High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Hi, everyone! This is Og Maciel from Bellwether, here with your weekly book recommendation, which comes out every Tuesday. I hope you enjoyed last week's episode. This week, I'm excited to recommend "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby.
This book was originally published in 1995, but I didn't really become aware of it until the movie adaptation came out in 2000. I ended up reading the book a few years after watching the movie, and let me tell you, the movie was really, really cool! I’ll dive into that a bit more later on.
The book resonated with me, especially because of the main character, Rob Fleming, who is a total music fanatic and owns a record shop called Championship Vinyl. Now, while I’ve never been quite as obsessed as Rob, music has always played an important role in my life. There are certain songs that instantly transport me back to specific people, places, and even smells—kind of weird, right? But that's the power of music; it can bring back memories in a way nothing else can.
I think the first time I really started paying attention to music was back in 1984. I was just 10 years old, and my family and I went to this party. It was the first time I remember dancing—not just dancing, but dancing in public. Before that party, the idea of dancing in front of others was completely foreign to me. But something about the music just got to me, and I started dancing spontaneously. I had a blast and came home sweating profusely but feeling great. That experience sparked my interest in music, and from then on, whenever I was home from school, I’d turn on the radio and really start to pay attention to what I was hearing.
That year, 1984, was also when I asked my parents to buy me my very first vinyl: Like a Virgin by Madonna. Madonna was huge in the mid-80s, and I must’ve listened to that record a million times. That was just the beginning, of course, but it’s safe to say that since then, music has always been a big part of my life.
As I’ve gotten older, my taste in music has definitely evolved. These days, I find myself appreciating jazz and blues a lot more. A couple of years ago, I really got into Ella Fitzgerald—she became the soundtrack of my work trips abroad. I listened to a lot of jazz and blues, those slower tempo genres that I started to really connect with as I got older. There was also a time when I was heavily into rap, but I was pretty particular about it. Back in college, it was all about Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. If you could go back in time, you’d find me in my dorm room, jamming out to a lot of rap. It was a far cry from what I had been listening to before, but that’s just how my music taste has always been—constantly evolving.
By the time I was a senior in college, I was really into Nirvana and had rediscovered The Doors. My music taste fluctuates a lot, but each song and band holds a special place in my heart, tied to different times in my life. And, to bring it back to the book, for every girl I’ve ever fallen in love with, there’s at least one song that brings back memories—mostly of heartbreak until I met my wife, of course. But I can definitely think of several songs that are deeply connected to someone special from my past.
Back to the book—Rob, the main character, goes through a breakup with his long-term girlfriend, Laura, which sends him on a journey to figure out why every relationship he’s had seems to end in heartbreak, and of course, he believes it’s never his fault. I think I had similar thoughts when I was younger. So, Rob starts calling up some of his ex-girlfriends—he actually has a little notebook with their numbers written down. He makes a lot of calls, hits some dead ends, but eventually compiles his top five list of girls he wants to reconnect with, just to get some closure.
The book is filled with great dialogue between Rob and the people who work at his store. They’re always talking about making lists—top songs for different genres or situations—and some of the conversations are truly, truly funny. It reminded me of when I was younger, before CDs and Napster, when I used to make mixtapes for friends, and definitely for whoever I had a crush on at the time. Making those tapes was a fun process that brought back a lot of memories. If you’ve seen the movie or read the book, which I highly recommend, and if you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
The movie stars John Cusack as Rob, though they changed his last name to Gordon. And then there’s Jack Black, who plays this hilariously annoying music snob who works at the store and shames anyone whose taste doesn’t meet his high standards. The movie has a lot of great scenes that I highly recommend checking out. I did watch a more recent adaptation where Rob is played by a woman, but it didn’t quite capture the same vibe as the original, so I’d stick with the 2000 version.
I won’t spoil how the book ends, but there are some really great conversations about music and the emotions it evokes in people. Nick Hornby does an amazing job of tying it all together—this journey of introspection, what love means, and the influence music has on our lives.
So, this week’s book recommendation is "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby. Give it a shot, and let me know what you think! If you’re enjoying Bellwether’s audible book recommendations, drop me a line—I’d love to know if I should keep these going. Until next week, thanks for listening, and keep reading!
Author's Style
Nick Hornby1 is a British author known for his sharp, relatable narratives and his deep love for music, which frequently features in his work. His writing is characterized by its humor, honesty, and ability to capture the complexities of everyday life. Besides "High Fidelity", Hornby is also the author of other popular novels such as About a Boy, Fever Pitch, and Juliet, Naked, many of which have been adapted into successful films.