Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's been over 20 years since I first read this book and wanted a reread out of curiosity. I can honestly say it lives up to my memories. While this is deeply embedded in 90s culture, a lot of the arcs are still relevant. I appreciated Marcus more this time around as a former forever adult kid. I also understand Fiona and Rachel more as a mom. There's a lot of moving pieces but they all work in such a short book.
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
fast-paced
Wish I had read the book before seeing the movie, as I could not get Hugh Grant's face out of my head, which more or less ruined the book for me. Also, it meant that the story wasn't entirely new to me, even though it had potential to be sweet and even slightly heartwarming. I didn't care much for the movie either, but am reading the book for my bookclub, so thought I'd give it a fair chance. As I read, I started enjoying Nick Hornby's narrative style... would definitely read something else of his that hasn't already been turned into a movie...
Someone told me once that if you don't enjoy a book while being about 20 pages in, you should put it down and not bother finishing it. If I did exactly that, I would never be able to experience all the feelings this book had to offer. I wasn't really enjoying Marcus and Will's story until I was about 60 pages in, but the good part was worth waiting for. I really enjoyed the book at last.
Will is really such a good character. And I do not mean a good person, I mean a good character. The type of character you despise at first and grow kind of very fond of him during the novel. He's an expert in shutting the life out and not answering the door to it, and only cares about what to do with all of his free time and money since he doesn't have to work because his father once wrote a famous song. He's kind of afraid of commitment and doesn't understand what falling in love is for except for making a wreck out of you. He basically just wants to have fun, and he only ever goes out with women he wants to have sex with. And for some reason, he thinks that making up Ned, a baby he tells single mums he's the father of, is a really good idea. At one of the SPAT! (Single Parents - Alone Together) meetings he meets Suzie, best friend of Fiona, Marcus' mother. And it's precisely through Suzie that Marcus and Will meet for the first time.
Marcus lives only with his mother, who's simply nuts. She's seriously fucked up and annoying. She forces her beliefs onto her son in arguments that he doesn't have a chance to win, using kind of a psychological abuse (I honestly don't know what else should I call her behaviour). The worst thing is that she actually thinks she makes him think for himself. The truth is, Marcus is annoying and slightly weird as well at the beginning - but with a mother like that, I cannot really blame him, so I'm closing my eyes to that a bit. My heart was breaking for this boy so hard while reading the novel, because his mother is not only crazy and depressed, she's also completely blind to him telling her about being bullied at school.
The day Will and Marcus meet, Fiona tries to overdose and little Marcus finds her covered in her own sick. From that moment on, the whole book is about the developing relationship between these two. And they're the best thing that has happened to me in a while. Seeing how they go from total strangers, overcome Will's dislike towards kids, and develop this really nice kind of relationship, that's exactly what my little sensitive soul needs to be happy.
The problem with reading a book basically in one sitting is that all the feels come at once. The novel made me laugh, it broke my heart, then it was funny a light again, and then it shattered me completely. It made me laugh out loud. Once I actually had to put the book down and laugh it off properly. It took me about ten minutes to be able to concentrate again without thinking about the funny part. (I won't spoil it but it was seriously that hilarious.) At the other hand, it was breaking my little, fragile heart. It was so real and raw that it made me cry once. I was really pitying Marcus for what he had to go through with his mum, with his classmates, just in overall.
Another thing that I really enjoyed (kind of masochistically), since the book is set in 1993 and 1994, was Hornby's idea to contain Kurt Cobain and his death in the book. It was a perfectly thought idea for the story, since we have a crazy, suicidal mother there. His death somehow gives space to the characters to wonder about life. And with the fact that Kurt is in the book, I have to mention Ellie, a fifteen-year-old who loves Cobain and "befriends" Marcus by accident. I really liked this rebellious girl, she kind of reminded me of myself when I was fifteen. Well done, Nick, you know exactly how to hit the right nail with your hammer, don't you?
I'm just going to say that I really ended up enjoying this book, and that I'm definitely going to check out the film adaptation. If it weren't for the slow start, I would rate About a Boy five stars.
