“Those days are gone, and good fucking riddance to them; unhappiness really meant something back then. Now it's just a drag, like a cold or having no money. If you really wanted to mess me up, you should have got to me earlier.”

British novelist and essayist, 1957–present. He blends sharp social observation with humor in works like *Fever Pitch*, a memoir about football fandom, and *High Fidelity*, a novel exploring music, relationships, and regret. His writing often captures the mundane and the emotional with wit and honesty.