melwave

I love Nick Hornby. His dialogue is almost always witty and engaging and his storylines are (usually) simplistically fascinating. (E.g. Top fives and breakups, befriending a young boy, divorce...) This story was a little bit of a stretch. Four people meet on the roof of Topper’s House, thusly named for its popularity as a suicide spot. The four people, unlikely to have met in any other situation then form something of a hesitant clan to prevent the others from topping themselves in the meantime. Once you get past the premise and suspend disbelief that they would have actually hung around each other, the book really is quite good. Each character has a very distinct voice and very distinct (and very real) problems. It was an easy read, and did call things into question about why people don’t follow through with suicide. What makes one person jump while another hesitates? What can bring you back from a ledge? What good comes from deciding to go on? Some of the answers are decidedly depressing – such as one character discovering that his life is always going to be crap because he’s too much of an “arse” for it to be anything else. And the book doesn’t feel finished, in truth. No one comes to the life-affirming conclusion that suicide is never the answer, there are no moments of deep realization. But that’s life and that’s what Hornby writes, from what I can tell. Life isn’t spectacular moments of joy that arise from depression. It’s usually mediocre at best, but it keeps going and things keep happening. I recommend this book to those who aren’t looking for an Oprah “Oh!” moment, but rather enjoy dark comedy and believable characters.

2023-02-10 04:46