Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of High Fidelity

High Fidelity
High Fidelity
Author: Nick Hornby
The Market's bargain prices are even better for Paperbackswap club members!
Retail Price: $16.00
Buy New (Paperback): $12.79 (save 20%) or
Become a PBS member and pay $8.89+1 PBS book credit Help icon(save 44%)
ISBN-13: 9781573225519
ISBN-10: 1573225517
Publication Date: 8/1/1996
Pages: 336
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 280

4 stars, based on 280 ratings
Publisher: Riverhead
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

43 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed High Fidelity on + 22 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Was an okay book, liked 'About a Boy' much better. Was slightly better than the film, but not very engaging.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 61 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you haven't seen the movie, you should. If you haven't read the book, well it's better than the movie. Nick Hornby is one of the best music writers living, and High Fidelity is a fun romp through one man's head.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 20 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Good Story! I loved the movie with John Cusack and hadn't realized it was based on a book. What a wonderful surprise that the movie followed the book closely!!!
reviewed High Fidelity on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I loved the movie and so I read the book - it was even better than the movie! It's also exposed me to some music that I love as well. Also read Hornby's Songbook - almost a memoir; a guide to songs he loves and why.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A great book. If you like Soccer..you should read Nick's other books. This book is filled with Love, Love Lost...and a Man searching for answers.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 7 more book reviews
I saw the movie first, and may not have gotten into Nick Hornby's work otherwise, but he's very, very good. It pretty much describes my generation and the type of music snobbery plus wacky relationships and post-relationship regrets we all have gone through.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 2 more book reviews
Couldn't get into it at all
cabbitofharuka avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 8 more book reviews
This book is just as good as, if not better than, the film. For anyone who likes the style of narration and witty delivery that Nick Hornby provides, this book will be a treasure.
berd avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 214 more book reviews
Hornby intertwines humor and austerity with a finesse not all writers can achieve. Although the mood of the book stays fairly dry, he pulls in humor to keep you wanting more. If you are interested in the male perspective on relationships, I would suggest this book. I give it 4 stars.
onlyonenita avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 14 more book reviews
I loved this book. It was funny, interesting, and a page turner. I love John Cusack and he did a great job in the movie, but they could not fully transform the book into a film.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 10 more book reviews
"It is rare that a book so hilarious is also so sharp about sex, manliness, memory and music" The New Yorker
reviewed High Fidelity on + 25 more book reviews
aaaaaaaAAA. Saw the movie and that was enough. Not my cup 'a tea.
reviewed High Fidelity on
great dialogue, clever, and doesn't feel forced.
reviewed High Fidelity on
Great book for anyone who likes music as much as he/she likes reading!
maggiemaynj avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 32 more book reviews
'its rare that a book so hilarious is also so sharpabout sex,manliness, memory, and music' 'an all too true- guys tale'
reviewed High Fidelity on + 10 more book reviews
Nick Hornby is a genius-- he captures the sense of loner-angst so amazingly well. This book, also made into a movie, is a great, quirky story of a guy who is quite unlucky in love-- until the end, of course.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 9 more book reviews
definitely not the type of book i would recommend to just anyone, but it was a good take on pop culture obsession and relationships. if you can't relate to infatuations with musicians and record store binges, you may miss a lot of the significance of what hornby writes, but i rather liked the references and musician babble. the love story behind is well conceived and entertaining, and much more honest than i was expecting. hornby definitely spills a load of secrets that the typical man would leave upspoken.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 101 more book reviews
One of my favorites, tough to put down!
reviewed High Fidelity on + 8 more book reviews
Really fun book -- one of Hornby's best.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 12 more book reviews
This book was pretty funny and still dealtwith some serious issues - I love Hornby. FYI - people waiting for this book can order a version published earlier in 1995 by Riverhead/Berkley under isbn 1-57322-551-7.
gil avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 66 more book reviews
First thing to note is that the book and movie are different. But very similar. The book takes place in England, the movie in the States.
That aside, this book is hilarious and any music lover, failing relationship holder, slacker, person unknown of their own future, will laugh out loud while reading this book.
from amazon.com:
It has been said often enough that baby boomers are a television generation, but the very funny novel High Fidelity reminds that in a way they are the record-album generation as well. This funny novel is obsessed with music; Hornby's narrator is an early-thirtysomething English guy who runs a London record store. He sells albums recorded the old-fashioned way--on vinyl--and is having a tough time making other transitions as well, specifically adulthood. The book is in one sense a love story, both sweet and interesting; most entertaining, though, are the hilarious arguments over arcane matters of pop music.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 28 more book reviews
