High Fidelity (Paperback)

When I finally bought the book and read it I was astounded. A truly, truly marvellous piece of work. I could identify with just about every line, despite the fact that the musical references went mostly (if not completely) over my head.

Rob's obsession with Laura whilst they are apart and his "wandering" feelings when they are together capture, for me, the essence of relationships. You only want what you had when you don't have it any more.

Some people above have commented on their impression of a lack of depth to the characters. The sad truth is that most of us are not wonderfully well-rounded individuals with experience in many varied fields of life. Many of us are just obsessed with music, or computer games or Jerry Springer talk shows. I think that Hornby has captured a truth of our society in High Fidelity.

In summary, it's wonderful. The relationships are described in a "real-life" way as are the characters. Read it, you won't be disappointed.

"HIGH FIDELITY" by Nick Hornby A book review

In "High fidelity" Nick Hornby discusses three central themes: LOVE, SEX and FRIENDSHIP. Although he deals with a very serious matter he uses a joking , original and poignant wit, which makes this book ironic and, at the same time, sweet and wise. The main character, Robert is a 30-year-old record store owner, who has just been left by his girlfriend Laura. He goes through a period of crisis, in which his fears and insecurity in love overcome him and wreck his life. This experience, which is probably common to many young men like Rob , is portrayed by the author in a true-to-life and funny way, through sharp dialogues and an involving narration. Rob has to admit his immaturity to change his life completely, but his growth is possible thanks to the friendship with Dick and Barry, the two employers in his record shop. At first, they seem almost incompatible with Rob, but they slowly become intimate friends. Barry, in particular, wins Rob's admiration with the success as a singer in his band "Barrytown". An original feature of "High fidelity" is the presence of a "soundtrack" an excellent music theme, that accompanies Rob's thoughts and the events in the story. This feature makes the book a MUST READ, which no music "snob" can be without. A BRILLIANT BOOK!

Rob is a 35-year-old North London record shop owner who never recovered from the toughest of those five break-ups--the one that stunned him right out of college. He knows his chosen musical genres obsessively, but no longer quite as obsessively as his employees, the overbearing Barry and timid Dick. The shop and his music, however, seem to make up Rob's whole world, and he is not comfortable outside them. Nor is he happy with himself outside of a monogamous relationship. So why (consciously or not) does he always sabotage them? Following Rob as he seeks the answer to this question can be hilarious and sad and rejuvenating.

Hornby's prose is consistently keen of wit and often raucously funny. Because there's just so much literature out there I want to experience, I almost never re-read books. I read HIGH FIDELITY twice in six weeks--Nick Hornby taught me how silly I was.