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About a Boy
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About a Boy
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About a Boy
Ebook328 pages4 hours

About a Boy

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this ebook

A wise, hilarious novel from the beloved, award-winning author of Dickens and Prince, Funny Girl and High Fidelity

Will Freeman may have discovered the key to dating success: If the simple fact that they were single mothers meant that gorgeous women – women who would not ordinarily look twice a Will – might not only be willing, but enthusiastic about dating him, then he was really onto something. Single mothers – bright, attractive, available women – thousands of them, were all over London. He just had to find them.

SPAT: Single Parents – Alone Together. It was a brilliant plan. And Will wasn’t going to let the fact that he didn’t have a child himself hold him back. A fictional two-year-old named Ned wouldn’t be the first thing he’d invented. And it seems to go quite well at first, until he meets an actual twelve-year-old named Marcus, who is more than Will bargained for…
LanguageEnglish
PublisherPenguin Group
Release dateMay 1, 1999
ISBN9781101147368
Unavailable
About a Boy
Author

Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby (Maidenhead, 1957), licenciado por la Universidad de Cambridge, ha ejercido de profesor, periodista y guionista. En Anagrama se recuperaron sus tres extraordinarios primeros libros, Fiebre en las gradas: «Memorable» (José Martí Gómez, La Vanguardia); Alta fidelidad: «Con una importancia equiparable a lo que representaron para la juventud de su tiempo El guardián entre el centeno, de J. D. Salinger, o En el camino, de Jack Kerouac» (Enrique Blanc, Reforma); y Un gran chico: «Una lectura sumamente recomendable; un tipo que escribe de maravilla» (Jorge Casanova, La Voz de Galicia). Luego se ha ido publicando su obra posterior: Cómo ser buenos: «Un clásico de la literatura cómica. El humor y la mordacidad con los que Hornby se enfrenta a la historia no están reñidos con la penetración psicológica y la profundidad» (Ignacio Martínez de Pisón); 31 canciones: «Muy inteligente y ligero en el mejor sentido. Encantador también, ya lo creo» (Francisco Casavella); En picado: «Brillante novela coral de un autor de libros tan brillantes como modernos» (Mercedes Monmany, ABC); Todo por una chica: «Nick Hornby es capaz de levantar una de sus fábulas urbanas contemporáneas y de adornarla con la principal virtud de su literatura: el encanto» (Pablo Martínez Zarracina, El Norte de Castilla); Juliet, desnuda: «Dulce y amarga a la vez, muestra al mejor Hornby» (Amelia Castilla, El País); Funny Girl: «Fina, mordaz e inteligente... Una auténtica delicia» (Fran G. Matute, El Mundo), y Alguien como tú: «Encuentra su fuerza narrativa en la capacidad comunicativa de Hornby, en la calidez y la verdad con que retrata situaciones que todos hemos vivido o podríamos vivir» (Sergi Sánchez, El Periódico).

