A Long Way Down

I finished Nick Hornby's book A Long Way Down last night. I'm still wondering how I feel about it. I didn't find it particularly memorable, actually.

Four main characters share this book: Martin, a former morning talk show host whose career took a nose dive after he was imprisoned for sleeping with a fifteen-year-old girl; Maureen, a single mother coping with an extremely handicapped son; Jesse, a foul-mouthed teen who feels neglected since her older sister vanished and became the focus of her parents' lives; and JJ, a former rock musician who recently broke up with both his band and his girlfriend.

The four of them meet on the top of a high building on New Year's Eve, as each of them are getting ready to - you guessed it - jump.

They manage to talk each other out of it, and the remainder of the book is the story of how this unlikely band of people, with absolutely nothing in common except their shared experiences on that fateful New Year's Eve, form a bond and - in their own ways - support one another.

I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters, frankly, I suppose because all of them have values and attitudes so completely different from my own. More importantly, though, I could not fathom the characters actually relating to each other. They are so mean-spirited to one another one moment, then kind to one another the next. Sometimes the motivations behind their behaviours were vague.

I've read other works by Hornby and thoroughly enjoyed them. This one, not so much.