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    Long Way Down
    Long Way Down
    Long Way Down
    Audiobook10 hours

    Long Way Down

    Written by Michael Sears

    Narrated by David Chandler

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From the author of the acclaimed, award-winning debut novel Black Fridays, comes a story of murder, greed, and corruption-and the lengths to which one man will go for his family. He approached me in the street-bone-thin, gray-bearded, holding out a small envelope. "The man said you'd give me five bucks for it." Inside was a one-word message: RUN. Two years in a federal prison has changed Jason Stafford, is still changing him, but one thing it has taught him as a financial investigator is how to detect a lie. He doesn't think Philip Haley is lying. An engineer on the verge of a biofuel breakthrough, Haley has been indicted for insider trading on his own company, and Stafford believes him when he says he's been set up. Haley does indeed have enemies. He is not a nice man. Doesn't make him a criminal. It does make him dangerous to be around, though. The deeper Stafford investigates, the more secrets he starts to uncover, secrets people would kill for. And that's exactly what happens. Soon, it is Stafford himself who is under attack and, worse, his family-his fiancEe, his young son-and he is a fugitive, desperately trying to stay one step ahead of both the killers and the law.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 5, 2015
    ISBN9781490650104
    Long Way Down

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    Reviews for Long Way Down

    3.5/5

    81 ratings73 reviews

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    • 5/5
      While not my usual fare, this book is witty, compassionate and full of dark humour. It is hilarious and I don't think anyone could do it better than Nick Hornby. I have not read any previous novels but enjoyed the The Polysyllabic Spree and other writings of Mr Hornby.
    • 4/5
      overall, good - i like the multi-narrator approach and would read another nick hornby book.
    • 4/5
      Long Way Down is an odd book, but as is typical of Hornby's work, it's engrossing and brilliantly written.

      It begins on the roof of a building, where four people - intent on committing suicide by throwing themselves off - have run into each other.

      Rather than jump (which would make for a short novel), the group agrees to meet on Valentine's Day, setting the stage for what's to come.

      Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the four, and while the effect can be dizzying at times, it's also handled cleanly enough that it becomes engrossing.

      Hornby's characters are richly drawn and detailed, and I found myself as drawn to the writing as I was the characters.