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Rating: 4.015873015873016 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one of several books that I'll never tire of rereading. I wouldn't call the prose challenging (I finished it in an evening), but Hornby chooses his words well; it's quite clever and quotable. I'm a conservative woman from a nuclear family, yet I related quite strongly to both Will and Marcus, which I think speaks to Hornby's ability to craft multi-layered, interesting characters that are easy to become invested in. I've read High Fidelity, A Long Way Down, Fever Pitch, and How To Be Good, and this is by far my favorite of his novels. I'll definitely be reading more Hornby in the future.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I don't remember it very well, but I did recommend it to my husband, who normally reads mystery/thrillers and sci-fi, so it must be pretty good.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is an entertaining, witty story that will catch you laughing out loud and unable to put it down! Enjoy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    “This thing about looking for someone less different... It only really worked, he realized, if you were convinced that being you wasn't so bad in the first place.” This is a coming of age tale but one about coming of age at middle age. Will is 36,does not work instead living off the royalties on a Christmas song that his father wrote decades ago, he spends his days lying around the house smoking,drinking and watching TV or listening to music or out shopping as he likes to consider himself 'cool'. His evenings he spends trying to pick up women for casual sex. In essence he is commitment-phobic. One days he meets and beds a single mother and discovers someone else who is also not looking for commitment. Suddenly he realises that here is a new source of casual sex that he had not previously considered so he invents a two year old son so that he can join a single parent group. While on a single parent outing he meets Marcus, a gawky pre-teen kid who allows his mum to choose everything for him,clothes,hair style,music etc. On returning to Marcus's family home they discover his mother slumped on the settee covered in vomit as result of a failed suicide attempt. Will soon learns that Marcus and his mum have recently moved to London from Cambridge and are finding it hard to adapt.Marcus's mum,Fiona, is clinically depressed and constantly tearful whilst Marcus is being bullied at school because he is new and different from the other kids thus realising that Marcus is having a really bad time of it. So when Marcus follows him home one day Will takes pity and allows him into his life. Later Will meets Rachel, a single mother,and falls in love with her whilst Marcus is befriended by Ellie,a rebellious 15 year old girl who is obsessed with Kurt Cobain and battling against authority.The book is written with alternate chapters from both Will and Marcus so constructing a very interesting paradox between the too serious Marcus and the too irresponsible Will. This allows Hornby to show the same event from two differing perspectives with sometimes comic results that only the reader can visualize. Through their friendship we see both Marcus and Will grow. Will begins to realise that 'no man is an island' and that responsibility is not all bad whereas Marcus begins to stand up to his estranged parents and finds his own voice.This is a relatively easy read with its language but not necessarily with its message which makes the reader examine their own relationships. I personally found Marcus's circus pyramid analogy very thought provoking. In a world of ever shifting relationships and changing family dynamics this is a very entertaining read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    About a Boy is a book that I've dreamed about - a meaningful book about human relationships ( as opposed to adventures) that is to the point and not chock full of rambling and embellishing imagery. Sadly, I'm very honest, and I can't rate this 5/5. The reason why I like this book and why I can't give it a bogus score are the same. I'm very like Marcus. The old me is like the old Marcus from before he changed at the end. The newer me is still like him. But enough of us. The titular reference to Nirvana hit me after the umpteenth mention of the grunge band. It was kind of daft, so many dropping references to Nirvana. But though I can see the point, it felt still gratuitous. The tricky thing that Nick Hornby has gotten into was that, it was difficult to pull of treating the death of a real person, more so when he's such a celebrity. I once based an essay on the death of former manager of Manchester United, Matt Busby. A friend of mine told me it was not conducive to a good piece of homework. He was right. The clear and superbly understandable writing of the author was a conscious decision. It makes me want to read High Fidelity. One distinguishing characteristic of this book is its strong chapters. I feel a lot of thought got put into when to end chapters. The endings are definite, strong, and meaningful. That decision was very apparently resonant around chapters 15 to 18. There are books that have chapter endings such as " she was relieved to find the window unbroken" or " she felt at home here in the doughnut shop". Yeah, I read a quite a few cozy mysteries. But my point is, whenever cliffhangers are propped at the end of chapters in About A Boy, they catch the readers' attention. It was only at the end of chapter 32 that I noticed there were only two cliffhangers in total in the book. I don't know why the movie version's finale centered about a stupid music day at Marcus's school. I was relieved when the book turned out to be different. In any book, there is a character most responsible for the book to end. A book needs to have an end, of course. In Lord Of The Rings, the person most responsible for the ending was Gandalf. Here the candidates for this accolade (is that the right word?) are Marcus, Rachel, and to a lesser extent, Will. They all precipitated events and the breakthrough, which was the emerging of Will and Marcus as healthier members of the society. Marcus allowed Will to get closer to Rachel. In a way Rachel got Marcus together with Will. It's not apparent, but it's there. So there we have it, my honest review and my honest rating. Bye.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a throughouly amazing book. This is my second Hornby novel (first was [book: High Fidelity]. And I loved every minute of it. This was literally a book that I did not want to put down. I am an devoted reader, but this book was not just reading for something to do, I wanted to read because the characters were so fun. Both of the Hornby books I've read after seeing the associated movies, and I worry that that is perhaps why I think they are so great: I already have a cast of characters in my head acting. Whatever it is, this book was fun. Perhaps now I shall have to venture to reading a book that hasn't been a movie first...
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    RABCK from hostile17; Very humorous - I could almost hear Hugh Grant's voice throughout in the role of Will, the inept womanizer, who despite himself gets caught up making friends with women who have children. Marcus, one of the preteen boys, decides to latch on to him and not give up, with hilarious results. Tagged and off to Egypt next.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Thoroughly enjoyable. Humorous and sad. Old and young. I saw the movie first so I kept visualizing Hugh Grant as Will. The relationship between a nerdy, intelligent 12 year old boy and a 30 something financially independent playboy was so fun to read. It was great to watch how they learned from each other and enriched each other's lives. Totally believable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Marcus, an unusual 12-year-old and Will, a detached 36-year-old cross paths in an unexpected way and find themselves forming an odd friendship. The two seem to have nothing in common, but somehow they bond. Marcus’ mother struggles with depression and his father lives out of town. In addition to that he is mercilessly bullied at school. Will provides a bit of objective advice about his life and a safe haven for the overwhelmed boy. “Sometimes Marcus sounded as though he were a hundred years old, and it broke Will’s heart.” I love the way Hornby writes and the characters he creates. You don’t actually have to like the characters to like the story. I really appreciated the fact that Hornby didn’t force some unbelievable romantic relationship into the story. He lets the friendship take center stage. His books often revolve around man-children who are terrified to grow up and accept any real responsibility. Will definitely meets those requirements and he bugged me throughout the book. He is supposed to be so incredibly cool, but he just came across as a complete loser to me. He has no real friends or family. He has never held a job in his entire life. Every single decision he makes is completely selfish and self-serving and he is a habitual liar. All of those are red-flags and if I found out a guy I was dating lied about having a child, I think that would be a serious deal-breaker.Marcus was by far by favorite part of the book. His odd way of looking at the world (possibly autistic?) is so honest, but also heartbreaking. He’s completely logical, but can’t pick up on normal social cues or sarcasm. It’s his influence on Will, unknowingly encouraging him to take a risk and try to engage in his own life, which had the biggest impact on me. It made me a bit sad that Marcus changed so much by the end of the book. “All three of them had had to lose things in order to gain other things. Will had lost his shell and his cool and his distance, and he felt scared and vulnerable, but he got to be with Rachel; and Fiona had lost a big chunk of Marcus, and she got to stay away from the casualty ward; and Marcus had lost himself, and he got to walk home from school with his shoes on.” BOTTOM LINE: I enjoyed this odd story about an unlikely friendship. It’s not my favorite Hornby novel (that would be High Fidelity and Juliet, Naked), but it’s up there. It’s also a good place to start with his work. I have a feeling that Marcus will stick with me for quite a while.  
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is my favourite yet this year. Why?

