 "Witty exploration of a guy's point of view about relationships" | 2009-04-05 |
| - Reviewed By steve352 |
I have a big problem finding books that hold my interest - I finish about 1 out of 5 of them, but I indeed finished High Fidelity and found myself shirking what I should be doing in order to read.
High Fidelity is largely focused on the thoughts, feelings and remembrances of a Londoner in his mid-thirties who's been stuck for years at the same stage of life where everything revolves around music and relationships. The book was released in the mid-90's but really feels like early-mid-80's to me, smack dab in the vinyl/cassette era. I really identified, as I remember holding the same values, fears, and conflict about adulthood as Rob. Maybe a guy thing, but I usually don't have the patience for long passages that take place solely in the head of a character, but I really enjoyed the style and method of expression in High Fidelity. I wish I could read it again for the first time. |
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 "Just OK" | 2009-03-29 |
| - Reviewed By shannonturlington |
| Very similar to the movie, but I actually liked the movie better. The main character is still fairly despicable, though. |
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 "Wise And Funny, If A Trifle Pat" | 2009-02-28 |
| - Reviewed By slokes@optonline.net |
Rob Fleming would be pushing 50 today, a sobering thought for those of us who delighted in his arrested adolescence as presented in "High Fidelity", Nick Hornby's 1995 breakout novel.
"I want to go back to 1979 and start all over again", is how Rob puts it to us late in the story, and it's not just bell-bottom nostalgia he's thinking of - though you do get that, in a hilariously sent-up way. Its the menu of options that have since become closed to him, especially regarding love. Rob has just been ditched by his latest love, and he spends the first thirty pages going back to his youth recalling past dumping dames from his first kiss to his last roll in the hay.
He also is stuck in a dead-end job, selling old LPs at a tiny North London store called Championship Vinyl, where most of his day is spent listening to his two employees argue over whether the Righteous Brothers or Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels did the better version of "Little Latin Lupe Lu". If you care anything at all about pop music and its various offshoots over the last 50 years, you will find plenty of recognition comedy in "High Fidelity". For others, the send-up of nerdy one-upsmanship translates easy enough for laughter.
For most people, "High Fidelity" the book will be used to compare with "High Fidelity" the movie. The latter is a good one, definitely making my Top Five All Time John Cusack Movies list, but I wonder if the novel will similarly be on my Top Five Nick Hornby Novels in a few years' time. Not that "High Fidelity" isn't splendid company - it just goes on for a while longer than it needs to, and its narration seems a bit self-aware for someone whose life is supposed to be such a mess. Suffice it to say I don't want women thinking Rob is a typical male loser - he's a little too clever and sympathetic.
The novel does score points over the movie in some departments - Rob visits his parents in one chapter, and gets roped into a neighbor's wine party that brings out his self-pitying best. At one point, dragged to see a movie, he sees another young man in a similar predicament. The young man smiles sheepishly at Rob, who struggles to swallow down his disgust.
That gets at the heart of the message of "High Fidelity", that Rob's problem is one of snobbish selfishness, a desire to see himself as too important to accept the reality of his life for what it is. His relationship with ex Laura is not one of bitter feelings, but a dim sense of being cooped up by social expectations. Finding his way past his own narrow sense of self-satisfaction is the novel's central struggle, and its source of light. It's a common theme with Hornby - the main character in "About A Boy" later on will also need to get past his ideal of "island living" to find what it is about life that's really worth living for.
I like the message well enough. What I like more are the snappy one-liners. Maybe there's too many of them, and maybe Laura feels a bit too much like an echo of Rob's narration. But Hornby's often-unremarked gift for plot structure is well in evidence, and try not being entertained by it all the first time round.
"I get letters from young men, always young men, in Manchester and Glasgow and Ottawa, young men who seem to spend a disproportionate amount of their time looking for deleted Smiths singles and "ORIGINAL NOT RERELEASED" underlined Frank Zappa albums," Rob says of his clientele. "They're as close to being mad as makes no difference."
Paying Rob a call may seem mad to him, but it makes a whole lot of sense where "High Fidelity" is concerned. |
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| "For Christ Sake, DON'T see the movie!" | 2009-01-16 |
| - Reviewed By ohgimemo |
I enjoyed this book immensly! It was extremly funny, heartbeaking and very English. That is why I never understood making the film in Chicago of all places! I'm not sure if there was any uproar as close to the type caused when it was decided that Renée Zellwiger was to play Brigit Jones but there damn well should have been! In the case of this book the people creating an uproar would have been dead on in their protest. Not only filming it in Chicago with an all American cast but choosing John f***ing Cusak as the narrator (dear GOD)!
So beside the horrible decisions I just mentioned, this book is a masterpiece! Extremly well written for a modern look at love and relationships but a completely original storyline that examines his not only currect failing relationship but an his examining of his past as well.
You won't be disappointed but I seriously stress that you read his books before you decide to see any of the films they've adapted into mediocre movies.
Hornby is a genious that I'm sure you'll find a lot of what you not only been through (woman or man) but I'm sure you'll recognize yourself in his very cleverly written humour. |
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| "Good music, good writing" | 2008-07-30 |
| - Reviewed By soporific |
Nick Hornby writes a winning novel about three young slackers. He pokes gentle fun at them as they navigate the bewildering puzzles of romance and life. This is one of Hornby's earlier books, and his tone is not as polished as it will become. Still, he offers up his hilarious take on male-female relationships, and the vicissitudes of a young man's heart. This may not be Hornby at his best, but it is still very enjoyable.
The three record store guys are forever making lists of their top songs, I succumbed to the temptation, and eventually made a list of the songs mentioned in the book that the characters love or despise. You can find most of them on youtube in the form of videos. I mostly agreed with their tastes. It was a lot of fun to indulge in this walk down memory lane. It was also sobering to see how old these songs really were.
This may be a unique instance where I liked the movie more than the book. Of course, I saw the movie years ago, when I was closer in age to the characters. It may not live up to my memories if I view it now. Nevertheless, it is a book I can recommend to those of a certain age, who remember their local record store with fondness.
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| "High Fidelity" | 2008-07-08 |
| - Reviewed By mortonsguitar |
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby *****
High Fidelity follows the story of Rob. A thirtysomething who owns a failing record shop (Championship Vinyl) and is in the middle of a failing relationship with Laura, who he is having trouble excepting that he loves and wants to spend the rest of his life with.
Rob is on the journey of acceptance and a journey to find himself (yes at thirty something years old he still does not fully know who and what he is or wants to be) and along that journey we encounter an ignored genius American folk musician who Rob falls for. The Musical Moron Twins who help Rob run his failing shop, Liz, a mutual friend between Laura and Rob. But most importantly Ian, the man next door who is a wedge and blessing to their relationship at the same time.
Told through top five musical and movie lists and in a insightful and original tone. High Fidelity is Hornby's crowning achievement as an author and one that should be read by any fan of a great read. |
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