A Long Way Down A Hero's Journey

Have you ever been so down in the dumps you ever thought about taking your own life? JJ, Jess, Martin, and Maureen unexpectedly found each other in a moment of on a rooftop, ready to jump to their deaths. Due to their shared feelings of depression, they were able to support each other through their struggles. Maureen, specifically, had major, life-changing benefits from her experiences with the group. As Nick Hornby's novel, A Long Way Down progresses, Maureen undergoes a major development in identity, embarking on a deep, personal journey alongside the three strangers she unexpectedly befriends on a night of desperation.

Known for his references to pop culture and his comedic style, Nick Hornby is a highly acclaimed writer in modern English literature. He was born into a working class family on April 17, 1957 on the outskirts of London, England (Parkin). His parents divorced when he was eleven years old. Afterward, Nick continued to live with his mother and his sister, seeing his dad only on the weekends ("Nick"). As a child, Hornby developed an infatuation with football, or soccer as it is known in America, from his bonding time with his dad at the England

Other than his tendency to include allusions to pop culture and his sense of humor, he is further recognized for the way he portrays the emotion of males and how his works relate to the common issues men have in their adulthood. He is also known as “the master of internal monologue”, with easily flowing and “witty” prose (Lindgren). However, Jonathan Heawood's analysis on his writing says, “Hornby's not the greatest prose stylist since Henry James. He's a rough and ready, get-the-reader writer. Like Graham Greene, he's one of those rare authors who gets away with being a page turner and a writer with something serious to say at the same time.” His novel, A Long Way Down, surely shows these qualities within his