High Fidelity (1995) by Nick Hornby About the story: 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 (Reservoir Dogs...); top five Elvis Costello songs ("Alison"...); top five episodes of Cheers (the one where Woody sang his stupid song to Kelly...). Rob tries dating a singer whose rendition of "Baby, I Love Your Way" makes him cry. 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 (awful as it sounds) that life as an episode of thirtysomething, with all the kids and marriages and barbecues and k.d. lang CDs that this implies, might not be so bad.
About the author: Nick Hornby was born in Redhill, Surrey, England, in 1957. He graduated from Cambridge University and taught English to foreign students while reviewing for magazines including Time Out and the Literary Review. His first book, a series of critical essays on American novelists, was published in 1992. Fever Pitch, his memoir of a life devoted to Arsenal football club, was published in 1992. It won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award and was adapted as both a play and a film, the latter starring Colin Firth. In 2012, it was recognised for its Outstanding Contribution to Sports Writing at the British Sports Book Awards. His fiction continues to explore male obsessions, crises and weaknesses. His first novel, High Fidelity (1995), is the story of an obsessive record collector and list-maker, and was adapted as a film in 2000 starring John Cusack. His second novel, About a Boy (1998), focuses on the growing relationship between 30-something Will Freeman and Marcus, a 12-year-old boy. A film version, starring Hugh Grant, premiered in 2002. His novel, How to Be Good (2001), explores contemporary morals, marriage and parenthood. It won the WH Smith Award for Fiction in 2002. 31 Songs (2003), celebrates 31 songs of great significance to the author, and A Long Way Down (2005), was shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Novel Award and for a 2006 Commonwealth Writers Prize. His latest novels are Slam (2007), Juliet, Naked (2009) and Funny Girl (2014). In 1999 Nick Hornby was awarded the E. M. Forster Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His book The Complete Polysyllabic Spree (2006) is an account of his reading and a collection of columns from Believer magazine.
Other interesting information: https://www.theguardian.com/books/1995/mar/28/fiction.reviews https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11535277/Why-High-Fidelity-is-still-justas-important-20-years-on.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eBh6xipKYk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68epYBCtFWI
Topics for Discussion: 1. Why is Rob so conflicted about remaining in the relationship with Laura? Does it have more to do with his age or his particular eccentricities? Do you think many men—and women—go through internal struggles similar to Rob’s when it comes to commitment? 2. What issues are at the centre of Rob’s dissatisfaction with his life? If he had to make a list of the top 5 reasons he was dissatisfied, what would they be? 3. Why is it so important for Rob to contact and meet the women who have dumped him? Does he find what he was hoping to discover? What does he learn that surprises him? 4. Why does Rob turn to familiar songs in times of crisis? What solace do they provide? What does the book reveal about the ways in which popular music affects our lives? 5. In what ways do Barry and Dick represent different parts of Rob’s personality? In what ways are they completely unique individuals, different than Rob?