High Fidelity

The film version of High Fidelity is the greatest romantic comedy about music fans ever made. The book itself, which I'd stupidly not read until just now, was not one bit less good. As with all truly meaningful art, I found different things to relate to now than I did when I saw the movie back in college, but much of it was just as great as I remember: the protagonist has the right balance of likability and unlikability, his music obsession is as admirable as it is embarrassing, and the resolutions of his personal and professional crises are as inspirational as they are aspirational. As a romantic fantasy for anyone who thinks that sharing musical taste (or any kind of taste) with someone means that everything will always work out for the best, High Fidelity can't be beaten, and even the parts where I disagreed with the plot had me thinking about how my own life was "supposed" to go. Even its sappy ending is unhateable.

If you've somehow never seen the movie, Rob Fleming is an aimless, drifting music shop owner who's dumped by his girlfriend Laura because she's tired of dating an aimless, drifting music shop owner. In search of some form of emotional closure, he tries to track down the five of his past girlfriends whose breakups have hurt him the most, while taking stock of how he has gotten to this point in his life, where his dreams seemed to have evaporated and left only his dead-end job and a few "friends" in front of him. Along the way, as he attempts to reconcile show more with Laura, he learns important lessons about commitment, fidelity, righting wrongs, facing your fears, and what it means to follow your dreams. He talks a lot about music too.

It's not nearly as insipid as that though - even though the book was published in 1995 and is still firmly in the pre-internet era in its tone, its view of the essential ambiguity of modern relationships, using music as an example of the ways people try (and fail) to connect to each other, is perfectly current and applicable. Rob can't commit, which is hardly uncommon, and it becomes uncomfortably obvious that in addition to his fear of death, he doesn't respect himself. This is properly ironic, since as a record store owner he's an esteemed taste arbiter, but he feels that he hasn't lived up to his potential, and that his actual life is just an audience recording of a concert he never gave. "Sex is about the only grown-up thing I know how to do; it's weird, then, that it's the only thing that can make me feel like a ten-year-old." I found that feeling of uncertainty perfectly relatable; same with his self-pity, his self-deprecation, and his retreat into meaningless reflexive listmaking. Laura dumps him as a way to get him to wake up, and though you could claim that that kind of dedication on her part is unrealistic, since all too often people simply give up, move on, and don't look back, let's not be too cynical: sometimes people really do go that extra mile for the person they love. Maybe the true difference between what people call "settling" and what they call "realizing that what you actually needed was right in front of you all along" is simply that in the latter case things eventually work out and in the former they just don't.

Laura is actually kind of a puzzle in the book, in that she seems oddly attached to this mope given their backstory. I wouldn't say that she's totally unrealistic, though, since that happens all the time. Isn't every great relationship undeserved? You can tell that Rob agrees, given how hurt he is by her dumping him. Even his rebound, a musician named Marie (from my hometown of Austin!) ends up reminding him of what he's lost, after their mutual attraction leads them to hook up: "Before we slept together, there was at least some pretense that it was something we both wanted to do, that it was the healthy, strong beginning of an exciting new relationship. Now all the pretense seems to have gone, and we're left to face the fact that we're sitting here because we don't know anybody else we could be sitting with." And that's what sets him off on his quest for closure. I personally feel like "closure" is bullshit, but you never know. Sometimes failed relationships just end; other times there's that ambiguity, that sense of incompleteness that leads to reaching out for some vague and nebulous affirmation of their own feelings. It depends on what the relationship meant to you, and he has a great analysis of his own feeling of helplessness after Laura leaves him, when he's being exceptionally petulant:

"You know the worst thing about being rejected? The lack of control. If I could only control the when and how of being dumped by somebody, then it wouldn't seem as bad. But then, of course, it wouldn't be rejection, would it? It would be by mutual consent. It would be musical differences. I would be leaving to pursue a solo career. I know how unbelievably and pathetically childish it is to push and push like this for some degree of probability, but it's the only thing I can do to grab any sort of control back from her."

Yeah: that desperate grabbing for any amount of power; anything to feel like something other than a victim. Breakups are ugly, especially for people who spend too much time inside their own heads: "Maybe we all live life at too high a pitch, those of us who absorb emotional things all day, and as a consequence we can never feel merely content: we have to be unhappy, or ecstatically, head-over-heels happy, and those states are difficult to achieve within a stable, solid relationship." There's a lot of good stuff in here about what you measure yourself against as a way of defining yourself: against your dreams, against your peers, against your parents. Particularly on that last one - I think many people feel like epigones when they look at their parents, like they somehow knew things that you don't, even when that plainly isn't the case. It's easy to feel like your life is in a permanent transitional phase, despite that being a contradiction in terms, when you aren't following a set path. In that light, he's returning to his exes as a way to orient himself, because even running back over the same ground again is movement, right?

And I just can't help but love a book that's so thoroughly saturated with great musical taste, with exactly the right mixture of condescension and simultaneous embarrassment at that same condescension. There's a great scene where he's clumsily half-flirting with a music journalist who is asking him what his top 5 records of all time are. This should be the ultimate softball question, since he's been preparing for this essentially his whole life. And he blows it! Right when he's trying to be cool, he stumbles over his answers and ends up spitting out a bunch of records that don't mean anything to him, and he has to call her a bunch of times to get her to change his answers - the exact opposite of cool. Music is how Rob tries to connect to people, categorize them, and even index his own life (I'd forgotten about that scene when he tries to organize his record collection "autobiographically" to make himself feel better), but that externalization of connection could be film, art, anything. In addition to lots of great discussion of lists and mixtapes (which thanks to services like Spotify are still a great way to impress girls with your taste), he even has a funny take on the classic chicken-and-egg question of sad people and sad songs:

"People worry about kids playing with guns, and teenagers watching violent videos; we are scared that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands, of songs about broken hearts and rejection and pain and misery and loss. The unhappiest people I know, romantically speaking, are the ones who like pop music the most; and I don't know whether pop music has caused this unhappiness, but I do know that they've been listening to the sad songs longer than they've been living the unhappy lives."

There was one big thing that, now that I'm older, made me question the realism of the story. Yeah, I know it's silly to question the narrative logic of romantic comedies, but still, I don't know that I fully buy that he gets back together with Laura via her father's death. In real life, tragedies are as likely to destroy relationships as restore them, and given his behavior at the funeral, there were plenty of points for Laura to get sick of his shit and pursue any one of the millions of other people who would no doubt be available. Maybe it comes back to the question of deciding what's settling and what isn't: was that sort of very drawn-out breakup with lots of contact and interaction just their way of realizing what was really important, or was it poor writing/nerd wish fulfillment? Again, maybe you just have to judge your behavior by what works and what doesn't, the Benthamite utilitarian view instead of the Kantian deontological view of what works for you.

Or maybe you can just enjoy what is, again, the greatest romantic comedy about music fans ever written. This was good enough that I rewatched the movie while finishing it, and they absolutely nailed it, from the casting (Jack Black in particular is perfect as Barry) all the way down to the scene change from London to Chicago. It would actually probably make it onto my Top 5 Novel Adaptations list, if I had one. On a side note, Hornby wrote an extremely negative review of Radiohead's Kid A, which I really love, in the New Yorker titled "Beyond The Pale". You can find it online, but it absolutely drips with a kind of condescension that's somewhat shocking from a guy who wrote such a great book deflating exactly that kind of pompous attitude.

I also loved this line about obligatory "friends" you have to invite to places and am going to start using it immediately: "'I call 'em duck noires. Sort of a mixture of lame duck and bête noire. People you don't want to see but kinda feel you should.'" show less

If you're too vinyl records and classic pop music, this is definitely the book for you. Since that's not really my thing, I struggled a bit with this book, since it left me to simply rage at the characters. The narrator Rob is exactly the kind of male character I can't stand (especially in real life!): he runs through women with no consideration to commit to them, he's obsessed with music and very judgmental of those who don't meet his standards for "good taste", and manages a record store on the edge of bankruptcy. Seriously, I applauded his girlfriend Laura for leaving him and wanted to smack her when she went back to him. Maybe I'm sexist, but I'm very much over novels which romanticize the experience of under-employed men who can't seem to get their lives together.

I have read my fair share of break-up stories but they are pretty much almost always told from the female point of view. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby gives us the males point of view and it’s funny, clever, and somewhat frustrating as Rob tells us about his break-up with Laura as well as the rest of his romantic memories. Using music as the thread that binds his memories together , Rob doesn’t flinch from showing us his self centered side of the story but as it goes along he also learns to confront his loneliness, sense of failure and, at the age of 29, his lack of maturity.

I wish I had read this book when I was in my 20’s or 30’s as I believe the author has painted a true picture of how men think and act in certain situations and this knowledge would have helped me in dealing with the opposite sex. But instead of finding this a useful reference, I was able to relax and enjoy the story, giggle out loud a bit and shake my head at how very different men and women are and what they really mean when they say certain things.

Well written, humorous, pathetic and highly readable, High Fidelity was a great read and Nick Hornby is definitely an author that I intended to follow up on.

I loved this book. I picked it up because I greatly enjoyed the film with John Cusack. It was a bit of a shock then when I realized this was set in London, not Chicago, but I soon found myself greatly enjoying the British accent on things, and this was certainly relatable, and both more poignant and more funny than the film. This is what I'd call Guyfic--the male version of Chicklit, a male Bridget Jones, though ordinary first person, not diary format. It's mostly light and often funny and about love, relationships, friends and careers and modern urban life.

