High Fidelity

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by Nick Hornby



"My desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable split-ups, in chronological order:

1) Alison Ashworth.

2) Penny Hardwick.

3) Jackie Allen.

4) Charlie Nicholson.

5) Sarah Kendrew."



This is how High fidelity starts. It is a good example of what will come a long in the book. A lot of "top five's", but there is a lot more I can assure you.



This is the first book have read by Nick Hornby I and it is one of the best novels that I have ever read. The main character of the book is Rob Flemming. He is a quite pathetic, childish and ordinary English man in his mid-thirties. When the book starts his girlfriend for the last four years has just dumped him in exchange for the more sexual advanced neighbour, at least that is what Rob thinks. His life starts just to circle around music, with which he has a very emotional relationship. His other priority and great concern is his record shop called "Championship Vinyl".



Rob has been strongly devoted, almost addicted, to music ever since his collage sweetheart dumped him. Later he found out, when he returned from the deep dark period after the defeat, that his interest for music was the only thing he had left since he for some reason had skipped collage. Music has ever since had a great influence on Rob and his life. The book is strongly coloured by music. Rob often decides what he thinks of people just by looking at their record collection.



"'Anna's a Simple Minds fan,' Dick confides, emboldened by his Richard Thompson success.

'Oh, right.' I don't know what to say. This, in our universe, is a staggering piece of information. We hate Simple Minds. They were number one in our Top Five Bands Or Musicians Who Will Have To Be Shot Come The Musical Revolution. (Michael Bolton, U2, Bryan Adams, and, surprise surprise, Genesis were tucked in behind them. Barry wanted to shoot the Beatles, but I pointed out that someone had already done it.) It is as has hard for me to understand how he has ended up with a Simple Minds fan as it would be to fathom how he had paired off with one of the royal family, or a member of the shadow cabinet: it's not the attraction that baffles, so much as how on earth they got together in the first place."

page 132



Rob has a small circle of friends. The book treats different relationships, the ones he has had and the ones he currently has. It describes the impacted they had on him, but also relationships in general. It is basically about his search for the right woman and his fear regarding what he will find. This is actually what the book is about, but all the different turns and Rob's arguments to find the right solution makes the book very special and amusing.



My opinion of the book is very positive. I have never read a book like this before and I really enjoyed it. The plot was about nothing but still so much. The book is written in first person and he is only telling us about his life but it is still very thrilling because it shows how an ordinary life could look like. I do not know how true it is, with me being a girl and all, but I still find it is very interesting. I have begun to understand men a little bit better after reading this book or I think so. To my understanding men and women are completely different when it boils down to views of relationships.



The story goes round and round and is basically about Rob's insecurity of himself as a person and the world he lives in. The book is divided in two halves, the past and present. In the past he describes his former relationships. It is quite interesting to be able to follow Rob's life from the beginning. And it is interesting for me, being a girl, how he looks upon the relationships he has had. It is very easy to follow the author's red line and his way of thinking while reading the book.



There is an constant smart dialogue in High Fidelity which is very amusing to read, it is sometimes childish for example when Rob is chatting with one of his old girlfriends, when there is a lot of the constant babble in attempt to prove that you are right.



In conclusion I think the book is suited for everybody from about an age of 17 and up. It is written as a biography of Rob Flemming's life, but it leaves in the middle of his life so I would rather say that it is a diary in which he has chosen to describe what he thinks is important for the reader to know. It also contains his views and bad and good ...