Nick Hornby is a happy chappy. His 2005 novel A Long Way Down reads like a film script and I nearly saw the film on Netflix before I'd read the novel. I have no problem with authors doing this because all it means is that the novel is cut up into small scenes (which also makes it easily readable) and there is an ear for dialogue (which in this case is presented from four different viewpoints or characters). I don't think it is too much of a spoiler to reveal that it revolves around a bunch of people that meet on top of a tall building as they are about to commit suicide (or not). A person less likely to take the plunge than Nick Hornby is hard to imagine as his novels tend to a warm and slightly sentimental bonhomie. Nonetheless I would have liked a little more musical reference in one of the characters and that probably reflects a lack of depth to back story in general - but at least the characters are believable and he pulls off the difficult task of helping the reader identify with (whilst objectively condemning) each of these very different people.
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