High Fidelity

By: Nick Hornby

Narrated by: David Case

From the bestselling author of About a Boy, A Long Way Down and Dickens and Prince, a wise and hilarious novel about love, heartbreak, and rock and roll.

“I've always loved Nick Hornby, and the way he writes characters and the way he thinks. It's funny and heartbreaking all at the same time.”—Zoë Kravitz

Rob is a pop music junkie who runs his own semi-failing record store. His girlfriend, Laura, has just left him for the guy upstairs, and Rob is both miserable and relieved. After all, could he have spent his life with someone who has a bad record collection? Rob seeks refuge in the company of the offbeat clerks at his store, who endlessly review their top five films; top five Elvis Costello songs; top five episodes of Cheers.

Rob tries dating a singer, but maybe it’s just that he’s always wanted to sleep with someone who has a record contract. Then he sees Laura again. And Rob begins to think that life with kids, marriage, barbecues, and soft rock CDs might not be so bad.

Critic reviews

"I've always loved Nick Hornby, and the way he writes characters and the way he thinks. It's funny and heartbreaking all at the same time."—Zoë Kravitz

"As funny, compulsive and contemporary a first novel as you could wish for."—GQ

"One of the top ten books of the year."—Entertainment Weekly

"It is rare that a book so hilarious is also so sharp about sex and manliness, memory and music."—The New Yorker

"Mr. Hornby captures the loneliness and childishness of adult life with such precision and wit that you'll find yourself nodding and smiling. High Fidelity fills you with the same sensation that you get from hearing a debut record album that has more charm and verve and depth than anything you can recall."—The New York Times Book Review

"Hornby's seamless prose and offhand humor make for one hilarious set piece after another, as suffering, self-centered Rob ruminates on women, sex, and Abbey Road. But then he's forced to consider loneliness, fitting-in, death, and failure—and that is what lingers."—Spin

"Keep this book away from your girlfriend—it contains too many of your secrets to let it fall into the wrong hands."—Details

fantastic!

Maybe my favorite book of all time, excellent performance as well. I highly recommend this book!

Sometimes the great are hard to articulate.

I can't seem to find the right words or emotions that this work of literary art instills in me. I feel as if parts of the dialog are at once tearing me apart and consoling me at the same time. I need to go for a walk and talk this through with my younger self. I need to set a date to read this again. I need to love and lose all over again till the words work themselves out to the surface. I find hope in this, on the B-side, the do over. Maybe it's just me being silly but I love it.

Seamless set up for the film

You know when you “read” a book after seeing the movie and you’re disappointed? This is the exact opposite of that experience. The characters, dialogue, story all translated brilliantly into the film - a sign of brilliant source material. I’ve read read other Nick Hornby books that haven’t been made into films and tried to cast them in my head. Well worth the read!

Made me laugh and think and remember

I had this book waiting to be read for years.

Should have done it before, but I really connected with it at this moment of my life.

I truly enjoyed it, and the ending was fantastic.

Fenomenal work by the reader, takes it to a new level!

movie was better

got the book because I love the movie and was disappointed. I think this is the first time I've ever liked the movie better. much less about music in the book.