Book Review: High Fidelity

Rob, the owner of a record store and a music lover, has just been dumped by his girlfriend. This latest rejection doesn’t even rank in the top five of his most devastating breakups. And yet, he can’t seem to get over her. To understand why he keeps getting rejected, he decides to revisit those top five most devastating breakups to learn why things didn’t work out.

Rob is an unlikable character. He has very strong opinions about music and judges those who don’t agree with him. He’s unambitious, continuing to work in the failing record store, rather than put himself out there and try something new. It is unsurprising that these are the reasons why his girlfriends have left him. He becomes too stuck in his ways and judgmental. He never shows a real interest in his girlfriends but tries to make them more like himself. His latest ex, Laura even complains that he only makes compilation tapes with the songs he likes, as opposed to making tapes with songs she likes. He never fully commits to his girlfriends, sometimes flirting with other woman, or even going so far as to cheat on Laura (while she was pregnant, no less).

Rob goes on a journey throughout the book. His visit into the past and re-connection with those women on the top-five most devastating heartbreaks list, allows him to gain an understanding of his faults. And while he does learn from the past and changes somewhat, his transformation was not life-altering. He continues to work in the record shop. He gets back together with Laura, though they continue to have the same conversations, arguing about music, arguing about money (Laura has quite a lot, Rob has none), discussing his insecurities. Rob even begins to fall back into his old ways, flirting with another woman, going so far to even make her a compilation tape. By the end of the book, I didn’t feel confident that Rob was a new man and could certainly see him and Laura breaking up because he hasn’t actually grown.  

For the most part, I enjoyed the book. I read so many books with a positive, happy ending, that reading one that wasn’t as optimistic was a refreshing change. Some of the things that Rob did or thought, made me uncomfortable. Through his descriptions of his exes, he comes across as idealizing women, rather than respecting them. And, of course, his pretentiousness, regarding his thoughts about music, is off-putting. But, that’s the point. He’s not a “nice guy.” He is not a hero. And, by no means is he a bad guy either. He doesn’t do anything so repugnant that he can’t be forgiven. Rob, as dis-likable as he comes across at times, is an accurate representation of many men.   

This is the third book by Nick Hornby that I have read (the first two being About a Boy and Juliet Naked). His books are quick reads, but still intelligent.  I would certainly recommend this book.