A Long Way Down Av Nick Hornby

<p><b>''Extremely funny . . . and wise''</b><i> Sunday Times</i><br><br>NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE<br><b><i>__________________________<br><br>''Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?''</i></b><br><br>For disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp the answer''s pretty simple: he has, in his own words, ''pissed his life away''. And on New Year''s Eve he''s going to end it all . . . but not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash Martin''s private party. They''ve stolen his idea - but brought their own reasons.<br><br>Yet it''s hard to jump when you''ve got an audience queuing impatiently behind you. A few heated words and some slices if cold pizza later and these four strangers are suddenly allies. But is their unlikely friendship a good enough reason to carry on living?<br><br><b>Shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize, <i>A Long Way Down