ABOUT A BOY BY Nick Hornby

Rafael Jiménez Pinuaga

Nick Hornby: Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English
writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir Fever Pitch and novels High
Fidelity and About a Boy, all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's
work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive
natures of his protagonists. His books have sold more than 5 million copies
worldwide as of 2018.[3] In a 2004 poll for the BBC, Hornby was named the 29th
most influential person in British culture.
Genres: Adult fiction, contemporary, humour.
Synopsis:
Will is thirty-six, comfortable and child-free. And he’s discovered a brilliant new
way of meeting women – through single-parent groups. Marcus is twelve and a
little bit nerdish: he’s got the kind of mother who made him listen to Joni Mitchell
rather than Nirvana. Perhaps they can help each other out a little bit, and both
can start to act their age.
Principal Characters:
Will Freeman: Will is in his mid-thirties and enjoys a bachelor lifestyle in London.
Despite his frequent dates and dalliances with women, he is happily single and
maintains that he would not be able to share his life with someone else; Will lives
a luxurious life without needing to work due to a lucrative Christmas hit by his
father. Essentially, Will is incredibly self centered and unable to connect with
other people.
Marcus: Marcus is twelve years old and lives with his mum. He struggles to find
a balance between pleasing his mum (who is an eccentric vegetarian) and
popular culture (Will and people at school). Marcus is the direct opposite to Will;
whilst Will is concerned with appearance and scared by commitment and love,
Marcus is desperate for love and does not care about appearance. Thus, Marcus
is picked on at school and has few friends outside of school. Marcus's friendship
with Will allows him to grow in confidence and become a much more rounded
figure.
Rachel: Rachel is an artist who Will meets at a New Years Eve party. She is a
single parent who has struggled to balance Ali's wellbeing and her relationships.
She defends Will to Ali, and is subsequently deeply hurt when she discovers that
Will has lied to her.
Fiona: Fiona is a single mother who struggles with depression. She is an
eccentric vegetarian who does not understand that her son is being bullied for
this. She fails to understand his want for 'normality' and commercial goods.
Despite her foibles, she is a deeply caring, charitable person.
Summary and Review: “About A Boy” is about a 36-year-old man, Will, who
invents a child to get onto single mothers. He joins a single parents group, where
he meets a nice woman. They’re going on a picnic together with Marcus, a 12-
year-old boy and the son of the woman’s friend Fiona, who’s considered weird.
On the same day, Fiona tries to kill herself. After this occurrence, Marcus turns
up at Will’s nearly every day after school. Even though Will doesn’t like Marcus
in the beginning, he helps him to get “cooler” and to improve his reputation at
school. They get used to each other after a while, Will’s feelings towards Marcus
are similar to those of a father, or even better, a friend. Will is a typical single in
his mid-thirties. He’s living of the royalties of a famous song, his father wrote. His
life is empty, it’s all about shopping, parties, drugs, alcohol and, of course,
women. He’s very egocentric and immature and all he knows about is how to
impress other people. And that’s exactly what Marcus’s mother has failed to teach
him. She’s an individualist, who’s convinced that you shouldn’t act against your
own feelings. And that’s just what the society doesn’t accept. So Marcus has
problems at school, he doesn’t get along with the others. He’s too mature, too old
fashioned, too shy, too weird, simply different from the others. And with this, Will
helps him. So that Marcus in the end is more or less accepted at school and even
has friends.
In Conclusion and Personal Opinion
I hadn’t watched the About the Boy movie before reading the book and so I knew
nothing about the plot nor the characters. I was therefore very surprised to find
that it’s narrated by Marcus as well as Will. I thought this worked perfectly they
are both stand-out, likeable characters. I loved Marco’s naivety and his ability to
see things in a straightforward, literal way, and I loved Will’s hilarious cynicism. If
you’re familiar with Danny Wallace, that’s who he reminded me of.
I like this book because Will, a rich man, who didn’t like children so much, helped
Marcus to change and he changed too into a good and kind person. I liked reading
this book because I think that Marcus’s problems are things that every person in
this world can have. This story impressed me because I know how hard it was for
Marcus to resolve all his problems. I learned that to have friends is very good
because you have someone who listens to you and someone who loves you.
The book is marvellous. The reader’s feelings switch from depressed empathy to
laughter, the characters are very well described by what they do, think or say and
they are real in a way. They give you the impression that you could meet them
anytime you get out onto the street. I’d advise anyone who asks me to read the
book, and watch the film. It’s simply amazing, great work, done by real artists!