A Long Way Down

''Extremely funny . . . and wise'' Sunday Times

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

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''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.

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''Hornby''s best yet'' Literary Review

''Impossible to put down'' Ruth Rendell, Guardian

''Some of the finest writing I''ve ever had the pleasure of reading'' Johnny Depp