A review by soph183
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! Took it as a satire look into a narcissistic male brain (so hope it was not meant to be autobiographical), but found the male perspective of ‘firsts’, love and relationships to be really entertaining.
Such an interesting demonstration of how you only ever know one side a story- Rob (main character)’s internal recollection of events in his life is rose tinted and paints him as a cool, edgy, passionate guy, until you find out the real context of his actions (and just how awful men can be) when he is forced to face reality through interactions with others.
The relationship dilemmas that come up made for a thought provoking read- when SHOULD you decide to stop striving for ‘greatness’ and settle in contentment with what you have? That is not an easy mindset switch to make and as much as I hated Rob’s character the feelings of turmoil and fear of being stuck is definitely relatable.
Also I LOVE when books reference specific songs and artists that a character likes- let’s you understand them that little bit more (and the characters work in a record store in this book so there’s loads of that- and the tunes mentioned are great).
Such an interesting demonstration of how you only ever know one side a story- Rob (main character)’s internal recollection of events in his life is rose tinted and paints him as a cool, edgy, passionate guy, until you find out the real context of his actions (and just how awful men can be) when he is forced to face reality through interactions with others.
The relationship dilemmas that come up made for a thought provoking read- when SHOULD you decide to stop striving for ‘greatness’ and settle in contentment with what you have? That is not an easy mindset switch to make and as much as I hated Rob’s character the feelings of turmoil and fear of being stuck is definitely relatable.
Also I LOVE when books reference specific songs and artists that a character likes- let’s you understand them that little bit more (and the characters work in a record store in this book so there’s loads of that- and the tunes mentioned are great).
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Abortion