Rob Fleming is thirty-five going on thirty-six and owner of a barely scrapping by record shop clerked by fellow pop music snobs Barry and Dick. The book is studded with a lot of musical references I don't get, because I'm one of those dweebs who just was never into pop music, but I still enjoyed this. Easy to translate it into any other kind of mania. When Rob breaks up with his girlfriend Laura, he lists his "top five" breakups--which, he insists, does not include Laura. And so he then starts to tell about those important women in his life--including Laura. And to be honest, he comes across as rather a whiny "arsehole" at first as he himself puts it--but he never stops being funny, and in the course of reading, neurotic as Rob might be, you also see a lot that's appealing in him. It's a great voice, breezy and conversational and I liked his confession that sex can be just as nerve-wracking for a man as a woman, and show more love just as important. The book flowed past very easily--lots of fun, but not really just froth. A book that left me feeling mellow and fond of the characters. show less

I couldn't honestly remember if I'd read this previously or just watched the film (probably the film, because John Cusack), but if I had, I must have conveniently forgotten how much of a pig the narrator is. I wouldn't willingly put myself through that again, I'm sure. He's not the vilest male creation I've encountered recently - I'm sure Rob and Michael from An Equal Music would get along famously - but not even the occasional humour and love of music can carry so much insufferable male ego. Poor Laura. Now I know why Funny Girl was so bad, I though Nick Hornby had just lost his touch.

Egy ideig küzdöttem azért, hogy agyi vetítővásznamról levakarjam John Cusack meg Jack Black arcát, de végül feladtam. (Ez van, nem volt az olyan rossz film.) Hornby az egyik legjobb tollú író azok közül, akik a büdös életben nem fognak Nobelt kapni. Fog egy abszolút rétegtörténetet egy zenebuzi lemezboltos életközepi válságáról, és olyan okosan, olyan ironikusan írja meg, hogy majd mindenki ki tudja szemezgetni belőle a magáét. Ahogy az értékeléseket nézegettem, még a hölgyek is, ami mellesleg ismét fényesen bizonyítja az irodalom kozmikus erejét. Még az sem zavart, hogy ha jobban megpiszkáljuk, Fleming és haverjai a legnagyobb sznobok Londonban*, ahogy az sem, hogy Hornby eszement mennyiségű rinyát sűrít bele szűk 300 oldalba – mert az egész elképesztően mulatságos. És hát marhára hálás is vagyok, mert végre valaki úgy ír a kínlódástól, ahogy Woody Allen filmesít: nem kell aggódnom amiatt, hogy ez a fickó a végén fellógatja magát. Megnyugtató. Mi több, a végén Hornby még azzal is megsimogatja a kollektív néplelket, hogy az összes főbb szereplőnek kiosztja ászpókert, így részesülünk az irodalomtörténet egyik legegymásraborulósabb fináléjában. Ja, Ian persze megszívja, de hát ő tényleg rohadjon meg. Vagy van, aki szerint ne? Nem egy Dosztojevszkij, ami abból is kitűnik, hogy olvasás közben végig jól éreztem magam – de a maga nemében mestermű. Mert ez a könyv show more a szórakoztatás magasiskolája, én pedig ezért hálásan föl is terjesztem öt csillagra. Nagyon jól jött ebben a szutyadék időben.

* Amúgy meg, Rob: nekem nincs 500 bakelitem otthon (ami azt illeti, egy sem), így hát a te kritériumaid szerint tán ember sem vagyok. Viszont van ezervalahányszáz könyvem, úgyhogy megcsókolhatod a valagam. Amúgy meg bírlak, de komolyan. show less

This book was a great read and I wasn't able to put it down until finished. The author gives an accurate picture of what it feels like to be a drifter/slacker growing old. The narrators cynical and self-deprecating opinions on work, friends, women and relationships (especially the latter two) are thought-provoking and sometimes painfully identifiable.

The only problem with the book for me was that the cultural references were not all that clear. If I had been born in the early 70's I would probably have given this book 5 stars.

OK, I am going to make a confession here: I have been wanting to read this book for probably the worst reason possible--I love the Stephen Frears-directed, John Cusack-starring adaptation, and I wanted to see how closely the film captured the essence of the book. It does. But this is about the novel, not the movie, and Hornby's exploration of a narcissistic, self-absorbed single man in his mid-thirties is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes pleasant--but most often infuriating, not because there is anything wrong with the story or Hornby's style, but because for a while in my life I WAS Rob Fleming, finding myself jumping "from rock to rock for the rest of my life until there aren't any rocks left." A Bildungsroman in the most extreme sense of the word, Fleming, over the course of several weeks, comes to realize that most of the wounds to his psyche are self-inflicted, and he manages to come to terms with his prolonged immature view of relationships and figure out exactly why he is where he is in life--and the rationalizations that have kept him there. Zora Neale Hurston once wrote that "The game of keeping what one has is never so exciting as the game of getting," and this is the key lesson that Fleming has to learn.

I'm conflicted. I'm not in the best place to be reading a book like this, so that's my own fault for starting it. I do like Hornby's writing as a general rule, and there were brilliant, insightful paragraphs that made me pause and think about my own sad love life.

However, I don't like to read stories where I kinda hate the protagonist. He's a jerk, and if all the guys who've broken my heart have the same mindset that Rob does, then there's just zero hope of me ever being in a relationship ever again.

Like I said, not the right time for me to have read this book.

"It's not what you like but what you are like that's important."

'High Fidelity' is essentially a book about relationships and is largely told in a stream of consciousness format.

Rob, is a mid-thirties man who lives in London in the mid-90’s who runs a small failing record shop. Rob's life isn't going anywhere and he seems to be constantly looking for ways to not get anywhere else. He’s had a few serious relationships in his life, but when his most recent girlfriend, Laura, leaves him for another guy he begins to question every relationship he’s ever had, from secondary school to present day. He set out to try to track down these old flames, to see why they left him.

"It's brilliant being depressed; you can behave as badly as you like."

The book is well written, the dialogue often witty, there a few great lines, engaging minor characters, frequent references to the popular music and movies of the era (my era) which leads Rob to consider whether a life's value can be measured by the music that they own, an interesting idea. So why didn't I like it more?

In truth I'm not a great fan of books where the main protagonist is a loser and seems to have no ambition to be anything else. I quite enjoyed the prologue where he critiqued his early relationships and found them quite fully but gradually the bleakness of Rob's outlook began to get on my nerves and I simply wanted to shout at him to "man up." Rob isn't a particularly likeable character but apparently he had slept with show more seventeen women in his life but still couldn't accept rejection. Basically he is a 36 year old baby. Its a quick read but the story didn't seem to be going anywhere just like Rob's life

"I've committed to nothing...and that's just suicide...by tiny, tiny, increments." show less

I saw the movie version of this a few years back & was less than impressed, despite the fact that it starred the ever-likeable John Cusack. So I had no desire to really pick up the book. But then I read all these rave reviews -- how it's such a cult classic -- that I decided that maybe the movie didn't do it justice, so I decided to give the book a try after all. And now here I am, still not that impressed. Maybe if I was a male, I might appreciate this a little more. But Rob, the protagonist, just really annoyed me more than anything. I really couldn't feel sorry for him at all, since even though he was very aware of his character flaws, he kept making the same mistakes over and over & did nothing to really try to make himself a better person. Perhaps this book really does capture what it's like to be a 20- or 30-something single male, a guy trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life & his relationships. And perhaps that's why, as a female, I can't get it. It's no wonder we females can't understand men, and vice versa.

A 1995 novel about a guy who owns a record shop in London and who, when we first meet him, has just been through a rather painful breakup. Throughout most of the novel, he divides his time between wallowing in self-pity, talking pretentiously but with genuine enthusiasm about music, making pop cultural top five lists, and wallowing in more self-pity.

I find it difficult to decide exactly what I think about this book. To begin with, I really disliked the main character. In addition to the whiny self-pity, he's also capable of being a grade-A dick, and every time I started developing some real sympathy for him, he'd turn around and do something unbelievably dickish again. His approach to women and relationships is incredibly self-absorbed and adolescent (although to his credit, he at least kind of realizes this), and while he's showing glimmers of approaching maturity by the very end, I can't quite manage to feel terribly optimistic about his chances for improvement. I also occasionally found myself wondering why he seemed to expect me, or anybody, to actually care about his crappy love life. And yet, there's something about Hornby's writing -- I'm not quite sure what -- that just pulled me along effortlessly and kept me interested, sometimes almost despite myself. There are also, perhaps, some decent insights here about relationships, and there's an impressive feeling of realism to the whole thing. Painful realism, even, especially for a woman who'd like to think that sex show more and relationships don't ever really look like this from a male POV, but knows in her heart that, at lest to some extent, they can and do.

So, while I was reading this, I'd say half of me felt entertained and thoughtful, while the other half was just going "Grrrr" and wanting to smack people. (Not the author, it should be said. He gives the strong impression of having a sense of perspective that his main character lacks. But the protagonist himself, definitely. And very possibly a couple of men I have known personally, as well.) Did I like it? I honestly don't know. But I do know that somehow I feel glad for having read it. show less

I did not expect to like this book. I've started the movie several times and not finished it because I just couldn't stand the protagonist (And I usually love John Cusack!). So I started this with very low expectations half thinking i'd toss it if I hated it. But in spite of the fact I thought the protagonist was a miserable arse who only had himself to blame for the state of his life I really enjoyed it. Hornby's writing managed to make a horrible person someone I wanted to spend time with... Although as a nearly 35 year old single person the constant stream of thought of being alone the rest of his life and settling for the best he could do was a bit depressing.

I know a guy who fancies himself as John Cusack's character in Better Off Dead, Lane. If we were still talking, I'd tell him that he's not - that he's exactly like John Cusack's character, Rob, in High Fidelity. But we're not talking... because he's exactly like Rob. And Rob is probably the most honest look at the modern 30-something guy I've ever read.

