A Favourite Thing: About A Boy (About a Boy - Nick Hornby)

Member Name: Sprog

Product:	About a Boy - Nick Hornby
Date:	26/07/02 (1358 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very funny, Addictive, Great story line

Disadvantages: Maybe it being addictive may be a down point if you don't really have a full day to read the whole thing!

I bought this book on a whim, to be honest. I had money to spend and I wasn?t in the mood to go home empty handed.

So, after ?About A Boy? by Nick Hornby had sat untouched on my bookshelf for nearly a whole year, I was put on bed rest by my GP. The circumstances were not good, I was very low, and my other half was in Italy. So I grabbed the book hoping for a bit of comedy relief to save my sanity whilst I awaited my dearests return.

Here?s my take on the book. (By the way, as this was quite some time ago I obviously bought the pre-movie edition, which is always a good thing!)

Will is 36 years old and apparently enjoying living off his inheritance. His father wrote a novelty Christmas song, and Will now lives off the royalties. He enjoys watching Countdown, lounging around at home all day and going out at night. He enjoys a short lived but lively relationship every now and then, and doesn?t seem to mind that he is a bit of a failure on the relationship side of things.

One day, Will has a meeting with a single mum, which gives him a brilliant idea ? why not play Mr Nice Guy and woo a few lonely single mums who will at first be completely flatted by this stunning man being attracted to them, but hopefully they will discover, after a great fling, that maybe their kids just aren?t ready for their mum to see another man yet. Sounds like a dream come true for Will?

Marcus is 12 years old. He lives with his single, unstable mum. They are vegetarians, listen to Joni Mitchell and live a fairly ?hippy? style life. Marcus? mum is a musical therapist and although loves her son to bits, just can?t seem to find any good in life.

Marcus is considered weird. He?s not the same as the other kids at his new school. He doesn?t listen to Nirvana, doesn?t wear cool shoes or clothes, doesn?t have many friends, and oh, he uncontrollably sings ?Killing Me Softly? half way through lessons. Because of this he is teased no end at school. r>
Will and Marcus meet. Will the thirty something, who acts like a teenager and Marcus the boy who has been forced to act like an adult don?t, unsurprisingly, immediately click. Never the less, Marcus can see some use in Will with helping him sort out his mum and make her happier. So, Marcus clings to Will like a bad odour and eventually Will, although uncomfortable, settles to the kid.

I won?t spoil the story for those that want to read the book. The tale twists off into all different directions and is brilliantly done. The plot is not predictable at all, almost the opposite of what I thought would happen, happened. A few more characters are introduced to us, all playing significant parts in the tale, particularly the wonderful Ellie, Marcus? new Kurt Cobain loving ?girlfriend?.

With almost every page turn I was giggling like mad, and on occasion I just had to laugh out loud. Therefore I guess this isn?t the sort of book you would want to read on the train, unless all the passengers already think you?re mad anyway! I have to say this book helped me pull through a rough patch. All I did for the whole day was read this book and I managed to actually finish it before I went to sleep. It was too good to put down. If you are worried that this book may be a bit to ?laddy? for you, then fear not. The humour is great and just as funny for women as it is for men. This has to be the best comedy read, even above all my Bill Bryson books, ever!



"Jill Murphy asked me to write about one of my favourite things to help her celebrate her fourth anniversary of cancer-free living and to remind ourselves of all the nice things in the world. It takes more muscles to make a frown than a smile you know. If you'd like to join in, whether you've only just joined dooyoo, or you've been here ages, you're more than welcome. Just write about one of YOUR favourite things, make your title "A Favourite Thing: [your choice]"
and include this paragraph at the foot of your opinion. And post before Friday, 9th August."