    Will let Marcus butter the crumpets because he loved doing it. It was much better than buttering toast, beccause with toast you had that thing where if the butter was too cold and hard all you could do was scrape off the brown that made toast what it was, and he hated that. With crumpets it was effortless: you just put a lump of butter on top, waited for a few seconds, then messed it about until it started to disappear into the holes. It was one of the few occasions in life where things seemed to go right every time.

    Crumpets!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's been some years since I read this, but I know I bought it secondhand while on holiday in France & the UK (after having left a book behind in a French motel) and found it very enjoyable. It's difficult to recall details after such a long time, but I do know that I particularly liked the fact that this is not, despite initial appearances, a romance.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A quick, easy and delightful read. The subject matter is not terribly complex, but what it lacks in deep, dark, existential angst, it makes up in its deft execution of the topic at hand. I think most people would consider this book a very easy read, the language is simple, there are parts that are embarrassingly funny (if you're reading it in public), and the characters are all genuinely flawed and likeable (albeit, caricatured for the purpose of the story).

    This was the first novel I read after having seen the movie, and it was interesting to see the differences the director/screenwriter made. I liked both for different reasons, and I think the movie had strengths that the novel did not, and vice-versa - this novel/movie strengthened my conviction that movies and novels are two very, very different media, even when the underlying stories are the same.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    I love Hornby's ability to create odd, flawed, weird -- yet wholly sympathetic characters. In About A Boy, a nerdy 12 year-old is getting bullied at school, and he turns to a disconnected, slacker 30-something -- who invented a two year-old son to make it easier to meet single moms -- for help.

    Along the way we become acquainted with a whole raft of interesting people, and like all Hornby's stuff, the dialogue crackles with energy.

    Hornby's protagonists are usually cynical 30-something males who are lost and rudderless, and by the end of the book, this one is moving in a purposeful direction, though it's all done without any cloying, Hollywood-style (re: unbelievable) miracles.