That one word captures it all: guy. In Say Anything (and in my last reference to John Cusack), John Cusack's character, Lloyd, is told by his friend Corey, "Don't be a guy. Be a man." That is exactly the struggle for Rob. He knows it, too. There are several moments where he acknowledges his extended adolescence, and how it is the root of all his discomfort now. For a 35 year-old does not fit into a 19 year-old's skin, or psyche, or societal roles. A 35 year-old can't look around at the people achieving what he wants, and still think, it'll come my way. A 35 year-old has to admit he isn't working for it. Yep, there's some timing and luck involved in life, sure. But Rob is not prepared for luck to turn his way; if it did, he either wouldn't recognize it or couldn't grasp it, because he's still acting and thinking like a 19 year-old guy.

It's sad and disappointing not only for him, but for those who love him, like Laura. She sees the potential in him, along with the positives that are already in place. She sticks with him through some excruciating times, because she wants the adult relationship. Perhaps she won't get it with show more Rob; but she's grown enough to know she won't ever get it if she doesn't act like an adult in her relationships.

The book ends with the reader thinking Rob just might be on the verge of pulling it all together. But there's still something depressing and disappointing about that. The reader gets to see all of Rob's internal dialogue, which is what makes this book so engaging. There is no detachment, no mystique. We see every selfish contradictory stand he takes; we feel every wound he suffers, both self-inflicted and unsolicited; we watch him acknowledge his feelings and try to grow past the immaturity of them. So when he does finally show some growth, it's frustrating that it isn't more. We see how Laura's reunion with him out of laziness doesn't feel good to him. So when he proposes out of similar world-weary sentiments, it's hard to cheer him on, or to feel like Laura's faith is about to rewarded with the man she deserves and can see inside him.

Still, there's no denying the truth of this character, or the universality of his experiences. While it can be awfully alarming and depressing to hear how and why Rob keeps screwing things up, I'm left wishing we were friends so I could argue some of these things out with him, shake him up a bit and help him see things just a little bit differently. Just a little - that's all it would take.

And then I remember: I've met Rob in my real life (more than once, I'm certain) and had these passionate, heart-felt, frustrating conversations already.

And then I'm amazed at what a great book Nick Hornby has written here. show less

Questo, per me, è uno di quei libri benedetti che appaiono nella tua vita proprio nel momento in cui ne avevi bisogno.Insomma, non è che stessi vivendo chissà quale crisi pofonda, si trattava di uno di quegli attimi di smarrimento sentimental-esistenziale molto comune nella vita di una persona, ma questo libro mi sorprese...conteneva tutto ciò che avevo da sapere in quel momento, per di più esposto con lucidità e ironia. Ho imparato molto di più da Alta Fedeltà che da decine di conversazioni con decine di amici (in teoria) intelligentissimi, espertissimi e scaltrissimi. Non scherzo quando dico che la mia attuale visione del mondo, delle relazioni interpersonali e della mia vita non può prescindere da ciò che imparai da questo libro.
PS. se avete amici intelligentissimi, espertissimi e scaltrissimi, teneteveli stretti e non sostituiteli con libri...mi raccomando ;-))

"Only people of a certain disposition are frightened of being alone for the rest of their lives at twenty-six; we were of that disposition. Everything seemed much later than it was" (30).

I've read this book before, but rereading it now makes a lot of sense. So many novels about break-ups are written in the chick-lit genre or from the female perspective; this is the narrative of a man who seems firmly stuck in the emerging adulthood stage as he muses over his most recent and previous relationship fiascoes. It is by turns funny, pathetic, depressing, and insightful.

"You know the worst thing about being rejected? The lack of control. If I could only control the when and how of being dumped by somebody, then it wouldn't seem as bad. But then, of course, it wouldn't be rejection, would it?" (110)

4 1/2 stars


"This time, something different happens, though. It’s the daydreaming that does it. I’m doing the usual
thing—imagining in tiny detail the entire course of the relationship, from first kiss, to bed, to moving in
together, to getting married (in the past I have even organized the track listing of the party tapes), to how
pretty she’ll look when she’s pregnant, to names of children—until suddenly I realize that there’s
nothing left to actually, like, happen. I’ve done it all, lived through the whole relationship in my head.
I’ve watched the film on fast-forward; I know the whole plot, the ending, all the good bit. Now I’ve got
to rewind and watch it all over again in real time, and where’s the fun in that?
And fucking … when’s it all going to fucking stop? I’m going to jump from rock to rock for the rest of
my life until there aren’t any rocks left? I’m going to run each time I get itchy feet? Because I get them
about once a quarter, along with the utilities bills. More than that, even, during British Summer Time.
I’ve been thinking with my guts since I was fourteen years old, and frankly speaking, between you and
me, I have come to the conclusion that my guts have shit for brains."

No matter how avid a reader you are, if you’ve just been dumped, the first thing you need is not a book: that would be a quart of bourbon and Ryan Adams’s album Heartbreaker. That second item, at least, is one that would meet with the approval of Rob Fleming, the feckless protagonist and narrator of Nick Hornby’s first novel, High Fidelity. In the wake of dozens of subsequent single-person-alone-in-the-city knockoffs and the passable 2000 Stephen Frears/John Cusack film, it is sometimes difficult to remember how fresh and funny and dead-on Hornby’s novel felt when it first came out in July of 1995.

One of my pet quarter-baked theories is that good literature works in one of two ways: it is either transformative, taking you out of yourself into the mind and heart and experience of someone drastically different, or it is cathartic, taking you more deeply into yourself than you thought possible. The former is probably the purer aesthetic experience, but nothing quite matches the deep and peculiar pleasure — the shock of recognition — that accompanies reading a description that vibrates perfectly with your own emotional state. 1995 was a bleary, depressive year for me, just out of my own lacerating romantic fiasco and mired in what felt like an endless Boston winter; Rob Fleming’s dyspeptic wit and stubborn, childish self-absorption felt like bracing missives from a fellow damaged romantic. After all, bourbon can only take you so far.

From AMERICAN BOOK JAM, #10, show more 2004, in response to the question "What is the best book to read if you've just broken up with a girlfriend/boyfriend?" show less

Nick Hornby's High Fidelity is the guy version of Bridget Jones’s Diary, only even funnier.

Rob, the slacker hero, mopes around his used record store, obsessing on the girlfriend who just dumped him and on all his prior failed relationships. Fanatically opinionated, phobic about commitment, and neurotic to the core, Rob is the Everyman of the post-sexual revolution era. There is a little something of Rob in all bad boyfriends and good husbands, which is what makes him so appealing.

In keeping with the theme of the book, my Top Five Favorite Lines from High Fidelity, in the order of appearance:

Discussing his first real girlfriend: “Sometimes I got so bored of trying to touch her breasts that I would try to touch between her legs, a gesture that had a sort of self-parodying wit about it: it was like trying to borrow a fiver, getting turned down, and asking to borrow fifty quid instead.”

Discussing teenage romance in general: “Attack and defense, invasion and repulsion . . . it was as if breasts were little pieces of property that had been unlawfully annexed by the opposite sex – they were rightfully ours and we wanted them back.”

“They’re as close to being mad as makes no difference.”

Discussing obscure bands: “[S]omeone with a cult following which could arrive together in the same car.”

“[M]y friends don’t seem to be friends at all but people whose phone numbers I haven’t lost.”

Why, why, why did I wait so long to read this book? If I had show more read it when it came out in 1995, I could have already re-read it a couple of times. Now I have to wait at least a few years to enjoy it fresh and I don’t want to wait. show less

It's rare that I pick up a book based on its movie, but this time I did. I really enjoyed John Cusack as Rob, though I'd heard that Hornby had been surprised at the quality of the film, since to him the book was very much about living in London and yet the story was almost seamlessly transplanted to Chicago for the movie. Anyway, this book is brilliant. It's the story of Rob, a thirty-something owner of a semi-failing record shop, and his life after his girlfriend leaves him. Rob is obsessed with music, top five everything, his past, and himself in general. His manner of narrating is at once painfully honest and absolutely hilarious, and I laughed out loud on several occasions. The time flew by whenever I was reading. I'll definitely be looking up other Hornby books in the future.

I saw the excellent Jon Cusack movie before reading the book (some years ago), but I still like this novel a lot. (Note: I read half this book years ago when a woman I was dating loaned it to me, but I only got halfway through before it ended and I had to give the book back. How apt.)

In the book, Hornby did a brilliant job of writing a realistic, sad-sack male character (Rob) who -- despite his often mean self-centeredness -- remains relatable, if not likeable.

The book is about a thirty-something male who is stuck; he's a music snob who flunked out of college, his record shop is failing, and his longtime girlfriend just moved out (and in with the former upstairs neighbor).

Rob represents the men in every generation who can't quite find their way to a "normal" life but can't make headway in any other direction.

Hornby fills his novel with interesting characters and while the arc of Rob's character is somewhat predictable, it still creates tension and in the end leaves us hopeful without becoming too saccharine.

There are a few rough spots in the story and dialog; this was Hornby's first novel and in places it shows.

His more recent work features smoother transitions between scenes and character dialog, and in one or two stretches, the story felt a bit forced.

That said, I became a Hornby fan because I saw Fever Pitch (the excellent English movie, not the awful American version) and High Fidelity, and was transfixed by his characters.

I'm a partisan; what can I say?

NOTE show more ABOUT THE MOVIE

I'll give High Fidelity's screenwriters a lot of credit for keeping the book largely intact, paring away only the stuff that didn't really need to be on the big screen (the casting was superb -- especially Cusack as Rob and Iben Hjejle as Laura).

If you've read the book you'll probably like the movie. show less

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/high-fidelity-by-nick-hornby/

Rob is thirty-five, about to turn thirty-six, and has just split up with Laura, who has moved in with the bloke who used to live upstairs. His North London record shop is failing, and so frankly is he. He revisits the five worst break-ups he has ever had, has a fling with an American musician, and then renews contact with Laura, and together they find a redemption for him.

