A Long Way Down is an interesting and funny novel written by Nick Hornby. The novel was published in 2005 but it is not the only one for the author. Hornby is a British author who made his debut in 1992 with the novel Fever Pitch. Nick Hornby has also written other novels and some of them were shortlisted to win prestigious awards and this particular novel, Fever Pitch, won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.
A Long Way Down is a rather interesting book about four strangers who accidentally meet on a rooftop at the Toppers House. Each one of them has their own story that pushed them to think about suicide. The matter of suicide is the reason behind their unexpected meeting on the rooftop on new year’s eve. However, the unexpected meeting ruined the plans of suicide and instead of killing themselves, they decided to help each other. Together, they go through and face different events and issues to solve their problems or their stories. However, they give themselves 90 days before committing suicide to resolve all the issues that pushed them to think about it. The 90 days pass but no one of the main characters commits suicide. On the contrary, they realize that they have a good life or at least their lives are not that bad to commit suicide.
This novel is a rather interesting and funny one to read. The author could deliver the message of the book in such a funny way by making the main characters in the book go through different funny situations such as when Jess, the teenager, tells the newspaper’s reporter that they did not commit suicide because of an angel that is like Matt Damon. Moreover, the author could create an entertaining and highly amusing atmosphere in the book by making the characters in the novel go through different events and issues that keep and catch the reader’s interest and attention. This makes the reader want to continue reading. Yet, the amusing aspect combined with the funny way of the author could address a critical social matter which is not at all funny or entertaining. That is, the author could address the matter of suicide.
This novel addresses a social phenomenon that is to an extent, neglected or does not get enough attention. That is, the author could address the matter of suicide, the theme of the book, from different perspectives by illustrating four, totally, different people with different paths in life and different personalities who have only one thing in common which is the idea of suicide. Yet, each one of them realizes that their lives are not bad enough to commit suicide, which is also the message of the book. This message is very important and needs to be delivered to everyone as the thought of suicide is not merely for certain persons but rather everyone can have them at some point in life.
Addressing the socially critical matter of suicide combined in a funny way and entertaining atmosphere contributes to the reading experience and makes the reader recognize some aspects of the book. That is, everyone has problems that sometimes feel impossible to resolve but life is always worth it.