    It's another reason Hornby has become a favorite writer.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When what I'm looking for is a fluffy, warm-fuzzy read, Nick Hornby is my go-to guy. It's "chick lit" that isn't cloyingly sentimental, but isn't something I need to analyze to death to truly appreciate. About a Boy has a certain heaviness to it--a suicidal mother, a man getting mixed up in a kid's life despite is best intentions--but it still manages to be reasonably light. It's exactly what I was looking for in an airport read (because standard chick lit would make me want to hurl myself from the plane).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    After starting off with The Knife of Never Letting Go and putting it down after 15 pages, I was looking for something a little different and a faster read for the end of January. I found that in About a Boy.It's not that the book was overly light, because it does deal with depression, bullying, and a suicide attempt (what is with me and these psych books lately?!). However, it was easy to read. The prose wasn't overly dense, and there were funny moments.I definitely "got" Marcus and the fact that he didn't fit in in school, because I never fit in either. His story is a great coming of age narrative, even if he is only 12.But the book isn't overly young-adult-y, as a book about a 12-year-old could get. It was as much about the adults as the kid. In fact, I think Will came of age too, not just Marcus. To me, both Marcus and Will are the "boy" of the title. Since it was written around the time of Kurt Cobain's death, I knew that event was going to play a part in the novel, and I found that fascinating. I like Nirvana and am a Cobain fan, so the way he came into the story was really cool for me.I was surprised at how quickly I was able to read the novel. It was just what I needed to finish out a solid January of reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    About a Boy is a quirky, funny novel, and although the ending is a little anticlimactic, I absolutely loved this story and its charming characters. Hornby is clearly is an excellent writer and I’m interested to read more of his books.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book isn’t about much – I mean, there’s not much plot. What it is about is people trying to figure out their lives, just as we all are doing. Each character seems like someone you might know: a friend, an acquaintance, someone you glance at in a coffeeshop and wonder about. They bumble through their lives, and in the process, they come together and make one another’s lives a little better.At the heart of the story is a boy – a 12-year-old outsider who can’t fit in to his London school and whose mother has recently attempted suicide. He meets a man – an aimless, rich, 30-nothing trying desperately to fill his days while avoiding becoming connected to anyone. Almost against their wills, the two become friends and manage to help each other make the human connections they’ve been needing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If you were a fan of the movie version like me, you will love the novel that came first. Let me start by saying that the movie adaptation was remarkably faithful. Not only did they keep the plot, but the rhythm of the novel was maintained as well.Which just goes to show, when something isn't broken, don't fix it. About a Boy was simply perfect the way that it was, no need to mess with that sort of brilliance.For those that didn't see the movie (which you should), it follows a man who hasn't grown up whose life collides with a teenage boy whose life is too hard. They both learn something, and in the end everything falls into place. The ending is in no way trite though. Yes, people fall in love and things end a bit happily-ever-after, but the novel at no time feels inauthentic. It reads like real life.The satire was brilliantly executed, the characters believable and sharp, and the plot was oddly endearing. About a Boy is a rather quirky little novel, but I loved it for that exact reason. It was strange and sweet and crazy. It may also be one of my new favourite novels. How can you blame me though?So, needless to say, I loved this book. I cannot recommend it highly enough!!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So glad that I've finally read this - I took full advantage of a day off and didn't put it down (apart from when we watched the film).The characters felt really real. Will should not have been that likeable, but he was; I just wanted to give Marcus a hug. :-)Really clever how it had moments that were hilarious followed by really sad bits, then bits that made you laugh, but shouldn't have because it was totally inappropriate.The ending was different to the film and I think both worked in their own way.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    About a Boy is a funny and touching book about an adult who needs a lesson in being adult and a teenager who needs a lesson in being a teenager. Of course they learn these lessons from spending time together, otherwise there would be no story. But Nick Hornby lets them learn in an endearing, gripping, and realistic way.