It's actually rather sweet and funny in places. I thoroughly enjoyed rereading it, even if it made me squirm occasionally. I think even men whose emotional and professional lives have been more successful than Rob's can empathise with his (largely self-inflicted) situation, and be frustrated on his behalf at the difficulty he has in changing gear.

This book is sufficiently well known not to need a review. Either you're inclined or you're not. But I give it high marks in particular for (a) its spot-on description of music-geek culture and all its dangerous trappings (takes one to know one) and (b) its discomfort-inducing honesty at the ways guys--even those nice guys who seem so harmless--think about women. If you've seen the movie, know that this is better, and that there's a key moment in the story at which the literary character behaves in a much truer (= crueler and more self-serving) fashion than does John Cusak's version. But that's Hollywood. You can only be so honest if you're looking for a wide release.

High Fidelity is Nick Hornby’s first novel, and I think it was a great debut. It’s narrated by Rob, a list-making, record-loving man who’s just been dumped. The book opens with a list of Rob’s top five most memorable split-ups, which pointedly does not include Laura, the woman who just dumped him. After brief recaps of those relationships, Rob proceeds to tell us all about his relationship with Laura.

What I really like about this novel is the conversational tone Hornby uses. I felt like I was sitting with a friend who is sometimes a pig and sometimes thoughtful, but mostly makes me laugh. In between his list-making (which is definitely NOT annoying, don’t worry) and feeling sorry for himself, Rob actually does some personal reflection that makes you think about your own relationships. Rob teaches you the lessons he learns without even trying.

You probably remember the movie version whether or not you’ve read the book, which I think is pretty faithful to the book. It’s been awhile, but the only thing that stands out is a bit of casting. In the book, Marie LaSalle is described as looking like Susan Dey circa L.A. Law. In the movie, she’s played by Lisa Bonet. Interesting choice, huh? Anyway, I think John Cusack was a perfect choice to play Rob, but then I’m partial to John Cusack.

Nick Hornby is one of my favorite authors. His writing is easy to read, funny, and insightful. I recommend you check out High Fidelity, especially if you enjoyed the movie.

A nice, easy read but, I have to say, I think the only reason I liked High Fidelity as much as I did was because I am a fan of the film adaptation starring John Cusack. This meant I could self-edit Nick Hornby's novel in line with what I had already experienced many times with my old, well-worn DVD. I won't go on and on about how such-and-such a thing is better in the film than such-and-such in the book – only to say that the Rob protagonist in the film is much more likeable, and this is perhaps the main advantage the film has over the book.

That said, the book does a good job of showing that a man's emotions can't be categorised or divided into neat little boxes; often, they are complex, contradictory, or just plain confusing. The Rob character is not a clichéd commitment-phobe, nor a sleazeball, nor a neurotic nerd. He possesses characteristics of all of these stereotypes, but merges them into his own idiosyncratic personality. This is why I feel it is wrong to label this book as an insight into the male psyche – I've heard it described as the male Bridget Jones's Diary – for there is no catch-all male psyche archetype that can be applied to every guy. Despite what pop culture would sometimes have you believe, we're not that straightforward. For my part, there were some things Hornby writes and which Rob does which had me nodding my head in agreement and recognition, and others which completely alienated me. Would someone reading this have greater insight into show more learning more about me as a man? Some choice excerpts, perhaps, but as a whole it certainly isn't gospel for how men think and act.

As for the novel itself it is, as I said, easy and quick to read and, well… Light. Engaging. Charming. Those kind of words. Would I ever want to read it again? Probably not. The film? Most definitely. And therein lies the rub. show less

“One day, maybe not in the next few weeks, but certainly in the conceivable future, someone will be able to refer to me without using the word 'arse' somewhere in the sentence.”

Mmmmm...probably not.

Rob is an arse. In 21st century American vernacular, he is a douche canoe.

As in:



Or:



Rob spends most of the book trying to figure out why he is such an arse (::cough, making excuses::), continuing to be an arse, and maybe, possibly, trying to not be such an arse.

Luckily, he's a fairly entertaining arse.

Rob Fleming feels like he's failed at life. It seems like the world agrees with him. His record store is barely making it, his mom pities him, his top five ex-girlfriends all replaced him with another guy, his girlfriend just moved in with another man, and their mutual friend Liz thinks he's an arsehole. This gets Rob thinking that maybe he's been going about this whole life thing the wrong way. Maybe always leaving his options open isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe love can't be based on another person's likes and dislikes. Maybe, just maybe, life is deeper than a record collection.

I've been wanting to read this book since I first saw the film adaptation, which doesn't quite make my list of top five films (1. The Princess Bride, 2. Gross Pointe Blank, 3. Breakfast at Tiffanys, 4. Dogma, 5. The Secret of Roan Inish). It definitely has John Cusack going for it, and he does make my list of top five actors (1. Audrey Hepburn, 2. John Cusack, 3. Morgan Freeman, 4. Natalie Portman, 5. Maggie Gyllenhall). So I read the book, which doesn't even come close to being a top five (1. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce, 2. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, 3. A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert, 4. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery, 5. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley). While it had a ton of pop culture references, a sharp, biting humor, and very keen observations on life, it didn't live up to my expectations. Scratch that. The first show more half didn't live up to my expectations. The second half absolutely did. This novel certainly isn't high literature, but it is clever, well written and the social commentary is spot on. I'd have to say that Nick Hornby just might be the man's answer to chick lit. show less

This book is making me think that honesty is vastly overrated as a virtue, or possibly, that it isn't even any kind of virtue, but rather some sort of weapon, a tease, a distraction, designed solely to nullify the perception of the bad aspects of some particular truth, while doing nothing to correct their inherent badness. It's a little like my idea that hypocrisy isn't really necessarily a bad thing.

I guess the truth of the matter is that this book might have hit a little too close to home on several topics, but it was pretty good regardless. I did feel that it kind of fizzled at the end, with everything after Rob and Laura get back together feeling a little anticlimactic (kind of like a relationship, perhaps? Hmmm). Still, I was frustrated by the attempt to humanize Rob, when I found him to be little more than a relentless d-bag.

Rob owns a record shop in London with Dick and Barry, who are equally into their music. The shop is a haven for music junkies, with the lads working out their Top 5's. When Laura walks out on him, Rob uses this logic to make sense of what went wrong between them by compiling his Top 5 Break-ups. This list sets him to thinking about his previous relationships and he tries to make contact with them, to see why they didn't work out as couples.

Rob, like many of us, is at a crossroads, he has to decide what he really wants, his love-life and his career. Rob and his relationships ring true, making it a great read, especially with the musical references, such nostalgia!

This is one of those feel-good books for people who want to keep their options open and kinda stumble about their lives only to realize they had already made up their minds and are pretty dully okay with it. :)

Does this sound kinda horrible?

Nah... but yeah, kinda, and no, because that means we're all a bit horrible. :)

But that's okay because we all have that music snob in us and we are all horribly geeky about certain things. I happen to love music just as much as Rob in the book and I'm much worse when it comes to my books, but you know what? It's freaking charming. I love it.

Just the way I loved the movie before I knew it was based on this book, I loved it. It was super charming and embarrassing and appropriate and pathetic and downright glorious. All at once.

And I'm a fan. Still am, now that I've read the book. And my only complaint? I need that soundtrack running in the background... OH WAIT! I HAVE SPOTIFY! :) Tee hee!

Why haven't I read this book before now?

Witty writing. Prose that pops. Quirky characters. Mr. Hornsby is a talented storyteller and wordsmith. Rob Fleming is the most annoying, and yet endearing, main character I have ever encountered.

What if ... your latest relationship has just ended, you run a failing record shop with two 'losers', and you begin to wonder if your life went wrong somewhere along the way ... what do you do next? In Nick Hornby's world there are only two choices really : you could decide into what logical sequence to re-sequence your CD collection, or to look back and review all the "relationships" in your life, starting with a stolen kiss in the park by the swings when you were only 13.

Rob, anti-hero of Hornby's novel does the latter (or probably both, given what we soon find out about him). He addresses a mental letter to his latest ex, Laura, explaining to her just why she doesn't make his Top 5 Break Ups (there are an awful lot of Top 5s in High Fidelity). He's been hurt, over and over again. Laura just doesn't match the awfulness that his love life has been up to now.

From this point, we find that "the gentleman doth protest too much" as he sets out to regain Laura's affections, while keeping his business afloat (with little help from Barry and Dick, the former shouting out of the shop any no-hoper who doesn't endorse the latest unheard-of rock band that is this week's definition of cool), befriending and then bedding American songstress Marie La Salle, while all the time doing his best to flee from the twin horrors of "change" and "commitment".

This flight from manhood is liberally peppered with Top 5s (Top Five Bands Who Will Have To Be Shot Come The Musical Revolution, anyone?), show more and Rob does eventually succeed in making some breakthroughs in self discovery before an ending that wraps things up a little too neatly perhaps, but satisfyingly.

High Fidelity carries Hornby's gift for good dialogue and wryly self-deprecating humour, even if his musical taste is fired directly at us in a manner that is both didactic and dogmatic. I have never apologised for being a Genesis fan, and Hornby won't make me start apologising now - I just wish he had not made me squirm on such matters.

It's a good novel, insightful into male / female relationships, an understanding of both the male and female psyche, strong dialogue, and wryly observant of modern life(styles). So, you don't have to love music to enjoy this book (but it helps!) show less

Since I saw the movie before reading the book, this one held no surprises for me. The movie's an almost perfect adaptation of the book (not surprisingly, since the narration and the plot are pretty straightforward and very suitable as screenplay material).

