a darkly comic story about four desperate people who meet on New Year's Eve and form a surrogate family to help themselves weather the difficulties of their lives

a fine comic novel about four people who all arrive at Topper's House, a quite-tall-enough London building well known to the suicidal, on New Year's Eve

a good novel struggling to find a way out of the limitations of its own gimmick, but ultimately the conceit is so off-beam that one can almost ignore it and flow with the farce

a daring high-wire act, and Hornby pulls it off perfectly

an unusually rich, satisfying work, and, I think, Hornby's bet yet

"Long Way Down" is a single by the Goo Goo Dolls from their breakthrough album, 1995's A Boy Named Goo. This song is often overshadowed by the low-key ballad Name, which launched the band from local legends to household names. It evokes the feeling of thwarted passion and terrified loneliness that is such a part of being young - or just alive.

a good example of how he can apply the ambient template to his sparse, almost delicate lyrics without one overpowering the other

an enjoyable read, but it also made my world just four stories larger

an entertaining read with plenty of laughs" but has "no literary merit"

a great start