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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I almost DNF’d this book at 20% because Will was so completely insufferable to me, but my mom told me to picture him as Hugh Grant (I hadn’t seen the movie) and for some reason that helped! Will stayed insufferable for 90% of the book but at least he had charisma now. Marcus was the more compelling character to me, I liked seeing the world of the adults around him through his eyes.
I liked that this book seemed a little like it dropped you in the middle of these people’s lives and then took you out without too much resolution because it made it seem like you were seeing just a snapshot their lives. It made them feel like real people with real lives. This book also has its fair share of pretty hilarious moments, my favorite is the dead duck scene but the climactic scene at the police station is a close second.
My main complaint with this book is the treatment of female characters, I felt like they were a little one dimensional and weren’t treated with the compassion of the male characters. That may be unavoidable due to the fact that the male characters are the narrators but it still felt like the female characters could’ve been written better.
I liked that this book seemed a little like it dropped you in the middle of these people’s lives and then took you out without too much resolution because it made it seem like you were seeing just a snapshot their lives. It made them feel like real people with real lives. This book also has its fair share of pretty hilarious moments, my favorite is the dead duck scene but the climactic scene at the police station is a close second.
My main complaint with this book is the treatment of female characters, I felt like they were a little one dimensional and weren’t treated with the compassion of the male characters. That may be unavoidable due to the fact that the male characters are the narrators but it still felt like the female characters could’ve been written better.
Better than the film because it doesn't have that humiliating scene where he starts singing Killing Me Softly in the school concert which made me cringe too hard from second hand embarrassment.
<3 Ellie forever.
<3 Ellie forever.
Gran bel libro, lo stile di scrittura di Hornby mi fa impazzire.
i saw the movie first, which i loved. glad i saw the movie first, otherwise i wouldn't have liked it. i just love that poor forlorn kid.
About a Boy succeeds where [b:High Fidelity|285092|High Fidelity|Nick Hornby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327928082s/285092.jpg|2961887] does not, with a heftier dose of humor and more believable, rounded characters.
Initially Will reminded me a lot of Rob -- the self-centered man-child, unable to commit. Will's actually even worse, because he doesn't have anything he cares about. Thanks to the royalties from a terrible Christmas song his father wrote, Will has never had to work. He drifts through life without purpose. His slimy realization that single mothers are good prey leads to making up a 2-year-old son, which turns into a rabbit hole of chaos that completely turns his self-centered existence upside down. By the end of the novel, Will has undergone believable character growth.
Marcus (the titular boy) is another highlight of the novel. Awkward & clueless (and quite possibly on the autism spectrum), Marcus isn't helped at all by his depressed, hippie mother or his largely absent father. Will becomes an unexpected role model for him.
Marcus provides most of the humor with his literal interpretations & blunt comments, although Will's assholery is also laughably awful at times.
Initially Will reminded me a lot of Rob -- the self-centered man-child, unable to commit. Will's actually even worse, because he doesn't have anything he cares about. Thanks to the royalties from a terrible Christmas song his father wrote, Will has never had to work. He drifts through life without purpose. His slimy realization that single mothers are good prey leads to making up a 2-year-old son, which turns into a rabbit hole of chaos that completely turns his self-centered existence upside down. By the end of the novel, Will has undergone believable character growth.
Marcus (the titular boy) is another highlight of the novel. Awkward & clueless (and quite possibly on the autism spectrum), Marcus isn't helped at all by his depressed, hippie mother or his largely absent father. Will becomes an unexpected role model for him.
Marcus provides most of the humor with his literal interpretations & blunt comments, although Will's assholery is also laughably awful at times.
This book subverted my expectations. I expected it to be a modern take on Pride and Prejudice. In other words, a self-centered scoundrel is transformed into a sophisticated man who is attentive to a woman’s needs through her sacrificial love. But that is not what this book is about. Instead, the story focuses on the unlikely relationship formed between a self-centered scoundrel-no wait, he’s too lazy to be a scoundrel-and a pre-teen boy who needs a father figure.
I always enjoy books in which unlikely people enrich each other's lives and end up becoming good friends. About A Boy is such a story.
Cosa succede quando un ragazzino insicuro e goffo incontra un uomo adulto che vuole essere giovane per sempre? Naturalmente situazioni divertenti e di disagio, ma con un finale emozionante.
In questo romanzo, lo scrittore inglese Nick Hornby ci racconta le vicende di Will, sicuro di sé ed eterno scapolo, alla ricerca di mamme single, che vive di rendita e Marcus, un giovane ragazzo ingenuo che affronta con difficoltà la vita e vive con una madre particolare e depressa.
La storia è elettrizzante, divertente e sincera. I due protagonisti impareranno molto da entrambi, regalandosi a vicenda la parte migliore di sé stessi, crescendo e diventando alla fine del libro persone migliori e responsabili. Hornby ci insegna che a qualsiasi età si può essere immaturi, ma anche che si può diventare persone adulte, se abbiamo la volontà di cambiare.
“Il ragazzo era goffo, strambo e via dicendo, ma aveva una dote: creava ponti ovunque andasse come pochi adulti sapevano fare.”
Buona Lettura,
Vavi Verlaine
In questo romanzo, lo scrittore inglese Nick Hornby ci racconta le vicende di Will, sicuro di sé ed eterno scapolo, alla ricerca di mamme single, che vive di rendita e Marcus, un giovane ragazzo ingenuo che affronta con difficoltà la vita e vive con una madre particolare e depressa.
La storia è elettrizzante, divertente e sincera. I due protagonisti impareranno molto da entrambi, regalandosi a vicenda la parte migliore di sé stessi, crescendo e diventando alla fine del libro persone migliori e responsabili. Hornby ci insegna che a qualsiasi età si può essere immaturi, ma anche che si può diventare persone adulte, se abbiamo la volontà di cambiare.
“Il ragazzo era goffo, strambo e via dicendo, ma aveva una dote: creava ponti ovunque andasse come pochi adulti sapevano fare.”
Buona Lettura,
Vavi Verlaine
Don't see the poorly done Hugh Grant flick, read this book!