It's very funny and any male can definitely see himself reflected in some (not all, or you'd be a bastard) of Rob's attitudes. It's insightful in its best passages, but not quite moving as Fever Pitch, the other Hornby book I read. It seems like, for as much as Nick puts of himself in the page, that High Fidelity still has a lot of the artist's pretense to show himself (or his alter-ego) as cool. You may argue that Rob isn't cool anymore, but I think his lifestyle definitely has some of that wish-fulfillment every office worker dreams about (i.e, not having a job, doing your own thing, revert to adolescence). It seems to me that Fever Pitch is much more raw and bereft of the "cool" imposture, showing more of the actual person behind the story. There's a lot of self-deprecation in High Fidelity, and it makes for its funniest moments.

As someone said, this book is like "guy-lit", that is, it ought to occupy the same place in the commercial book world as "chick-lit". Maybe it's because it deals with feelings regarding modern relationships, and it replaces shoes and accesories with records. After seeing the "quality" of chick-lit, this comparison would do a great disservice to this book, but it may help anyway to let show more prospective readers know what to expect, since it's not high-brow and it definitely deals with feelings and is hard to categorize as any genre in particular. The best I can do to inscribe it in a genre also serves as a good description: "A coming of age story, with the character's own selfish, adolescent self as the enemy to vanquish" show less

I read this back when it first came out and remembered it fondly as being funny and smart and true in a completely unpretentious way. Reading it again 15 years later (can you believe it's 15 years later?) I found it to be just as enjoyable.

Rob is a wonderfully written character who embodies all the foibles of every record and list obsessed man you've ever dated. He's the guy with the most obscure stuff ever who catalogs his record collection by artist and then in chronological order. He catalogs his CD collection that way, too, but vinyl is his purest love.

There are bits and pieces of this that feel a little dated - the onrush of technology may make some readers think, "Cassette tapes?" Still and all the book mostly reads fresh and definitely still reads funny in a wonderfully whimsical and endearing way.

High Fidelity is an immeasurably enjoyable read. Hornby is humorous and human. I am unsure if I have seen the movie from start to finish, but the book is a must for any males who have had tumultuous or traumatic love lives (who hasn't?) and are addicted to music - the music itself, but more importantly the emotion it evokes and the influence it exerts. Hornby's descriptions, insights and observations are so spot on. It is humor with a purpose. It is pathos with an ultimately uplifting effect. Another highly recommended Hornby book.

Two of my favorite passages from the book:

"What came first - the music or the misery? Did I listen to music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to music? Do all those records turn you into a melancholy person?"

"It seems to me that if you place music (and books, probably, and films, and plays, and anything that makes you feel) at the center of your being, then you can't afford to sort out your love life, start to think of it as the finished product. You've got to pick at it, keep it alive and in turmoil, you've got to pick at it and unravel it until it all comes apart and you're compelled to start all over again. Maybe we all live life at too high a pitch, those of us who absorb emotional things all day, and as a consequence we can never feel merely content: we have to be unhappy, or ecstatically, head-over-heels happy, and those states are difficult to achieve within a stable, solid relationship. Maybe Al Green is show more directly responsible for more than I ever realized." show less

http://tinyurl.com/o4gsubx

At first, I was irritated by this book. I enjoyed the movie, like most people, but in the book you see way, way more of the protagonist's noodling and over-thinking and pointless ruminations and it just gets so tiresome. Especially if you're a woman reading this. And a woman way too late in her game to care about these kinds of ruminations. You can't help shouting at the page: get over yourself and bite the bullet, dude!

However, the novel redeemed itself in two ways:

- It's funny as all get out. It's unfortunate that I can see Jack Black in my mind every time they riff on a top-5 list in the store. I'd like to know if those scenes would "play" as well in my mind without the movie version there in advance. Regardless, and obviously, the discussions of music are integral for both the main character's growth and to provide a lot more than a thought-provoking essay on the state of being a man in the modern era.

- The girlfriend is really well written. She's a mess, but she's a thoughtful, brave, heartfelt mess. You can see why he likes her and you can see why he should be with her. She may teeter a bit on the "fantasy-woman" edge because no one is quite that put together, but this kind of woman is believable.

I doubt I'll be reading his other books. In the end, they're too "male" and I just find that boring.

Not my usual choice but excellent writing. Thoughtful observations about moving through life.

Being unceremoniously dumped isn't something new to Rob; women have been leaving him for years. His most recent, live in girlfriend Laura has just left him for the guy in the flat above him prompting a bout of self exploration and self pity that leads him to confront the women of his relationship past. What he discovers is not only is he a bit of a run of the mill, self absorbed commitment-phobe, he's also apparently a really unhappy, thirty something, wallower whose life didn't really turn out in any way like he expected.

What is possibly most horribly depressing is just how relevant Rob's story is. Rob runs a failing record shop that might go days on end without any buyers. All of his friends have moved on with their lives and Rob has found himself the victim of having very little personal human interaction outside of his relationships with women. A good long look at his past relationships, and his actions or rather inactions that have landed him in the state he's in have him firmly convinced that if his younger self could see him now, he'd probably dump him too. Rob has some very spot on insights into human nature, and how we act in relationships that could possibly make him likable if he'd get out of his own way. His problem was the same problem we all suffer from in that he could see and recognize these traits, he just couldn't apply them to his own life.

Rob and I didn't get on well at all. Quite possibly because Rob wouldn't get on with it. The entire book was show more riddled with Rob's own sense that he was living a rather meandering existence and yet even at the end I didn't get the feel that he was going to do anything else other than just flounder. I never witnessed any life changing affirmations or statements of intent to move on with his life. The events that could be construed as progress weren't even brought about by him, they were Laura's doing and he continued to be reliant on a relationship. Meh.

Excellent writing. Very witty, and Rob's brooding can be rather endearing if you can stomach all the poor me. I still prefer the movie because well...John Cusack. show less

I loved the movie, but I'm starting to think John Cusack might be why. I didn't like any of the characters in the book and I didn't feel like any of Rob's justifications for some of the things he did made him easier to understand or more likeable. However, I always like stories where people talk about the inner implications of being confronted with change so I did enjoy reading it despite the failed attempt at making a selfish man appear decent.

I liked it much better than the movie because it is fuller, more fleshed-out about why things are happening and what people are feeling. The fun and silly stuff from the movie is still there, and still funny, and somehow better because of the balance with the emotional stuff.

Nick Hornby is da bomb! Seriously. He's funny, astute and while one might think they are reading a straight-forward, comedic tale, there are some fairly deep assessments going on within. Some moments made me laugh out loud and some moments, all too relatable, made my heart hurt. Also - Hornby's book totally made me have an awesome dream about John Cusack and that can never be a bad thing. Ever.

I can't possibly be objective about this book, because I found that it hits too close to home. If you're obsessed by music - or about anything - you'll recognize Hornby's protagonist.

About 1995, I heard Hornby on WHYY's "Fresh Air", reading p.37:

"My shop is called Championship Vinyl. I sell punk, blues, soul, and R&B, a bit of ska, some indie stuff, some sixties pop -- everything for the serious record collector, as the ironically old-fashioned writing in the window says. We're in a quiet street in Holloway, carefully placed to attract the bare minimum of window-shoppers; there's no reason to come here at all, unless you live here, and the people that live here don't seem terribly interested in my Stiff Little Fingers white label (twenty-five quid to you -- I paid seventeen for it in 1986) or my mono copy of 'Blonde on Blonde'.

"I get by because of the people who make a special effort to shop here Saturdays -- young men, always young men, with John Lennon specs and leather jackets and armfuls of square carrier bags -- and because of the mail order: I advertise in the back of the glossy rock magazines, and get letters from young men, always young men, in Manchester and Glasgow and Ottowa (sic), 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. they're as close to mad as makes no difference."

I was thunderstruck: because on one of our 'England' trips (I'm show more pretty sure it was 1985, though it just might have been 1990) I scoured London record shops - until, in a small shop in N London (Holloway?), I finally found the obscure Smiths single that I had been missing. (The 12" "This Charming Man"/ NY mix ).

HORNBY WAS DESCRIBING MY LIFE. The book turned out to be scarily accurate, and not only about the music-collecting mania: was there a truer word ever written about the whole "relationships" thing than, "You've got to punch your weight" ? show less

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Nick Hornby provided some great insight into the insecurity in relationships and of getting older. I found myself relating to Rob a little more than I would have liked.

The humor is also great in this book. I laughed out loud on numerous occasions and then had to try and explain it to my boyfriend. He didn't appreciate it as much as I did.

I was a little ashamed that I didn't get many of the musical references. I consider myself a connoisseur of off the wall music, but it must be the time gap from the late 80s-early 90s to now.

I highly recommend this book!

If you're a girl, you're probably gonna be frustrated with Rob. But, there's the pure charm of it. Of course you're gonna hate him. He's insecure, messed up, thinks too much, talks too little about what matters and messes with you. But you're also gonna understand him and relate to him. And maybe you're gonna hate yourself for it :P
And the ending is excellent. Mr Hornby, great job.
Oh and yes, SO MANY GOOD MUSIC REFERENCES, I wanted to die!!!

I was drawn to this book as an angsty young adult. I think almost everyone goes through the same quarter-life crisis phase as our lead character. This is good for those years when nothing is going right, you feel out of place, and all you want to do is make a job out of your hobby.

Just finished rereading this for the first time in a few years, and I have to admit that early-thirties me appreciates it much more than early-twenties does. In order to appreciate this book, one has to have a few years of adulthood in and a certain jadedness than I didn't yet possess upon the first reading (which corresponded avec the release of the flick with John Cusack).

The story is a bit jumpy at times, and the characters are imperfect, which leads some people to embrace them and others to shove them away. I am clearly one of the former.

