Review: High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Widely regarded as an ‘instant classic’ when it came out in 1995, High Fidelity was especially noted for its ability to capture ‘every second of its own present’.  However seventeen years down the line, does it stand the test of time?

In terms of plot, it might have been written at any point.  Rob, a record store owner, has recently split up with girlfriend Laura, and goes through (as one of his ex-girlfriends puts it) ‘some kind of what-does-it-all-mean thing’, with Laura lurking all the while in the background, and Rob himself lurking just outside her house.

Hornby’s writing style also certainly endures.  He ingeniously captures the self-conscious internal monologue of anti-hero Rob, particularly in the virtuoso opening where Rob recounts his ‘all-time, top five most memorable split-ups’: ‘Sometimes I got so bored of trying to touch her breasts that I would try to touch her between her legs, a gesture that had a sort of self-parodying wit about it: it was like trying to borrow a fiver, getting turned down, and asking to borrow fifty quid instead’.

Review: Oriel Ball 2012 - Titanic

It might have lacked Magdalen’s price tag, backdrop and (as we heard midway through the night) fireworks, but Oriel’s Titanic themed ball proved a night to remember.

After the pain of finding a White Tie suit to hire on a night with two balls (note to self: don’t procrastinate so long next time, and don’t use web companies which send it a day late and without a waistcoat… Thanks Hire Society) and the drama of getting ready in time (7.30 seems very early for a night out) we taxied our way past the huge line of Magdalen-goers (with many a top hat in evidence) and arrived at Oriel for a queue of our own.

Smooth, first draft

[Comments and opinions very welcome!]

She smiled at me, I think.  It was hard to tell, because she might have been smiling already and just happened to glance up and catch my eye, but I think it was for me.

Of course, that wasn’t why I walked over.  I was with Danny, who was meeting Amy, and since the girls’ school broke up at 3.20 and we were in until 3.45 they would always come and wait outside the gates for us to come out.

It was quite a sight actually, with hindsight.  Small groups of heavenly angels (surely they must have been as spotty as us?) would constellate outside the gates, each keeping furtively to themselves, applying make-up and touching up their hair in the grimy and fractured mirror of the vandalised bus stop.

Smooth - part one

She smiled at me, I think.  It was hard to tell, because she might have been smiling already and just happened to glance up and catch my eye, but I think it was for me.

Of course, that wasn’t why I walked over.  I was with Danny, who was meeting Amy, and since the girls’ school broke up at 3.20 and we were in until 3.45 they would always come and wait outside the gates for us to come out.

It was quite a sight actually, with hindsight.  Small groups of heavenly angels (surely they must have been as spotty as us?) would constellate outside the gates, each keeping furtively to themselves, applying make-up and touching up their hair in the grimy and fractured mirror of the vandalised bus stop.