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A long Way down

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*Starred Review* In his trademark warm and witty prose, Hornby follows four depressed people from their aborted suicide attempts on New Years Eve through the surprising developments that occur over the following three months. Middle-aged Maureen has been caring for her profoundly disabled son for decades; Martin is a celebrity-turned-has-been after sleeping with a 15-year-old girl; teenage Jess, trash-talker extraordinaire, is still haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her older sister years before; and JJ is upset by the collapse of his band and his breakup with his longtime girlfriend. The four meet while scoping out a tower rooftop looking for the best exit point. Inhibited by the idea of having an audience, they agree instead to form a support group of sorts. But rather than indulging in sappy therapy-speak, they frequently direct lacerating, bitingly funny comments at each other--and the bracing mix of complete candor and endless complaining seems to work as a kind of tonic. Hornby funnels the perceptive music and cultural references he is known for through the character of JJ, but he also expands far beyond his usual territory, exploring the changes in perspective that can suddenly make a life seem worth living and adroitly shifting the tone from sad to happy and back again. The true revelation of this funny and moving novel is its realistic, all-too-human characters, who stumble frequently, moving along their redemptive path only by increments. Joanne Wilkinson

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Verfügbarkeit

DIS-01950

Verfügbar

Detaillierte Informationen

Reihentitel

-

Signatur

LIT. ENG. HOR

Verlag

: London : Penguin Books., 2005

Umfang

263

Sprache

English

ISBN/ISSN

0-141-02577-8

Klassifikation

LIT. EN

Inhaltstyp

-

Medientyp

-

Datenträgertyp

-

Ausgabe

-

Schlagwörter

-

Anmerkung

Eng - Regal SL0141025778

Mitarbeiter

-

Andere Ausgabe / Ähnliches

Dateianhang

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