A Long Way Down
Author: Nick Hornby
Amazon info
Having already enjoyed Nick Hornby's "About a Boy", I was looking forward to "A Long Way Down" and I was not disappointed. The book takes an unusual premise - four people who meet on a roof from which people traditionally jump to their deaths. Perhaps it is my close proximity to places like the Gorges in Ithaca or the Golden Gate Bridge in SF that makes the plot seem somewhat plausible. Of course the real story is how the four characters, connected only by their desire to have no connections, go forward after not killing themselves.
The characters are varied and well-drawn: A former newscaster who had an affair with a 15 yr old, an American living in England, who's girlfriend and band are lost to him, a fiftyish woman caring for her completely autistic son, and a punk rocker whose sister has disappeared.
I am not sure if there were any big "learnings" that I took away from this book, but it was an enjoyable read with a compelling cast of characters - who seemed to take on a life of their own, not quite always under the author's control.
Recommended to all.