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A review by ladyethyme
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
So I read this book because it was, ironically enough, on one of those "top 100 list of books to read before you die" nonsense. And I like the movie well and I really enjoyed John Cusack.
As it turns out, he is far more lovable than the character in the book, who just comes off as a completely narcissistic and jaded, who thinks very little of anyone else and extremely self pitying.
There are constant references to musicians and records and songs that I have literally never heard of, but apparently the protagonist things are great importance, and is an elitist to the point of actively hating people that don't have the same taste he does.
While there are moments of humor and relatability in the narration, I would say the majority is someone who pretty much hates themselves, yet is somehow still a narcissist.
Basically the story of a 36-year-old man who never most. His girlfriend, Laura, leaves him because he is emotionally closed off and a myriad of other reasons.
So he whines and complains about that for about 300 pages, eventually gets back together together with Laura, who only gets back together with him because her dad dies and she requires someone familiar to take care of her.
Then they argue and complain about each other for another three hours. By the end, I kept waiting for it to climax into some kind of transformative self revelation, or maturity.
None of which actually happens. So I'm glad that this book was relatively short and then it's over. Because it certainly not something that I would have wanted to listen to much longer.
As it turns out, he is far more lovable than the character in the book, who just comes off as a completely narcissistic and jaded, who thinks very little of anyone else and extremely self pitying.
There are constant references to musicians and records and songs that I have literally never heard of, but apparently the protagonist things are great importance, and is an elitist to the point of actively hating people that don't have the same taste he does.
While there are moments of humor and relatability in the narration, I would say the majority is someone who pretty much hates themselves, yet is somehow still a narcissist.
Basically the story of a 36-year-old man who never most. His girlfriend, Laura, leaves him because he is emotionally closed off and a myriad of other reasons.
So he whines and complains about that for about 300 pages, eventually gets back together together with Laura, who only gets back together with him because her dad dies and she requires someone familiar to take care of her.
Then they argue and complain about each other for another three hours. By the end, I kept waiting for it to climax into some kind of transformative self revelation, or maturity.
None of which actually happens. So I'm glad that this book was relatively short and then it's over. Because it certainly not something that I would have wanted to listen to much longer.