Will is really such a good character. And I do not mean a good person, I mean a good character. The type of character you despise at first and grow kind of very fond of him during the novel. He's an expert in shutting the life out and not answering the door to it, and only cares about what to do with all of his free time and money since he doesn't have to work because his father once wrote a famous song. He's kind of afraid of commitment and doesn't understand what falling in love is for except for making a wreck out of you. He basically just wants to have fun, and he only ever goes out with women he wants to have sex with. And for some reason, he thinks that making up Ned, a baby he tells single mums he's the father of, is a really good idea. At one of the SPAT! (Single Parents - Alone Together) meetings he meets Suzie, best friend of Fiona, Marcus' mother. And it's precisely through Suzie that Marcus and Will meet for the first time.
Marcus lives only with his mother, who's simply nuts. She's seriously fucked up and annoying. She forces her beliefs onto her son in arguments that he doesn't have a chance to win, using kind of a psychological abuse (I honestly don't know what else should I call her behaviour). The worst thing is that she actually thinks she makes him think for himself. The truth is, Marcus is annoying and slightly weird as well at the beginning - but with a mother like that, I cannot really blame him, so I'm closing my eyes to that a bit. My heart was breaking for this boy so hard while reading the novel, because his mother is not only crazy and depressed, she's also completely blind to him telling her about being bullied at school.
The day Will and Marcus meet, Fiona tries to overdose and little Marcus finds her covered in her own sick. From that moment on, the whole book is about the developing relationship between these two. And they're the best thing that has happened to me in a while. Seeing how they go from total strangers, overcome Will's dislike towards kids, and develop this really nice kind of relationship, that's exactly what my little sensitive soul needs to be happy.
The problem with reading a book basically in one sitting is that all the feels come at once. The novel made me laugh, it broke my heart, then it was funny a light again, and then it shattered me completely. It made me laugh out loud. Once I actually had to put the book down and laugh it off properly. It took me about ten minutes to be able to concentrate again without thinking about the funny part. (I won't spoil it but it was seriously that hilarious.) At the other hand, it was breaking my little, fragile heart. It was so real and raw that it made me cry once. I was really pitying Marcus for what he had to go through with his mum, with his classmates, just in overall.
Another thing that I really enjoyed (kind of masochistically), since the book is set in 1993 and 1994, was Hornby's idea to contain Kurt Cobain and his death in the book. It was a perfectly thought idea for the story, since we have a crazy, suicidal mother there. His death somehow gives space to the characters to wonder about life. And with the fact that Kurt is in the book, I have to mention Ellie, a fifteen-year-old who loves Cobain and "befriends" Marcus by accident. I really liked this rebellious girl, she kind of reminded me of myself when I was fifteen. Well done, Nick, you know exactly how to hit the right nail with your hammer, don't you?
I'm just going to say that I really ended up enjoying this book, and that I'm definitely going to check out the film adaptation. If it weren't for the slow start, I would rate About a Boy five stars.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I love this book. It shows the character change of two main protagonists and one minor protagonist. Through pain, fear, embarrassment, depression, purposeful naivety, and self esteem issues, these characters find more of their true selves than they realized was possible. The boy is 12 year old Marcus whose bohemian mother, Fiona raises him to be vegetarian, listen to oldies, wear bad shoes, cuts his hair herself, and tells him to hold his head up when others laugh at these eccentricities. Will is a trust fund man who is embarrassed of the thing that made him do rich. But he is unwilling to get a job. He decides to attend a Single parents group to meet women. Marcus is a target for his quirkiness and he may have a touch of Tourette’s. Over the period of one school year, these characters meet others and explore what the point of life’s pursuit of happiness really is.
I watched this movie a lot as a kid so it’s very nostalgic for me. I loved getting to know the characters better and it was a fast read that I always looked forward to getting back to.
This was such a gem! The simple and honest writing style suited it perfectly and made it so easy to read. I loved that the chapter's altered equally between Will and Marcus' POV and seeing their friendship develop was really lovely.
(I'm so excited to watch the film now with Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult aahhhh)
(I'm so excited to watch the film now with Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult aahhhh)