A LONG WAY DOWN by Nick Hornby

FIC

HORNBY

The setting is New Year's Eve 2003 on the roof of Topper's House in London, a popular suicide spot. Four strangers converge there, each wanting to end his life in privacy. Maureen is a devout Catholic and single mother to a severely disable adult son. Martin, a former TV host, is just out of prison for statutory rape. JJ is an American who broke up with his girlfriend and was fired from his dream job in a rock band. Teenage Jess, the flighty daughter of a politician, was dumped by her boyfriend. The result of their rooftop meeting is a special bond. That night they forge an agreement not to kill themselves for ninety days. In their attempts to support each other, they provide a moving and lively read.

WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS by Kazuo Ishiguro

FIC

ISH

This book is challenging, and, to my mind, much more effective as a book on tape. One reading might be inclined to skip ahead of what is incomprehensible, and therefore boring, without allowing seemingly insignificant details and images to coalesce and become meaningful.

Christoper Banks is a renowned London detective with a tragic past: his parents disappeared from their home in Shanghai when he was ten. Twenty years later he decides to return to Shanghai to solve the mystery. Why did he wait so long? Why are the only people who penetrate his isolation fellow orphans? Why do people surrounding him bolster his delusions?

When We Were Orphans is a fascinating book, certainly not for everyone, by a rewarding reading experience nonetheless.