Nick Hornby's High Fidelity

When I was an amateur reader (the type that shops in the "Young Adult" section at Barnes&Noble), I remember complaining about the dryness of some book I was attempting to read at the time. You know, the type of book that makes you pat yourself on the back for completing a page. I remember my mother saying, "Leah, give the book thirty pages before you complain. It usually takes a little bit to really get into it." So, I stuck it out, and in the end, I really enjoyed the book. However, far too many books take a while to really "get into," as my mother would say. There have been countless amount of books that take me years--literally, years--to read those first thirty pages. I recently went through a period in which every novel I picked up didn't have the "wow" factor I was looking for; none of which had enthralling first thirty pages or intoxicating plots.

Thankfully, Nick Hornby's High Fidelity has broken my rut of mediocracy. I did not have to wait thirty pages to become interested, and the story-line did not fall short of captivating. The main character, Rob, uses charming wit to give the story a satirical flair, while also fashioning a rather serious dimension to the plot. This tasteful amalgam of humor and thoughtfulness creates an enticing and enjoyable story. Moreover, Rob also explores the plethora of self-deprecating heartbreaks and scenarios, often lightening these melancholic happenings with wise-cracks and f-bombs. However, Rob uses the plot of break-ups as his springboard into the investigation of shared human characteristics, including our need for closure, our ability to let bad moods dictate our logic, and our obsession with past experiences. I often found myself chuckling or gasping at the prevalence of Rob's and my common experiences, actually picturing myself doing the exact thing he just did.  This level of realistic depiction transports the novel from a meager "great" to an"excellent."

For example, Rob meets two people he knew growing up who ended up becoming high-school sweethearts. They simultaneously give him the most banal advice regarding relationships, and after a stream of painfully mundane and trite statements, Rob writes the following:
           'The trouble with young people today is...' No. Just Kidding. But they're...evangelical about what
            they have, as if I've come up from north London to arrest them for being monogamous. I haven't,
            but they're right in thinking that it's a crime where I come from: it's against the law because we're
            all cynics and romantics, sometimes simultaneously and marriage, with its cliches and its steady
            low-watt glow, is as unwelcome to us as garlic is to a vampire (179).
This passage clearly exemplifies Rob's humorous and sarcastic personality, yet it does hold significance in the exploration of human nature.

I think High Fidelity truly encompasses all of the essential facets that outstanding storytelling has. Rob does not try to flower his story by weaving complex words through every sentence. The blunt remarks and perfect one-liners keep the story interesting. While stories that do include swear words or do not have proper grammar can ultimately be seen as a farce and not serious, at the end of the novel, I really felt that I learned something. This story made me self-reflect and even changed my usually unwavering views from the moment I opened the first page, to the very last word.