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Loading... About a Boyby Nick Hornby
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  krysbrezinski | Oct 27, 2009 |  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. (  ) stubbyfingers | Oct 8, 2009 | 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. (  ) joyceclark | Sep 8, 2009 | I read this after seeing the movie which starred Hugh Grant; it was still a good read because it is not exactly like the film. The book is the tale of two lives; a 36 year old single man named Will who has no job, no kids, no wife, lives off the money his dad made from a xmas jingle and a geeky pre-teen called Marcus who needs help to fit in. Will and Marcus help each other to realise what is important in the world. A great YA book. ( )2  LittleWish | Sep 3, 2009 | Love Nick Hornby. Even the movie of this one was good. (  ) JessicaCapelle | Sep 1, 2009 | 
 If it's comedy you want, there's a whole hilarity industry busily supplying the world of American entertainment -- except when it comes to the book business, where heroic exemplars of drollery have been a dwindling species in recent years. Despite the boom in waggish humor on television and in the movies, in the United States the comic novel is virtually a dead genre. A follow-up to High Fidelity, British writer Hornby's superb 1996 novel about pop-music obsession, About A Boy (the film rights to which have reportedly been sold for $3 million) is an acerbic, emotionally richer yet no less funny tale. Will (36, single, lonely, in search of a girlfriend and a life) meets Marcus (12, lonely, in search of happiness for himself and his suicidal mother). At first, befriending Marcus is merely an attempt to assuage a guilty conscience brought about by a life of leisure.
Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 1573227331, Paperback)Nick Hornby's cult fiction debut, the New York Times Notable High Fidelity, was a national bestseller in the United States, and a #1 bestseller in England. Hornby was greeted with standing ovations from The New Yorker (Hornby has established himself as a maestro of the male confessional) to Time (Hornby demonstrates his enviable talent for lucid, laconic writing) to The New York Times Book Review (Hornby captures the loneliness and childishness of adult life with such precision and wit that you'll find yourself nodding and smiling) to GQ (funny, compulsive, and contemporary). About a Boy stars a guy called Will, who doesn't really want any children. He wonders why it bothers people that he lives so happily alone in his fashionable, Lego-free flat, with massive speakers, and an expensive cream-colored rug that no kid has ever thrown up on. Then Will meets Angie. He has never been out with a mom before. And it has to be said that Angie's long blond hair and big blue eyes, are not irrelevant to his suddenreassessment of his attitude toward children. She is truly beautiful. And truly beautiful women do not, traditionally, go out with him. Then it dawns on Will that maybe Angie goes out with him because of the children. Maybe children democratized beautiful, single women (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:16 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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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. (