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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Started out being 5 stars, dragged on a bit in the 2nd half. But hilarious and well-written - a very pleasant surprise.
medium-paced
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A novel about Rob, who is exploring his freedom post break-up only to find he's not enjoying his freedom as much as he thought he would.
Honestly, I really disliked the protagonist - I found him whiny, self-pitying and misogynistic. The novel meandered a lot as well and I really found myself struggling to pick up the book and keep reading.
Like I understand what the author was going for, but it just wasn't a read for me.
Honestly, I really disliked the protagonist - I found him whiny, self-pitying and misogynistic. The novel meandered a lot as well and I really found myself struggling to pick up the book and keep reading.
Like I understand what the author was going for, but it just wasn't a read for me.
I really wanted to like this book but it just didn’t do it for me. In theory, High Fidelity has all ingredients to be one of my favorites - I love flawed, unstable characters but in this case I found Rob to be extremely insufferable and entirely too self-pitying. It also felt like there was no real progression in both the plot and Rob. I just wanted something to happen so badly and stop revolving around the same pattern of Rob hating himself and doing something kinda awful and then hating himself even more for that. I get that that’s the point but from an enjoyment standpoint, I just couldn’t deal with it.
The writing style was also not for me. I understand the appeal of the musical intertextuality as that is such an integral part of Rob’s character, but I felt as though Hornby was just throwing lists of songs at me without any significant purpose. Not only did I feel that the musical interpolation was excessive, but also that it was done in a disorienting and clunky manner. I feel the point would’ve been made with simply a reference to one song rather than a list of songs that thrown in the middle of a paragraph which also take up half the page.
High Fidelity is quite similar to Dolly Alderton’s Good Material, which I recently read. The overall concepts are very similar - loser guy in his 30s goes through quarter life crisis after being broken up with. However, I feel Alderton’s execution was much better and her overall storytelling more compelling as there was more depth and development to her characters. Regardless, I finished the book so that’s worth something but I wouldn’t recommend it
The writing style was also not for me. I understand the appeal of the musical intertextuality as that is such an integral part of Rob’s character, but I felt as though Hornby was just throwing lists of songs at me without any significant purpose. Not only did I feel that the musical interpolation was excessive, but also that it was done in a disorienting and clunky manner. I feel the point would’ve been made with simply a reference to one song rather than a list of songs that thrown in the middle of a paragraph which also take up half the page.
High Fidelity is quite similar to Dolly Alderton’s Good Material, which I recently read. The overall concepts are very similar - loser guy in his 30s goes through quarter life crisis after being broken up with. However, I feel Alderton’s execution was much better and her overall storytelling more compelling as there was more depth and development to her characters. Regardless, I finished the book so that’s worth something but I wouldn’t recommend it
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes