Hulu’s High Fidelity Readalikes

Created on January 20, 2022, 3:19 pm

Last Updated March 19, 2024, 3:14 pm

For Valentine's Day 2020, Hulu released a brand new adaptation of High Fidelity, starring Zoë Kravitz as Rob Brooks, a record store owner trying to face the common thread in her "Top Five Heartbreaks." Whether you spent the weekend watching the entire series or you haven't started yet, here are some books that capture the one constant in Rob's life: music.
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High Fidelity has been adapted into a movie, a Broadway musical, and now, a Hulu series. But before all that, it was a novel. You can't really go wrong with the original. Can you spot the main difference between the book and the show? Hint: It's Rob.
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Music is as much a character in High Fidelity as Rob and her "Top Five Heartbreaks." These connected short stories, from a master storyteller, also entwine music with heavy emotions.
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This memoir, though a bit of a wild card, is about the lead vocalist of Sleater-Kinney, Carrie Brownstein. She tells what it's like to be a real-life "riot grrrl" rock star. Rob only wants to be rock star adjacent; Carrie is the real deal.
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One of the joys of Rob's life is listening to live music. In this novel, live music is illegal, due to the size of the audience. It wonders at what life looks like, what music sounds like, when concerts are only allowed to happen in cyberspace.
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Both stories revolve around a music store, its owner, and daring to take a chance on new love.
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A theme in High Fidelity is growing up and discarding old patterns. Brian and Gretchen don't have old patterns yet. They're just trying to figure it all out.
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Rob knows a lot about the behind-the-scenes drama of Fleetwood Mac. If Daisy Jones and the Six were a real band, Rob would totally know this entire story, and then some.
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Hulu's adaptation of High Fidelity differs from its source material by casting Rob, originally a white man, as a black woman. Yet it leaves Rob's love and deep knowledge of music. Hopper's collection is 15 years of her writing about music, essentially building a Rob-worthy playlist.
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