      Hornby fans will love this, plain and simple.
    • 4/5
      This is the story of 4 strangers who have all decided to commit suicide on New Year's Eve. They end up on the roof of a building at the same time and befriend each other. Their lives are completely different yet they are linked by this immense sadness that make them feel as if they have no way out. They end up becoming this unit who work through their feelings together but not in a conventional therapist-next-door kind of way, more in a frienemy love/hate kind of way.I really liked how this book approached the serious subject of suicide with a light heart and a comedic tone. It made the topic easier to manage and as a reader I found myself somehow relating more to these characters than I would have had it been all tears and 'poor-me's'.
    • 5/5
      Very interesting read. Hornby's characters are something else, and just when I started thinking they were getting predictable, they did something unpredictable. The narrative voice in this novel is full of life (which is ironic, since it's about four people who met when they were trying to commit suicide), and it was an uplifting (not in a cheesy way) read. It was a great recommendation from one of my friends, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      Yet again Nick Hornby gets to the heart of the different ways in which we screw up our lives. But there is always hope, and for that we will live.
    • 4/5
      Although I just finished the book two days ago, it took me a few minutes to remember what happens at the very end of A Long Way Down. Nick Hornby's novel begins, essentially, with its climax. Four people decide independently to go to a certain London rooftop, called Topper's House, to kill themselves on New Year's. However, as each runs into the others, the suicidal plans give way to feelings of hostile camaraderie, and the group leaves the rooftop to embark on a search through London's parties for the wayward ex-boyfriend of Jess. Thus the first section of the novel shows the characters - Martin, a disgraced morning show host; Maureen, whose son has been in a vegetative state since birth; J.J., an American whose band has recently broken up; and Jess, a maniacal and impulsive teenage girl - learning about the lives of the others and coming together to work toward a common purpose. This collaborative spirit continues after the critical night, and they decide to keep meeting up until the next most common suicide event, Valentine's Day.Hornby tells the novel through a rotating first-person of all the characters, and although they each have a distinctive voice, his casual observer style remains audible in all. So, if you already know that you enjoy Hornby, you're probably going to get some pleasure out of A Long Way Down. I could already hear the voice-overs of the future movie of the book, if a studio could get past the whole suicide factor. However, if you've lately been cutting your teeth against more literary fare, you're likely to feel as if your time could have been better spent reading something less pat. While A Long Way Down at no point made me throw it to the ground and stamp upon it in a disappointed rage, it neither gives the trashy glee of a compelling genre novel nor the contemplative satisfaction of word art. It's fiction. It's Hornby. And you know what that means going in.
    • 4/5
      Of all the books I've read about suicide attempts, A Long Way Down is the funniest. Nick Hornby takes four disparate characters, places them on a ledge on New Year's Eve, and lets them interact. Fortunately, they don't jump (hence the title), having decided, temporarily, to live, they form an unstable and often hilarious alliance that helps each of them learn to survive. Hornby is very conscious of not being hokey and inspirational, yet the book ends up being moving. I could have done with a lot fewer pop culture references, but I'm told that's Hornby.
    • 2/5
      Not his best book, but I enjoyed it enough. It'd probably make a better movie. I couldn't cast it in my head though. I'm open to suggestions if anyone else has read this.
    • 3/5
      Didn't rock my world, but it was entertaining. =D
    • 4/5
      An enjoyable, light read (bearing in mind it's about suicides). It worked for me
    • 4/5
      Maureen, Martin, JJ, and Jess just happen to meet up one New Year's Eve on the roof of Topper's House, an establishment in London, but they're not there to celebrate the New Year. Each of these four people have made four different journeys to Topper's House to--top themselves, as the British would say. And three out of four of them are, in fact, British. Anyway, each of these people was expecting some privacy at a time like this, but instead, they wound up embarking on another journey altogether.Nick Hornby is known for writing humorous stories, and in this novel, he successfully tells the story of how four depressed people grudgingly form a support group, albeit a very unorthodox one, with a good balance of humor and seriousness. The four characters take turns first telling their own stories, then telling their common story, each in a very different voice and perspective.I was impressed by the way Jess, a teenaged girl who is easily one of the most annoying characters I've ever encountered in or out of a book, gradually morphs into a more controlled and likeable young woman. Her problems aren't miraculously going away, but she's better in every way by the end. And then there's Maureen, who seems to have the most obvious reasons to be depressed, but it turns out that a few doable changes is all she needs to feel much, much better. Martin and JJ need to develop their plan B's, and by the end, they are making a start at that, instead of just despairing.The unusual thing about this group of four is that they really don't much enjoy each other, don't seem to make each other feel particularly better, but--they are hooked on meeting each other, nonetheless. It keeps them going, and the common connection they feel does force them to look outside of themselves. They become unlikely people in each other's lives, and therein lies most of the humor.I like that the ending isn't perfect. Everyone is better off than they were the night they agreed to walk downstairs and out of Topper's House, but things are not perfect for any of them by a long shot. I also admire the way A Long Way Down manages to be engaging and light, while being so touching and sad at the same time. Nick Hornby has breathed life into these characters, four people with emerging hope for the future.It's a very enjoyable, interesting read, and I'd recommend this book!
