HORNBY'S everyman style of comedy isn't everybody's cup of tea. He takes you to the heart of the character and the issue, but some-times it's nice to join up the dots yourself.
In this, his fourth novel, he puts his four characters at the top of a tower block on New Year's Eve.
Ostensibly, the only thing shared by the four - Martin, a disgraced TV presenter; Maureen, a despairing mother of a disabled son; Jess, the rich girl rebel and JJ, the failed musician - is a desire to kill themselves. But as the novel unfolds in a succession of short chapters, each told in the first person by the characters in turn, you realise they have something in common; they all sound alike.
Hornby also struggles to hit the right tone with his subject matter.
Ultimately you never believe his characters want to kill themselves, nor do you really believe in them.
Updated: 08:50 Saturday, July 09, 2005
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