High Fidelity by Nick Hornby – Reviewed by Guy Portman
Rob is a record shop owner from North London. The thirty-something has just split up with his girlfriend Laura and is now single. He had been under the impression that single life would suit him fine. However, Rob finds that he is struggling to adapt to his new existence.
One of our adolescentesque protagonist’s favourite pastimes is making ‘top-five’ lists with his two employees, Dick and Barry. These tend to be music-themed; but Rob creates other lists too, including one dedicated to his top-five most memorable breakups. This leads to him contacting some of his former girlfriends and re-examining how each union ended in failure. All the while he finds himself obsessing over Laura and her new boyfriend.
Set in the 1990s, High Fidelity is a wryly humorous, music-themed novel that analyses man’s fixations and foibles. Although relationship-centric books are usually anathema to this cynical individual, he could relate to Rob’s paranoia. The conversational, confessional tone also appealed. While the narrative does get somewhat sentimental in its latter stages, he would not hesitate to recommend this light read.