    • 2/5
      Good book, but not his best by a long way. I liked the idea of "Cosmic Tony Blair"
    • 4/5
      Amusing and witty with a bit of insight too. Who would have thought a novel about suicide could be so much fun
    • 4/5
      This is the story of 4 strangers who meet on on a roof top, all with the intention of jumping. Nick Hornby gives us 4 first person accounts of this, and other, experiences. He manages to give each character a very distinct and believable voice, with complete emotional honesty. There are hillarious moments...and many uncomfortably true moments. And don't think in the begining that you will know how it will end...I think you will be surprised.
    • 5/5
      You would think a book about four unhappy people contemplating suicide would be depressing. Instead it is hilarious, original, tender, insightful, life-affirming . . . I can't say enough good things about Nick Hornby's "A Long Way Down."On New Year's Eve, four people who otherwise have virtually nothing in common climb to the top of a high London building with the intention of jumping off. They include Martin, a former daytime TV celebrity whose career and marriage were ruined when he was caught having sex with an underage girl; Maureen, a middle-aged woman whose entire adult life has consisted of little more than giving around-the-clock care to her severely disabled son; Jess, the friendless 18-year-old daughter of prominent parents with a talent for offending everyone she meets; and JJ, an American with dreams of becoming a rock star who has lost both his band and his girlfriend.The four of them, who don't even particularly like each other, form their own little support group, what Jess calls "a gang," meeting periodically over the next three months and even going on a holiday together because Maureen has not had a holiday since her son was born. They argue constantly, usually provoked by Jess, but they are all they have. And although Jess can be cruel and crude, she is also the one who works the hardest to give each of them a happy ending.Writing an ending to this novel must have been challenging for Hornby because he really needed four endings, not just one. It would have been so easy to make it maudlin or overly simplistic or phony, but he avoids these traps and finds a way to wrap it all up that seems both realistic and uplifting.Hornby does amazing things with metapors throughout the novel, but he ends his story with a particularly apt one. The four of them return to the top of Toppers' House 90 days after their accidental New Year's Eve meeting, and they observe the London Eye, that huge Ferris wheel along the Thames that never stops going around. People just get on and off while it continues to rotate. But Maureen observes that from a distance it doesn't appear to be moving at all. "But it must have been, I suppose," she says.And so it is with their lives. They may not appear to be going anywhere. All four are still pretty much in the same situations they were in three months before. So little has really changed. Yet there they all are at Toppers admiring the view, not planning to jump.
    • 3/5
      Not a bad book, I guess I enjoyed it. This is one of those books I put on my list because it got a lot of buzz. It was a little depressing, and there wasn't a whole lot of resolution. And only one (maybe 2) character was especially likeable.
    • 4/5
      I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Sometimes I think I may have outgrown Nick Hornby and similar writers, but no, I think there's still something to this that speaks to me. Really, the more I think about this novel, the more I conclude that while it seems like a rather quick, pretty surface-y read, many of the issues addressed had a way of sticking to me... almost like I got tricked into considering new ideas. Which I have to say, I don't mind. I also quite enjoy Hornby's evident love of books which is sprinkled throughout. Especially the observation that it's considered weird to read a book with other people around, but no one gives it a second thought when someone is playing video games in a crowded room. (Haha... except for me.)WARNING: SPOILERS (not that there's many plot points to spoil...)Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, I actually found Maureen the most interesting character. One thing that she says really hit me as spot on... the need to not fill all 60 minutes an hour every hour with the same thing. I know that I am sometimes guilty of that, and it does nothing for my mental health. Maureen also has the shittiest situation in my opinion... while Matty, her completely nonfunctional son, doesn't have a voice at all in the novel, his presence is definitely felt. I don't know what I'd do in her situation. What she says about having kids struck me as being pretty right too... that a lot of people have kids to feel a sense of forward motion in their lives, and one of the saddest things about her life is that nothing ever changes because Matty never really grows up. Interestingly, though, she seems to me the happiest of the 4 main characters by the end of the novel, and it has a lot more to do with her outlook than with external events. Really, some of the other characters actually struck me as kind of whiny and less sympathetic.I liked that nothing really changes by the end of the novel, but the characters somehow seem like they will be okay in the end. Not great, but okay. The plot meanders along, with lots of fairly random things happening and no real end destination in sight, but the destination isn't the point of this novel. It's figuring out how to get there that's the interesting (and difficult) part.