Just a great, funny, interesting, thought provoking book about dead end guys working in a record store. Made into a great movie with John Cusak. You'll find yourself making up 10 ten lists like the characters.
Rebemdee avatar reviewed High Fidelity on
Enjoyable, fun read. I even ordered some netflix movies based on the movie "Top 5" list in the book. I had a hard time feeling sorry for the main character, Rob. At 35 years old it was time he grew up and acted like somebody worth loving.
quilty45 avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 100 more book reviews
One of the top ten books of the year,1995, Entertainment Weekly. Written from a guy's point of view. Rob is a pop music junkie with a semi failing record store. His girl leaves him for the guy upstairs. Who gets to be Rob's girlfriend depends on her record collection. Does he really have to sleep with a recording star or can he settle for a "thirtysomething" kind of life.
DEC avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 134 more book reviews
A fun look at a guy's life from inside a guy's head.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 8 more book reviews
I made the mistake of seeing the movie first, so I read the whole thing with John Cusack's voice echoing (which is not all bad) and Jack Black's stupid grin in my head. The book has more depth than the movie, though, and was generally a well-written and fun book to read.
Yoni avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 327 more book reviews
Liked this book very much!
gil avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 66 more book reviews
irst thing to note is that the book and movie are different. But very similar. The book takes place in England, the movie in the States.
That aside, this book is hilarious and any music lover, failing relationship holder, slacker, person unknown of their own future, will laugh out loud while reading this book. Some of the funniest segments are the lists of pop songs. such as top 10 pop songs to play when breaking up.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 6 more book reviews
One of the greatest books ever written, and I am blessed to have read it. It provides a single, mid-thirties, male perspective on life, or at least a look throgh those eyes. Refreshing. I'd keep this book if I could stop the urge to share it with the world.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 98 more book reviews
I enjoyed this book a lot even though I had already seen the movie. Nick Hornby is very talented at writing the inner workings of a person's mind. The review in Details magazine said, "Keep this book away from your girlfriend -- it contains too many of your secrets to let it fall into the wrong hands." I think, though, that plenty of women have the same kinds of thoughts about their lives and relationships as does the male narrator of this book.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 26 more book reviews
Story about an idiosyncratic guy in London who is obsessed with pop music and can't find a woman.
JTG avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 280 more book reviews
Great novel by the author of "About a Boy".
reviewed High Fidelity on + 7 more book reviews
Bitter diatribes and self-deprecating life philosophies have never been such fun. Nick Hornby has taken the ordinary life of an ordinary man and made it an extraordinary exploration of the heart (as well as an extensive perusal of the pop rock section of a small Chicago record store). Anyone who has ever felt lost in love, and had a stack of CDs at their bedside to prove it, will walk away from this book feeling lifted up and no longer alone.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 7 more book reviews
I really enjoyed the movie so I picked up the book and found it to be just as enjoyable.
reviewed High Fidelity on + 8 more book reviews
A fun, quick read
reviewed High Fidelity on + 76 more book reviews
liked it a lot. grows on you!
katiev avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 14 more book reviews
Great Read!! I enjoyed this book!!
reviewed High Fidelity on + 3 more book reviews
Very funny book.
laceylosh avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 53 more book reviews
I absolutely loved the beginning of this book! It sucked me in right away and didnt let up for the whole first part. However, though I thoroughly enjoyed the book as a whole, the second part of the book didnt have quite the same appeal for me that the first part did.

I really enjoyed Robs (the main characters) perspective on relationships and life in general. Hes quite insecure in many ways, but its easy to relate to his thoughts and feelings, especially when he puts such a humorous twist on things. I really loved reading about the dynamic of the record shop and his employees. The guys he works with are just classic characters, the type of guys you feel like you know.

The ending was a little cheesy for my taste, but overall I really enjoyed the book and Im planning to read Hornbys other novels. There are so many others to choose from, I don't know where to start!
okbye avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 24 more book reviews
It's basically a relationship story but from a guy's point of view. I'm not really a relationship story fan but it was interesting because of the different slant.
luluinphilly avatar reviewed High Fidelity on + 367 more book reviews
Sorry, I could not get into this book. Although having John Cusack play Rob in the movie was an excellent choice. Maybe because I saw the movie first and then decided to read the book. Never works when I do that.
reviewed High Fidelity on
Autographed Copy!
reviewed High Fidelity on
this book a a small bent on the front cover. but in good condtion