As a pathetic, anti-social, music-obsessed, thirty-something single guy, I definitely identify with this book. Hornby shows the hilarity of the stupid things that guys do as they fumble through relationships, but also ultimately inspires us hapless guys to stick in there, give relationships a chance, and follow a dream.
(contains frequent casual swearing)

Rarely do I catch myself reading a book after I'd already seen the movie (mostly because I feel as if the movie TAKES something from the book while the book GIVES something to a movie, and thus the order should always be book first and movie second -- so that the book starts with the upper hand), but having enjoyed the movie so much I found myself craving more behind the story.

I wasn't disappointed. Biggest difference that I wasn't originally aware of was the location difference, which helped me ease into my decision to read the book because it was already so very different from the get-go. Many scenes between the two different forms of media are the same, if slightly shuffled, and I was very pleased to see that both have several unique scenarios that are have no parallel in its companion medium.

But enough about the comparisons between the book and the movie. I'll just say that they should be enjoyed together (though not at the same time) for a very satisfying overall experience.

Bottom line was that the book was highly enjoyable. It's always nice to read a quote or passage in a book that imparts some piece of wisdom you've never heard, but I personally think it's even more gratifying to read a quote or passage that perfectly puts into words some thought or feeling that you've had for years but have never been able to properly express for some reason. Hornby did this constantly throughout "High Fidelity."

Many of the experiences and emotions I've had as a young man (both show more as an individual entity and as part of a greater whole in relationships) I'd often found to be inexpressible despite my best efforts, so when I found myself reading such succinct expression of those up-to-that-point-nameless feelings, I found myself overjoyed that someone else gets it. And not just that someone gets it, but gets it probably better than I do. True EUREKA! moments throughout the whole book.

Guys should read it for the relief of knowing that they aren't alone in dealing with all this crap. And women should read it with an open mind and a sincere desire to get us and I guarantee they'll walk away much wiser than if they'd read all those "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" stinkers. show less

While the writing in this book was insanely cleaver, witty and quick, I found myself a bit bored with it. I would put it down, and then just not want to pick it back up. It really should have been a much quicker read than it turned out for me.

Overall, I think I might have had an issue about the concept of "settling" that seemed to propel Rob forward. Not that there's anything wrong with realizing that you're not getting any younger, but it's not really something I want to read about. I read to escape, not to drudge.

When I had just met my now husband, we saw one of his favorite movies together, one I had never heard of. It was High Fidelty, with John Cusack and Jack Black. When I saw the book by Nick Hornby, I couldn't help but pick it up, partly because I have enjoyed a Nick Hornby work ("A Long Way Down") before, and partly because I am still convinced that 'the book is better than the movie'.
It is written from the point of view of Rob, a thirty-something owner of a failing record store in London. He tells us about his life after his last breakup. He is obsessed with music, collections and lists. He isn't that likeable, a bit of a loser, and still you keep reading what will happen next because somehow it is also recognizable.
From what I remember from the movie, the movie and book are pretty similar, and it is hard to say which one is better. I'd still choose the book, but I'm not a movie person and I like how the book can give me more insight into Rob's mind. A highly enjoyable book, with lots of lists thrown in. Four out of five stars.

This Sunday's New York Times had an essay by a woman telling why she prefers "guys" to "men." She would like Rob Fleming, the protagonist of [b:High Fidelity|285092|High Fidelity|Nick Hornby|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1195236004s/285092.jpg|2961887] -- at least when she didn't feel like kicking him. Rob is 35, owns an unsuccessful record shop (though he does have two employees), and spends a lot of time making up Top 5 lists of records, movies, and of course, women he's dumped or been dumped by. The latest in the last category is Laura, who's just moved out as the book begins. Hijinks ensue and all's well that ends well.

Some people might wonder why this book made it onto the Guardian's 1000 Novels Everyone must Read list, and the same people might wonder why [b:Bridget Jones's Diary|227443|Bridget Jones's Diary|Helen Fielding|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51J5NZ2MJ4L._SL75_.jpg|3185154] is on there too. I don't have a problem with either the "chick lit" or "lad lit" genres if they're well done, which these are. If one purpose of reading novels is to allow us into someone else's world and increase our knowledge of the human condition, both these books do that. )Odd, or maybe not, that both feature lists rather heavily! I quite enjoyed this book and now I think I might take a look at the film.

I hate to use coarse language, but this review may contain a few slips here and there I ask you to please bear with me. I had high expectations. This book was supposed to be a view into the male persona, into the masculine mind. However, this main character is very far from what I've ever heard of being considered masculine. He whines and cries and moans.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I doubt it. I'm 22 years old. This is no reflection upon the author, he writes well. The character that he deemed worthy of our attention does not seem genuine to me. Perhaps it is the British tinge, but once again I'm doubting it. I only have the simple opinion that this is not a very good insight into the masculine mind. He's really just a wimp.

I guess I've avoided the coarse language promised. I will say this though, the music mentioned in this book is well worth checking out. Heck, it's well worth making a playlist of the songs mentioned. However, do not confuse a good taste in music with a good character. If this book shows anything it shows that an excellent taste in music is neither directly related or influential in the development of a good character; I'm not talking about the author's usage, but the character himself. If Rob was my friend, I wouldn't like him one bit. If he came to me with his problems I'd probably ignore him.

Dilemma cartaceo pellicolaceo...

Hornby è sempre brillante, divertente, a tratti serio quando c'è da esserlo, ma il dilemma amletico, stavolta mi fa propendere per la pellicola cinematografica. Ha quella marcia in più che proprio non si può spiegare, forte anche della scelta di un cast azzeccatissimo e di ambienti cittadini (location statunitense a differenza del libro) davvero cult. Adesso non mi dite che non lo leggerete, però. Il viaggio vale comunque il biglietto...

High Fidelity is one of those cult classics, an iconic book of the 90s - something a person with their finger on the pulse of modern culture can speak about with authority.

I found it dreary, overcooked and generally mediocre.

Hornby clearly wants to channel "the man on the street", chronicling the life of an unsuccessful record shop owner and his past loves. And it is dull, depressing and not humorous. I found the character deeply flawed, with little to admire and sympathise with. Other characters were easier to sympathise with, but only due to the protagonist's treatment of them.

I found the humour irritating (although well-suited to the protagonist) and the observations on life and love trite.

Not one I would recommend - unless I was asked to make a recommendation to someone as odious as the protagonist!

'High Fidelity' is a novel for men. Well, it seems to connect directly to a few men I know, myself included especially. It can be read and enjoyed by women of course, but for them it may become more of a manual, or an explanation of male thoughts, concepts and the way they deal with things.

From sex to music to lists to relationships. It uses the main character, Rob Fleming, as a tool to create this vision of a male torn between deciding on a grown up job, relations with his exes and his current (well as current as it gets) girlfriend and his thoughts on music, lists and so on.

So many times within this book did I find myself agreeing, understanding or thinking that was me exactly, I began to wonder whether I was making up this story as a vision of my own conscience and minset. My girlfriend has watched it and began to understand exactly how I think.

It also propelled my inspiration to open a record store with my best mate, so I can definitely say it has been a positive influence upon my life so far!

Altogether, an amazing read with hilarious, true and sweet moments littered on every page.

I'm not really sure how to rate this book, because for various reasons a lot of it resonated with me perhaps more strongly than it might have had I picked it up next month, next week, or even tomorrow. For now I will give it four stars, because I think any kind of resonance in a work of fiction indicates that there is some truth in it, and also because the author makes two or three very astute and very well-stated points about human nature. And finally because I enjoyed reading it, which is something I think a lot of reviewers forget to take into consideration, but it's no less important than any of the other things reviewers talk about.

It was an interesting read because the main character is on many levels an unreliable narrator, and part of the book is more or less about how he realizes this. It was an interesting journey to make in the head of a character who had many traits I share and identify with, but also many traits that baffled me. The book treads perilously close to a line of self-indulgence that could have made it terrible, but Hornby's style of writing saves it from crossing that line by not belaboring points he does not have to. The narrator, while sometimes irritating, is ultimately someone in whom the reader can see sympathetic echoes of him- or herself, rather than someone the reader desires to hit on the head with a two-by-four and have done with it.

This one will be particularly interesting to reread a year or two down the road from a different place in show more my life. We'll see if it holds up. show less

High Fidelity is the second Nick Hornby book I've read and I expected to enjoy it more than I actually did. I decided to give this book a read after seeing the excellent John Cusack film for the second time. I wasn't sure what to expect of the novel, knowing as I did that, among other things, Cusack and director Stephen Frears had taken the liberty of relocating the story from London to Chicago.
At 35, Rob is clearly at the crossroads. An avid record enthusiast, he owns a none too successful second hand record store; his mother wonders when he will ever find a 'real' job. Laura, his partner of three years has just walked out on him. So what's a guy to do, he composes a top five list of his most memorable breakups. n short Rob comes across as a rather self indulgent lazy slacker, whiner or loser (take your pick) who would rather reorganise or recategorise his massive record collection then face up to his fear of intimacy and failure to commitment.
High Fidelity is a good but not great (as the critics would have you believe) novel. However it is not just a book for guys. Women reading this book may gain some information in the way of the insights, secrets, obsessions etc into how males think and then again they may conclude we are all losers. High Fidelity although certainly well written is essentially a narrative of observations coupled with humour and the occasional dose of wit without too much analysis.

I'd seen the movie, and heard great things about both Hornby overall, and High Fidelity specifically. In reading, I realised (a) I read it before, or at least I'm pretty confident I have; (b) it's a breezy read, but not one that left me feeling I'd wasted my time; (c) there are far fewer "lists of songs" or "mix tapes" than I'd been led to believe, and in the end, I think that is a good thing; (d) Hornby is good at not only a "devastating one-liner" but also at observing life and people.

