A Long Way Down

For Disgraced Tv Presenter Martin Sharp The Answers'a Pretty Simple: He Has, In His Own Words, 'pissed His Life Away'. And On New Year's Eve He's Going To End It All...but Not, As It Happens, Alone. Because First Single-mum Maureen, Then Eighteen-year-old Jess And Lastly Failed-musician-turned-pizza-boy Jj Turn Up And Crash Martin's Private Party. They've Stolen His Idea - But Brought Their Own Reasons. Yet It's Hard To Jump When You've Got An Audience Queuing Impatiently Behind You. A Few Heated Words And Some Slices Of Cold Pizza Later And These Four Strangers Are Suddenly Allies. But Is Their Unlikely Friendship A Good Enough Reason To Carry On Living? -- Back Cover. Nick Hornby. Fire veldig ulike mennesker treffer hverandre tilfeldig på toppen av et høyhus i London. Grunnen til at de er der er at de ikke ønsker å leve lenger. Maureen har ansvaret for sønnen som har ligget i koma i 20 år. Martin er en kjent tv-vert, men utroskapen hans har ødelagt både familien og karrieren. Jess er ung og har kjærlighetssorg. Amerikanske JJ er mislykket rockestjerne og har et mislykket forhold bak seg. Dette er begynnelsen på et vennskap mellom de fire. De blir enige om å utsette selvmordet til etter Valentines-dagen, men til slutt må de bestemme seg: skal de begå selvmord eller forsøke å leve livet med de problemene som følger med. Boken kom samtidig ut på norsk med tittelen "Fritt fall" Narrated in turns by a dowdy, middle-aged woman, a half-crazed adolescent, a disgraced breakfast TV presenter and an American rock star cum pizza delivery boy, A Long Way Down is the story of the Toppers House Four, aka Maureen, Jess, Martin and JJ. A low-rent crowd with absolutely nothing in common - save where they end up that New Year's Eve night. And what they do next, of course. Funny, sad, and wonderfully humane, Nick Hornby's new novel asks some of the big questions: about life and death, strangers and friendship, love and pain, and whether a slice of pizza can really see you through a long, dark night of the soul. Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper's House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives. In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells a story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance, and their own mortality. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances. Quatre personnes se rencontrent sur le toit d'un collège la veille du nouvel an. Tous ont pour but de se suicider. Mais, après avoir discuté, ils se sauvent mutuellement la vie. Ayant conscience de la particularité de leur rencontre, ils savent qu'ils ont créé un gang étrange.. Asks some of the big questions: about life and death, strangers and friendship, love and pain, and whether a group of losers, and pizza, can really see you through a long, dark night of the soul.