’s refusal to give an inch to sentimentality or cheap inspirational guff." (Time)

"A dramatic, sad and thoroughly side-splitting novel." (Newsday)

Very Entertaining

I really enjoyed this story. It was well-written and entertaining. I would recommend anyone get this book.

Funny, Sad subject but wildly entertaining!

Where does A Long Way Down rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The book is at the top for me. It made me laugh out loud. It was fast paced and I could not stop listening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

They all were my favorite because I liked who each of them were. They all had a story and I liked each one of their stories.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Each narrator killed it. They made you feel what the character was going through. It felt like the characters were real people doing an interview with you.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely!

What's important.

Gives one pause to reflect on the absurd in life that often distracts us from the important pieces of life.

Entertaining. Enjoyed the characters.

I liked the book. The readers were excellent. and a few more words make 20.

A Long Way Down

Nick is one my favorite British writers. He is a master at telling a story in a male or female perspective, regardless of age or background. This was a great story about complete strangers coming together unexpectedly and having an "obligatory" friendship. Its unusual yet heartfelt. Nick is great at this!

Not his best work.

although the characters were distinct, the story just didn't have the pop that his other works I've read had. disappointed as i wanted more.

Sad in a Very Funny Way

I wasn't sure about this book at first, but I took a chance and I'm glad I did. Although the topic is very sad and depressing, it's got some of the funniest scenes I've read in a book. The way Hornby presents the characters is very interesting, and having three narrators makes this work unique. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because of the ending. It wasn't a bad ending, but since I'm like a typical American (as Martin, a character in the book, describes), my rating makes sense. A very good listen.

A tricky subject done well.

Intelligent and funny, sad and true, intellectual and flippant, I still refer to ideas in it when talking to others about the tragedy of suicide.

disturbingly funny

Interesting mix of intelligent sarcasm and hopelessness set against a slim chance of a happy ending. A great read, funny as hell and well preformed. It's especially enjoyable if you've had the dubious please of living in London.

Entertaining and Enlightening

Scrolling through my suggested movies on Netflix one night, I came across this title and really enjoyed it. So when I came across the audiobook I knew I needed to listen to it. I wasn't disappointed. Though the film and book are quite different in the end, I thoroughly enjoy the narrators' performances and the story. It doesn't end with everything completely resolved and hunky dory fairytale ending which is, in my opinion, a bit rare to find. It kind of gives you a look into the mind of someone in similar situations and how those feelings just don't go away over night, no matter what your age or status is. I definitely recommend a listen.