A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby is a tragicomic tale of strangers and secrets

'Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?'

For disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp the answer's pretty simple: he has, in his own words, 'pissed his life away'. And on New Year's Eve he's going to end it all . . . but not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash Martin's private party. They've stolen his idea - but brought their own reasons.

Yet it's hard to jump when you've got an audience queuing impatiently behind you. A few heated words and some slices if cold pizza later and these four strangers are suddenly allies. But is their unlikely friendship a good enough reason to carry on living?

Shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize, A Long Way Down is a darkly hilarious and moving novel by bestselling author Nick Hornby. If you like Jonathan Coe, David Sedaris and David Nicholls, you will love this book.

'A page-turning plot and rich, funny characters with several big laughs on every page. . . Hornby's best yet' Literary Review

'Hornby's best novel to date, impossible to put down. . . how can an examination of four people's anguish be so enthralling?' Ruth Rendell, Guardian

'Masterful. . . some of the finest writing, and some of the most outstanding characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading' Johnny Depp