''High Fidelity'' is a novel by British author
Nick Hornby first published in 1995. It has sold over a million copies and was later adapted into
a feature film in 2000,
a Broadway musical in 2006 and
a TV series in 2020. In 2003, the novel was listed on the BBC's survey
The Big Read.
Plot summary
Rob Fleming is a 35-year-old man who owns a record shop in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
called Championship Vinyl. His lawyer girlfriend, Laura, has just left him and now he's going through a crisis. At his record shop, Rob and his employees, Dick and Barry, spend their free moments discussing
mix-tape aesthetics and constructing
desert-island "top-five" lists of anything that demonstrates their knowledge of music, movies, and pop culture. Rob uses this exercise to create his own list: "The top five most memorable split-ups." This list includes the following ex-girlfriends: 1) Alison Ashworth, 2) Penny Hardwick, 3) Jackie Allen, 4) Charlie Nicholson, and 5) Sarah Kendrew.
Rob, recalling these breakups, sets about getting in touch with the former girlfriends. Eventually, Rob's re-examination of his failed relationships, a one-time stand with an American musician named Marie LaSalle, and the death of Laura's father bring the two back together. Their relationship is cemented by the launch of a new purposefulness to Rob's life in the revival of his
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
career.
Also, realizing that his
fear of commitment (a result of his
fear of death of those around him) and his tendency to act on emotion are responsible for his continuing desires to pursue new women, Rob makes a token commitment to Laura.
Characters
* Rob Fleming: 35-year-old music lover in London who is going through an existential crisis and trying to figure out where he goes wrong in romantic relationships
* Laura: Rob's ex-girlfriend who works as a lawyer and is having a fling with a former neighbour named Ian
* Barry: Rob's co-worker at Championship Vinyl who longs to be a musician
* Dick: Rob's co-worker at Championship Vinyl who is socially awkward and extremely into music
* Marie LaSalle: An American musician who has a one-night stand with Rob
References
1995 British novels
British bildungsromans
British novels adapted into films
Novels by Nick Hornby
Novels set in London
Novels about music
Victor Gollancz Ltd books
British novels adapted into television shows
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