get it together, rob

My one-sentence Goodreads review for this book is as follows: "A British guy can't quite figure out what he wants in life, and I can't quite figure out if I deeply dislike him or pity him." I think that sets me up pretty well to flesh out the rest of my opinions on this novel. From my reading, readers are not supposed to like this main character -- he's the epitome of an unlikeable as well as unreliable narrator. I happen to adore unreliable narrators, thanks to Mr. Shoults' dual enrollment Critical Thinking & Writing course I took as a high school senior. We devoted most of our classes to reading books with unreliable narrators (The Sun Also Rises being my fave) and watching movies with misleading characters (Fight Club reigning supreme). The narrator of Hornby's debut novel High Fidelity is, as I chose to describe him, trying to figure out what he wants to do with the cards he's been dealt. He's got a pretty cool-sounding, if not run down, record shop in London, a long term partner he seems relatively comfortable if not head over heels in love with, and an annoying affinity for making everything about his favorite music and list-making. I think the form of this book is so cool; we start out reading one of these lists from our narrator, Rob -- a quite long list detailing his top 5 heartbreaks or breakups. This list is addressed to someone named Laura which we find out not too far down the narrative road is Rob's current long term partner who's decided to cut things off and move out. Thus begins a slow and painful downward spiral for Rob, a descent that just keeps going due to Rob's inability to really look at himself and the decisions he's made. I had my moments of frustration with this guy, mainly due to some of the comments he makes about women that make me wonder if all guys think alike. But I also found myself undeniably rooting for him to finally face truths about himself it's clear he is willfully ignoring. Truths concerning unresolved trauma from past relationships, self esteem issues, possible dreams of a career beyond his humble record shop, etc. In short, this character had deeply buried potential I clung to throughout the entire book, wishing and hoping that he'd get his act together. And my opinion upon reaching the novel's end is that there is hope for Rob. We see him surrounded by community, with Laura in the exact same place they met, coming to a slow realization that he can be more empathetic to how she functions in their relationship. I think Hornby purposefully leaves this ending pretty vague, but I appreciate it all the same because it's better than the end of Catcher in the Rye (a book I love, but find unsatisfying in its unreliable narrator's growth). I'm gonna have to go watch the film adaptation of this now to see how they managed to make a book where relatively nothing happens into an hour and fifty three minute movie.

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Some of my favorite quotes from High Fidelity:

​"It's only just beginning to occur to me that it's important to have something going on somewhere, at work or at home, otherwise you're just clinging on."

"I can see everything once it's already happened---I'm very good at the past. It's the present I can't understand."

"You know the worst thing about being rejected? The lack of control."

"... self-consciousness is a man's worst enemy."

"Sour. Bitter. Everyone seems to agree that I don't taste very nice."

"It's like everyone's a supporting actor in the film of your life story."

"Are you intending to stay the same for the rest of your life?" (Laura to Rob)

"She knew I needed a kick up the backside."

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