Rainer Maria Rilke

"Live a while in these books, learn from them what seems to you worth learning, but above all love them. This love will be repaid you a thousand and a thousand times, and however your life may turn,-it will, I am certain of it, run through the fabric of your growth as one of the most important threads among all the threads of your experiences, disappointments, and joys."--Rainer Maia Rilke


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Friday, June 19, 2015

Funny, Nostalgic Read

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Adult Fiction

I didn't expect to like this book nearly as much as I did.  Actually, I had loved the old movie so much that I avoided this on my Kindle until it just begged to be read.  What a waste of time, the waiting that is.  I suppose, since I am of the television, record-playing age, I should have expected to identify right away.

It isn't, though, that I identified, or even liked very much, the main character.  Rob is a pain, to the reader and to everyone in the book, apparently.  His girlfriend, Laura, has recently left him and it's easy to see why.  He's whiny, obsessive, and incapable of making decision.  He's just like a friend I have, and probably everybody has, who has everything going for them only they're too self-absorbed to realize it and end up throwing it all way for an ideal that never turns out just the way they expect. 

Still, the book was easy to love, especially if you grew up listening to and loving real music from real records.  It was a pleasant, nostalgic read with very engaging characters and led to me updating my song list on my iPod.  After all, I'm no Rob.  I can march along with the times.

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