Paul Gaudet Gaudet itibaren Ummedabad, Rajasthan 343021, India itibaren Ummedabad, Rajasthan 343021, India

You’d expect that a book about four people who are about to commit suicide end up saving each other would be overly sentimental. While A Long Way Down has its warm fuzzy moments, it definitely doesn’t cross any sap boundaries. Hornby manages to take the darkest subjects like suicide and hopelessness and shed humor and charm onto them, making A Long Way Down a memorable read. Cycling through four unique points of view, the characters who tell the story are extreme to the point of being satirical, though not quite stereotypes. They all have distinctive perspectives on life and death—perspectives that of course change through the course of the book as they seek death less and learn to find things to look forward to. These characters aren’t necessarily designed to be sympathized with or even liked (they all have their annoying qualities)—but only to be understood.