“A Long Way Down” by Nick Hornby
Saw this novel first time in Aksara Bookstore at Plaza Indonesia about 2 months ago, but I didn’t buy it since it’s in hardcover. I already forgot about it when I found the paperback version at the same place.
It’s a story of 4 persons trying to kill themselves jumping down the street from a tower block in London in New Year’s Eve. First was Martin, a tv presenter just out of prison for the crime of sleeping with a 15 year old girl. Then came Maureen, a 40 something mother with a disabled son. And then Jess, a young girl with a complicated cynical mind, who happened to be the one so close to jump if not stopped by Martin and Maureen. And the last was JJ, an american, a musician ended up a pizza deliverer, broken heart for the splitting of his band and left by his girlfriend.
Somehow they decide not to jump at that night, they made plan to meet, to gather for themselves, any one may jump after 6 weeks. They met and even spent a holiday and extent the "due date" to 31 March. They got interesting journey through those days, like how they sold a fake story to the media saying they decided not to jump because they saw an angel who looked like Matt Damon telling them not to.
It’s a funny story on a serious subject, suicide. A good one, only the ending is not so good.