This is one of my very favorite books. It's right up there with Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, and Return of the Native (sorry, Nick, to place you with all those classics about women). I laughed and cried through the whole book then turned around and read it again when I finished it. I have read this book every summer since I discovered it. I am this character--only a chick and an American. And, though I adore John Kusak, the movie didn't even come close to capturing the lovely, British flavor of Hornby's novel. Anyone who grew up in the '70s and '80s, loves good pop/rock, or ever fell in love (badly) should read this book.

High Fidelity is one of those rare cases, in my opinion, that a book and movie compliment each other perfectly. The novel is the story of a man who is basically a complete jerk, bitter and cynical, and his amusing obsession with pop music and his difficulties in love.

If you've seen the movie, you'll note that John Cusack's Rob is much more likeable and sympathetic than the protagonist of the novel. Still, I'm a fan of both. There's something to be said about novels where the reader is set up to have almost no sympathy for the narrator/main character--my detachment made me view the story in a different light than I had while watching the film (one of my favorites).

I highly recommend both this book and its onscreen adaptation. Both are amusing and quotable, and leave one with a lot to think about.

Rob was kind of a jerk. Laura was kind of a jerk. At the same time, they were both somehow very endearing and human. This wasn't as funny as I thought it would be, but it was an enjoyable story.

I saw this film for the first time years ago and absolutely loved it despite being an American remake of a British set novel (which I usually avoid), but apart from the Polysyllabic Spree (which isn't fiction), I still hadn't gotten around to reading a Nick Hornby novel until this past week. I had high expectations, seeing as the film was so good and the book was so highly recommended by my best friend, and I wasn't disappointed.

Rob is the owner of Championship Vinyl, a record store in London, and we meet him as his girlfriend, Laura, is moving out of their apartment. The story then follows Rob, as he revaluates his life and loves, specifically his failed relationships. High Fidelity is about life, love and music. It is self-effacing yet brash, modern but unpretentious (for the most part!), gently ironic and reassuring. Love (and life for for that matter) isn't all fireworks and string instruments, it takes work, but sometimes there's nothing that can be done to save it...nor should there be.

I was pleasantly surprised (though I'm not sure why) about how much of the original dialogue in this book actually made it into the film. Huge sections of dialogue were used word for word, despite the characters and setting being slightly altered. I was actually tempted to add some of my favourite dialogue to this review, but found there was so much that I couldn't choose! It was hard at times to not picture the actors from the film while reading this book (which is why I always try show more to read the book first), as although not what you might always expect, they fitted the characters perfectly, adding just enough while retaining Hornby's essence. The novel does make a lot more sense set in nineties London, but the transition from book to screen does seem to have worked, this time anyway!

Highly enjoyable, though I imagine the protagonist Rob and his record shop cohorts Dick and Barry might be a little ashamed of my music collection! I'm a little out of date, and have little interest in much of the pop and rock that passes the airwaves! I'm a more chilled out singer/songwriter kind of girl, though I do have a soft spot for old eighties hits! I will definitely be adding About a Boy to my reading list. show less

Ironically, this book could have been entitled About a Boy because it is in fact about a boy. In fact, it’s about all boys and what makes them tick.

The book starts out with a retrospective rant as the narrator reflects on several of his less successful romantic involvements. This was, for me, the best part of the book. It contains some very erudite philosophy of what it means to be male and all the confusion that results.

Personally, I like men to admit how idiosyncratic we really are. This is partly because I do it so rarely. In fact we all lack honesty in this department because, let’s face it, we’re just scared people will find out how messed up we really are. There isn’t one of us that doesn’t try to appear as if we’ve got it all together, and this is for the simple reason that none of us does in actual fact. Hornby calls a spade a spade and the book is endearing for that. Unlike Fever Pitch, this is a book about stuff no man would be heard dead discussing in a pub and that’s refreshing.

Once this is over, the book sets out on a more traditional path telling the story of love lost and found. This is all a bit too predictable unless you’re a Hugh Grant fan or your favourite film is When Harry Met Sally. The theme of music is woven into the story but I found this a bit irrelevant. It could just as well have been told without this I thought.

Most interesting for me was to see Hornby touch on deeper issues about the need we have for the opposite sex. That’s show more refreshing in a society as mad as Britain is to equate relationships between opposite and same-sex partners. In different parts of the book he says show less

I remember watching the movie a long time ago, when I was a teenager, and being stuck with the idea of making top 5 lists and talking a lot about music. Musical knowledge was really something to show off. And I loved John Cusack (I still do) and his way of talking to the camera. But I think mostly I was delighted with the idea of building a soundtrack for my own life, just as Rob does, and I always remembered "High Fidelity" as exactly that: music.

Having read the book, although music plays a central role, it's not what the story is all about. This is about relationships, about being 30-something, but especially it is about how life turns out to be different from what our 20-year-old-something used to believe, how to deal with the fact that things don't happen like in movies, that love can be very different from what one expects it to be. It's about not being sure, and maybe that's what touched so many people, so many 20 and 30-year-olds that just don't know what to do with life.

The book is not so great as I expected it to be (I think I expected John Cusack to pop out in front of me) in terms of narrative, but it sure does have some great moments - I mean, really great.

Anyway, I believe it to be a worthy read for all of us young ones, this weird generation.

The very beginning of Hornby's derivative work, which reaches its ugly, feverish pitch in 'Fever Pitch'. He lambastes the mollycoddled literary elites by ... becoming one? This is one of those books written by a tut-tut wag-your-finger author who does not believe in the possibility of books. That's all very nice and chic to have a persona sneering with irony, but it's disingenuous.High Fidelity is fantastic for that sort of person who reads while mouthing the words, clapping hands with glee at every "clever" use of thematic metaphors orbiting around record collecting. Our "hero" (or anti-hero... or, perhaps frivolous placeholder) would be interesting if his neurotic outlook on life was housed in a character with a bit more dimension.

"High Fidelity" is the best novel by Nick Hornby. Witty and reflective, it's a modern novel without being annoyingly modern. As much as I like Hornby's other novels, this is the one I come back to time and time again.

I met Nick Hornby and we talked about how this novel got me through postpartum depression. At the time, neither one of us knew we had autistic children. It's great what Nick has done for autistic children in England. I would love to start a school like that here in the States.

Well-written unlikable character. The ending is just okay; the not-quite-manic-pixie-dream-girl comes to the rescue.

I really did enjoy this book, but what kept it from a full 5 star was that I didn't think the ending fit with the rest of the book. It felt a little rushed, but I enjoyed the humor and the struggle (even if I couldn't identify with it).

There's nothing to say here other than I love Nick Hornby and this book is wonderful! Good luck getting John Cusack out of your head while reading though.

Basic Summary: Rob loves lists. Rob loves records. Rob loves women. Women do not love Rob. Rob has a disastrous time in his life with women and he makes a list of his Top-5 relationships and relives each and every painfully awkward and hilarious moment.

Favorite Quotes:
The whole quote book! hehe..;)

1) I've committed to nothing...and that's just suicide...by tiny, tiny increments.

2) It's no wonder we're all such a mess, is it? We're like Tom Hanks in Big. Little boys and girls trapped in adult bodies and forced to get on with it

3) What really matters is what you like, not what you are like.

i can't believe it took me so long to read this book. I'm obsessed with John cusack so I discovered the movie as I own all of his movies and fell in love with it instantly as it combined two of my favorite things, him and music. but even though this is one of the closest book to movie conversions I've come across, the book is laid out brilliantly. I'm not going to rave about all the bits I loved just read the damn thing because it's only 200ish pages. p.s. I still dislike Laura.

Hornby is one of those addictive novelists that you discover and then have to read all his books in quick succession - I suspect many people typing books on to Librarything would identify with his obsessive way of viewing the world.

Initially when I bought this book on holiday as a quick summer read, I thought it would be light and undemanding. It was easy and quick to read, yet I don't think Hornby is fleeting - he has true literary merit, He reflects cultural mores of the late 20th century; increased relationship mobility, later marriages and delayed childbearing affecting the social structure of families and couples (eg Teenage-hood extending into the thirty-something crowd).

I disagree with the classification of 'manlit' - I am female and I think it is equally as enjoyable for women.
I actually think that the character of Rob may irritate alot of men - who do not like to identify with obsessiveness, neurosis and self-analysis.

The protagonist - a nice guy called Rob Fleming - centres the story on his love affair. Basically, girl moves out, girl's father dies, he renews his committment to the girl and thus the relationship is renewed. Rob wrks through his 'Top Ten' list of previous rejections to figure out his true relationship requirements.

Hornby is funny, insightful, and has a captivating way with his prose - down to earth, recognizable, chatty, with a rather overblown tone of irony. The personality of Rob is funny, obsessive, neurotic, emotionally uncommitted and show more withdrawn, as well as needy. As a female, Nick (oops that should read Rob), is appealing because of his vulnerability (or is that his pathos).

I enjoyed the writing and moved to his other books quickly, although enjoyed his latest book "A Long Way Down' the least. A category freak myself, I enjoyed the 'Polysyballic Spree' for its obsessive book collecting/reading. show less

This was JUST what I needed. I had got in a rut with trying to find books that didn't drag me down any more, in my vulnerable lockdown misery, and that were a good read - sharp observations, realistic characters. this hit the sweet spot. It was a re-read, my first being a long time ago, possibly close to when it was written, so I had forgotten the intricacies of the plotline, even though I have watched the film, and also bought the soundtrack. (good CD, on high rotation, if you were wondering).
When I started this, I knew I was onto a winner and dragged out my entire Hornby collection, and then topped it up with some extras from the library.

The brilliance of High Fidelity is in its complex treatment of the male mind. You get inside of Rob's head from the very beginning, from his top five lists, to his job, you feel a part of everything he is and by proxy his mind. You feel his loss, his love, and his amazing record collection in every page. Great read.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornsby. 4 stars on LibraryThing.