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Will has lots of money and no life experience. Marcus has no friends, no money and no hope of being rescued from his slide in social exile. Fiona is a depressed hippie, trying to raise a 12-year-old son in North London. They meet because Will decides single mothers are an as yet untapped resource. They actually end up having quite a good time together.This is the first Nick Hornby I've enjoyed. He uses very different characters from the other two, which were replete with emo 30-somethings struggling with life. In this novel, Will has no struggles, Marcus is all struggle but is twelve (and excellently portrayed, I thought), and Fiona is depressed and really struggling - but crucially Fiona is never the narrator.I do find it a bit odd that Hornby's novels are consistently and unrelentingly set in Holloway. Clearly I'm not cool enough to live there and to get the in-jokes.All the spare characters were well-developed and witty as well - Rachel, the beautiful single mother with the homicidal son; Ellie, who worships Kurt Cobain and adopts Marcus; Clive, Marcus' absent father, and Lindsey, his dappy new girlfriend (and her omnipresent mother!). All of the characters are a bit crazy, but just on the right side of believably crazy - unlike the extras in How To Be Good.The premise is bizarre - a single man, rich from the royalties of a single song his father wrote, goes in search of partners at a Single Parents' Therapy Group... and Marcus tries to feed a duck a whole loaf of baguette in one go, with disastrous consequences. All of it stays just on the credible line, which makes it funny but somehow never quite laugh out loud funny.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I might have rated it more if I were into that style of books. It's actually fun to read it at one go it doesn't ever get boring. A boy who acts too old for his age with a mother who has opinions different than others would have. And a man who is 36 but has never worked and is more childlike than the boy. Who helps who most?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a lot easier to read, but not quite as thought-provoking, as Hornby's previous offerings 'Hi Fidelity' and 'Fever Pitch'. Smooth as a strawberry milkshake, full of lively prose and clever observations, but feels a bit like 'chick-lit'. I was gutted along with the narrator over the trainers incident, but I found his logic in pursuing single mothers a bit odd, and hard to buy into.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I had seen half of the film. I had heard about the author. So, by the time when I was suppose to read this novel, I knew a bit of what to expect. However, the novel surprised me. I had never read "funny" novels and I wondered how it would be. I found the novel entertaining, fun and touching. I loved the style with all the witty lines, the pure thought of people, the random details, the repetitive questioning from Marcus's mother. Each character introduced in the story had their story, their personality, their style and it was visible and clear. As the story progressed and developed, I found myself involved and hoping and frustrated and I absolutely loved this. For being the first novel that I read of Nick Hornby, this was indeed very promising.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A great read, and if you've already seen the movie then get ready because the book ends differently. Hornby takes on some pretty heavy stuff (suicide, parenthood, loneliness) with a fantastic sense of humor and characters that keep you hanging on for more. The Nirvana/Kurt Cobain thread dates it a little bit, but in a fun way for those of us Gen Xers who were also in Junior High & High School during the early Nineties. Just a good domestic fiction.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The best part of this book is definitely the scene with dead duck, so unfortunately killed with horrible French baguette.As regards „the models of family in modern society“, which is said to be the base level of the book (although it is cleverly hidden under Hornby’s neverending jokes), I would not take it much seriously. The book is fun, but nothing more. It is not analysis of society; much more something like classical and therefore pretty predictable „light“, undemanding reading.I disliked the chosen form of narrative, the story is too static because of it. And also a bit superficial. Although the characters love to talk about life and its perspectives, you do not see them to think. All their dialogues are quite poor, when they come to deal with those „philosophical“ topics. And the book’s conclusion suffers heavily from this.(In margine: The czech translation is also nothing to be admired.)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoy Nick Hornby's writing and I really enjoyed this one. Having seen the movie first it is quite difficult to picture anyone except Hugh Grant in the title role. He really was a perfect choice for this I think.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one of several books that I'll never tire of rereading. I wouldn't call the prose challenging (I finished it in an evening), but Hornby chooses his words well; it's quite clever and quotable. I'm a conservative woman from a nuclear family, yet I related quite strongly to both Will and Marcus, which I think speaks to Hornby's ability to craft multi-layered, interesting characters that are easy to become invested in. I've read High Fidelity, A Long Way Down, Fever Pitch, and How To Be Good, and this is by far my favorite of his novels. I'll definitely be reading more Hornby in the future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the story of Will, 36, a man who knows more about being a child than being an adult, and Marcus, 12, a boy who knows more about being an adult than being a child. This is the story of their unlikely relationship and how they each help the other to live a fuller, happier life. Definitely cute, definitely well-written, and definitely an easy read. I'd recommend this for anyone in the mood for a mental break.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love Nick Hornby. His narrator's voice is like that of a great friend - you appreciate his humor, you understand him well, sometimes he drives you crazy....all the elements that draw you in and keep you engrossed in the story. I cared about these characters, warts and all.