    • 2/5
      Yawn yawn!! Pretentious. Am I the only person who finds Hornby boring and too far up his own rear.
    • 1/5
      I listened to the audiobook version. Another plot synopsis is certainly not needed after all that has been written here, but I do have to add my two cents worth about the merit of this book, which I think has been incredibly overstated by most reviewers. It should be subtitled "the boring lives of stupid people." I'm not saying that the book is unbelievable, just that I wouldn't like to meet any of the characters, I was not amused by their actions, and failed to see that the author had any insights of value to me. Jess, the young female character, could be the most annoying character in modern fiction. Pity she didn't take the leap at the outset of the book.
    • 4/5
      I really didn't expect this book to be funny. After all, it's about people contemplating suicide. Still, the writing was very funny, the characters are very clear, and the situation required only a little suspension of disbelief. I didn't expect a self-help book or an inspirational piece, so I was glad that it did not come off as preachy or motivational. JJ's revelation at the end - that people who commit suicide and those who are getting by aren't really all that far apart - was more inspiration that defeatist. It only takes a very small effort to keep hanging in there, and that's apparent in the characters. No one's life undergoes a huge change, but they all manage to change their perspective.
    • 5/5
      A great novel with a very interesting plot idea. This novel tells the story of 4 individuals who meet at the top of a popular suicide spot on New Year's Eve attempting to commit suicide. By unexpectedly running into each other at such a private moment the four talk each other out of it...sort of. They agree to meet on another date to do the deed.
    • 4/5
      A very funny story about four strangers who meet during a suicide attempt.
    • 3/5
      Four people meet on the top of a notorious building for suicides and convince each other that really living is a better bet.I've read other Nick Hornby's and enjoyed them this was readable but not spectacular and really I didn't care at the end what happened to anyone other than Margaret. I really wanted to slap Jess.
    • 5/5
      At first glace Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down appears to be a book about suicide and death; however, it ultimately becomes a story about living. Through four--well-written--first person accounts, we meet Martin, Jess, Maureen, and JJ--four people with little in common: except that they all want to kill themselves. They meet on New Year’s Eve, on the roof of Toper’s House, a London tower block known for being an ideal spot to leap to one's death. The unlikely foursome soon form a warm, family-like bond, and while the book is set amid a dark theme, there are many funny moments along way to lighten the mood, and more than enough plot twists to keep the reader entertained. While the story is told from four different viewpoints, it is done without the characters tediously repeating one another. Through different dialogue and writing styles, Hornby does a fantastic job of creating four distinctly different characters that are easily believable, and likeable--even the edgy, foulmouthed teenager, Jess, who is possibly the most realistic of the four characters. However, what Hornby does best in A Long Way Down is paint a vivid portrait of the everyday lives of ordinary people living in London, as they deal with the disappointments of life, and eventually find what they are missing in their lives through one another.
    • 4/5
      I enjoy Hornby's original, witty and intelligent stories. I like his well- sketched characters and I think it takes quite a talent to make you laugh about serious issues and not take away any depth from them.For the premise: Four strangers meet on New Year's Eve on the roof of one of high rise bulidings in London, each with an intention of commiting suicide. Audio- very well read.
    • 4/5
      as usually nick hornby puts out a novel that will make you laugh and feel good about coexisting with your fellow man. i have nothing to say that hasn't already been said in the reviews on the back of the book.
    • 3/5
      A surprisingly disappointing read as Hornby is one of by favorites.
    • 5/5
      I really liked this book - the premise was what lured me to the book, but the writing is what kept me there. The stories of four lost souls contemplating suicide on New Years Eve and find each other instead is full of humor and some thought provoking dialogue. While, Martin with his rather honest look at life was my favorite, the most poignant was Maureen, who in her own way was quite astute. Her comments about realizing the weight of ones words and the affect they have on people was spot on. JJ was entertaining but not as well developed while Jess was nothing but annoying. I never good get a handle on her, but then again that's probably what real life is all about.
    • 4/5
      Yes, this book is about suicidal people and it's funny. It's also got a message about people needing other people, and about finding the things that keep you going and making them work for you.A reviewer said it was an answer to The Breakfast Club (but in a book, and adults, and a rooftop instead of a high school, and suicide, and...). This was misleading to me because I thought they were going to spend the entire novel on the rooftop talking. And I like people talking and bonding in novels, I really do. But I was relieved when before too long they got down off that roof and went to do other stuff. So if the "4 people meet on a roof" part puts you off, have no fear: they don't stay on the roof. Stuff happens, and it's funny, even though they're still all pretty miserable. And just when you think the characters are going to have a sweet moment or come to some wise decision that will impact the rest of their lives? They don't. But that's really the point, isn't it? Real life doesn't have neatly tied up endings and yet we keep plodding away at it because that's what we're here to do.