I think this is the worst book that I could have read right now. I am too much like Rob Fleming, despite our obvious differences. Our situations, too parallel. And I too have been played by John Cusack in a movie. So, when the book ended on a half-way happy note, I was cheered for Rob, but bummed for me. Not that I want…well, if it were my story, I would want a different happy ending.

Despite all that, I really liked this book. Hornsby is a British author, and it shows in his writing. Self-depricating, short, and honest. Rob isn’t afraid to tell you much of anything about himself or what he’s thinking. And fortunately, having seen the movie first (and preparing to watch it again tonight), I already knew what the characters looked like.

I can identify with Rob’s indecisiveness. I have had many of the same thoughts recently that he had in the book. What does it say about him, to have the thinking patterns of a 24 year old. Or rather, what does it say about me, that I have the thinking patterns of a 35 year old…

There are many books that take an honest (if fictitious) look at the way that women develop their world view...the events that influence their personalities. There seem to be very few candid accounts of growing and developing as an adult male. I loved this book and I think it made me more empathetic to my male friends and my partner. In a world of fairy-tale romances that blind us to the joys that can be had in a plain-old honest and loving relationship, High Fidelity shows us how we can find happiness with the one with love, flaws and all.

I read this after the movie came out, and I was shocked to see how much it was written to be a movie. Sure, it was in a completely different country, but aside from that, it was the rare book that's excellent as a novel and also easily translates to the screen. Laugh out loud funny of the "funny 'cause it's true" variety.

1st half: 3 stars
2nd half: 2 stars

the whining was fun for a while. The kinds of angsty thoughts and daydreams that popped into his head reminded me of the angsty thoughts and daydreams my own brain excels at producing. But then it got boring and kind of pointless, and eventually so pointless as to be bordering on the realistic. Now that I'm done, I'm amazed I made it all the way through.

I decided I had to read this book because I love the movie so much. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to imagine John Cusack speaking in a British accent and the conversations taking place in Chicago. It's funny how much that really affected the feeling and sense of the story. I still liked it, but it was just different. It's not too often that I prefer a movie version more than the book, and it's probably just because I saw the movie first and loved it so thoroughly, but this is one of those rare occurences.

"Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"
Ich habe zuerst die Verfilmung mit John Cusack gesehen, und danach habe ich mir erst das Buch gekauft. Das war mein erstes Buch von Nick Hornby, und ich dachte es war besonders cool wie der Autor, die Themen Liebe(Anfang und Ende) und Musik verbunden hat. Aber es gab noch etwas das mir sehr gut gefallen hat: die Top-5-Listen. Ich bin ein Fan von solchen Listen. Sie begrenzen uns. Nur fünf Lieder, nur fünf Beziehungen oder nur fünf Sänger.
Die Geschichte handelt von Rob, einem jungen Mann der gerade Schluss mit seiner Freundin gemacht hat. Rob liebt Musik und kennt sich sehr gut in diesem Feld aus. Er besitzt ein kleinen Plattenladen und hat starke Ansichten darüber, was anständig ist und was nicht. Beziehungen sind aber nicht gerade seine Stärke. Tatsächlich ist er überhaupt nicht sicher, ob er sich nach den vielen Enttäuschungen auf eine neue Beziehung einlassen will. Er zeigt uns diese "Post Break-up" Gefühle und Gedanken. Wir, als Frauen, denken, dass Männer sind stärker. Nick Hornby hat uns gezeigt, wie Männer mit Trennung umgehen.
Also, das Buch ist in einem gewissen Sinne eine Liebesgeschichte, sowohl süß und unterhaltsam. Einfach toll geschrieben!

This book scared the shit out of me. Are all males this shallow? I laughed out loud, and learned a lot about the way men think - but, I'm not sure it was a good thing.

definitely not the type of book i would recommend to just anyone, but it was a good take on pop culture obsession and relationships. if you can't relate to infatuations with musicians and record store binges, you may miss a lot of the significance of what hornby writes, but i rather liked the references and musician babble. the love story behind is well conceived and entertaining, and much more honest than i was expecting. hornby definitely spills a load of secrets that the typical man would leave upspoken.

A funny book about a guy who has forgotten to grow up. It made me laugh out loud a few times, but it's not a very memorable book. It has been a few weeks since I read it and I already forgot quite a bit of the story. However, I'll be happy to read it again in a few years and laugh about it again, and watch the movie when I run into it.

For fans of the movie (and let's be honest, most people now will see the movie before reading the book), this is a lot more quaint and British. There are also quite a few scenes that were left out of the film which add a bit to Rob's character. The same spirit is there, though, of the guy who realizes almost too late that he's just been muddling through life and needs to wake up. An interesting look at an ultimately realistic facet of the human psyche.

This is a bit different to Hornby's later, more populist offerings. More multi-layered, one to read slowly and enjoy. There's a reasonably good storyline but first and foremost it's about music, and people who are obsessed with it. It's the sort of book that should appeal to music anoraks everywhere. Some bits I found obscure. It had a near perfect ending though.

Not just funny, but very funny indeed, with a handful of hilarious set pieces. A perfect romantic comedy before it even made it to the screen, and aimed at men, too. A modern classic, and a book I will come back to again and again.

An amusing and well-written tale of a sad man approaching middle age but still behaving as a teenager. This sort of book will never be great literature; but it's funny, easy to read, and is easy to relate to (for me at least).

I was a teenager in the 1970s, and like most teenagers was interested in music, so I could relate to the bands and mix tapes. I also used to do a few "top five" lists.

SUPERB book, could have been written about my life. Nick Hornby has a great insight into how the male mind works. Makes me want to open a record shop.

I really enjoyed this story about love, life and how messy it all can get. It was cute but at the same time very realistic. If you've watched the movie and enjoyed it, I highly recommend reading the book. Rob Fleming has definitely become one of my favorite fictional characters.

High Fidelity is an accurate portrayal of the emotions surrounding a break-up and new found freedom. Anyone who has experienced one of these events will surely find themselves snickering at the self-defeating actions taken by the main character that we all to often see in ourselves. It covers love, loss of love and lists galore.

This is the story of a vinyl record store owner who is afraid of commitment. Maybe that sounds like some typical hipster, but High Fidelity is actually a very deep story about the psychology behind Rob Fleming's fear of death of his loved ones. The novel goes through Fleming's life in a series of Top Five lists in relation to music and breakups. I love reading about his life with the listed songs, almost like a soundtrack accompanying the book. Nick Hornby is a talented writer who is very in touch with music of his generation that our generation could learn from.

I read this book as one of the Popular Penguins series released last year and am glad I did. It's a great book, although you may not think that from the synopsis: thirty-something male breaks up with girlfriend and goes a bit off the rails. The ending was suitable for this tale too.
Serious music fans (of which I am not) will recognise a lot of bands and songs as Rob owns a record store. (Yes, record. He also makes cassettes for people- not CDs or playlists for ipods). Kind of sad, pretty funny, Rob is essentially a fairly good guy and his story, while not unique is well written fun.

I really enjoyed this book. I started reading it as soon as I opened the package, and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed it so much, I loaned it to my roommate. It's a novel about romantic relationships between men and women, and how one man behaves, and how he's trying to change his behavior. He wants to change because his old methods, he realizes, don't work, and never worked. He resists changing, and the tension between the person he wants to become and the person he is, creates much of the comedy in the novel.

Rob Fleming is a 36-year old Londoner who owns a record shop (remember those?) called Championship Vinyl. At the opening of the novel, his girlfriend, Laura, has just left him. Whether or not he will manage to win back her affections from Ian (or Ray), the man for whom she has left him, forms the trajectory of the plot of the novel.

If you like novels about romantic relationships between men and women, that feature music, record stores and arcane and obscure pop music references, this novel's the one for you. It's very funny in its commentary on relationships, and the pop music scene in London in the early 1990's.

I am a Nick Hornby fan. I admire his character development even if I don't admire the characters. I also love getting some of the obscure music references.

It's not just a male-thing. I've always been a compulsive list-maker so finding librarything was like coming home. I did seriously consider my own musical top tens and was even inspired to listen to a few of the tracks in the novel that I'd not heard too. Hornby has a great feel for the ordinary guy - these are his real heroes, so you can laugh and cry all the way with Rob.
P.S. Loved the film and John Cusack too.

Beautiful writing, but another book about a dud bloke. If men are really like that, who do women bother?

Nick Hornby is one of my favorite contemporary English novelist but I have now been disappointed twice. First with Juliet Naked and now with High Fidelity. I care for neither. The obsessive sex chatter in HF went no where as far as I could see. If you are interested in pop music you may appreciate the book more than I did. Hornby has four loves in no particular order, music, reading, writing and sex. His children must fit in there someplace but he doesn't seem to riff on that.

Do you have an annoying, boring, self-absorbed friend? Do you love hearing about said friend's relationships with other boring, annoying people? Do you find your friend's ruminations upon a lifetime of these relationships endlessly fascinating? Are you fond of 90s pop culture references and Texans with British accents? If so, I highly recommend this book.

A lightweight read with some amusing moments. Rob is a record shop owner whose his long term girlfriend has just left him. He feels like a bit of a loser when he realises that he hasn't really achieved anything in life and that he doesn't really have any friends (post-break up) other than his two employees, Barry and Dick. Rob revisits his top 5 break ups, tracking down old girlfriends and finds out that maybe he should live in the present, not the past or an imagined future.

So, I loves me some High Fidelity. The movie that is. I watch it religiously every six months or so, and naturally gravitated to the book, which I really liked as well. It was good times, and Nick Hornby is a really good author. He's no Faulkner or Thoreau, but he writes some great pop fiction, which is exactly what this book is. If you want a book you can knock out over a long weekend and just plain old have fun with, well here you go.