Rating: 
Summary: Touching and Sweet
Review: The book jacket blurbs of Man and Boy make it sound like it's going to be a laughfest, hilariously funny, etc. Before you start this novel, know that, while it is gently humorous at times, it's not a laugh-out-loud funny novel, which is fine. Man and Boy is really a sweet and almost sentimental look at one man's relationship with his son and his own father after his wife leaves him. Harry Silver is at first not the most likeable protagonist. He cheats on his wife and then is baffled when she decides to leave him. Harry's experience as a single parent changes him, and for the better, and as he changes, the novel actually improves. While it may not make you laugh out loud, it will make you cry real tears (if you are that sort). The characters, aside from Harry, don't always behave in a believable way, but other than that, this is an enjoyable, quick read.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful plot of human relationships
Review: A thoughtful plot of human relationships. The writing style is quiet and crisp but powerful. Many times I find myself thinking about the punchy opinions about various human relationships throughout the book. For example, one opinion about why men like younger women because younger women have relatively fewer reasons to be bitter about life, fewer failed relationships, expectations and baggage. Right or wrong, such opinions are thought-provoking, reflect certain degree of honesty and mirror some real life experience around us. It was an easy read and really enjoy it, the kind of book you find worthwhile to spend time reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Trite with an overload of self-righteousness
Review: ... The main character cheats on his wife, and then, not only proceeds to redeem himself by making it out to be HER fault, but he also trys to paint her as an unfit mother. As a single dad, he portrays himself as a saint, so much better at parenting than anyone else on the face of the earth, single or married, has ever been. Must be nice to be a single parent and have to work only when you feel like it...
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening read
Review: I think it is unfair that Tony Parsons is compared to Nick Hornby. After all, Parsons has a great literary voice and appeal all its own. He's proven the aforementioned abilities with Man and Boy.Harry couldn't make his life more perfect if he'd tried. He has a gorgeous wife, an adorable son and a fast-paced career as a TV producer. But a one-night stand changes the course of his ordered life. After his wife sets out to pursue her dreams, Harry struggles to raise his child on his own. Will he be able to be a mother and father to Pat? And will Harry able to find love again? There are some poignant and memorable twists in the novel. Man and Boy is a heartfelt and compelling story of the bond between father and son. Parsons writes with a great deal of soul. The story development is excellent, and the characters -- Gina, Cyd, Pat, Marty, Eamon, Harry's parents -- are memorable. The novel is readable from beginning to end. So, Tony Parson has got nothing on Nick Hornby -- for he stands on his own in Lad Lit with this gem.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing & Depressing
Review: I bought this at an airport after reading the reviews on the back cover and was looking forward to a touching story about a man and his cradle-to-adult relationship with his son. Instead, it is about a self-centered guy who cannot even say "I'm sorry" to his wife after cheating on her and then he doesn't understand why she doesn't want anything to do with her. Now he is forced to raise the child, but the book is not about his relationship with the boy, but about the man's wandering through life, and the boy happens to be there. I read this book on one leg of a flight and left it in the seat pocket. It is not something worth keeping; now I wander why I left it to depress someone else.
Rating: 
Summary: Lazy, contrived and irritating
Review: Like many other reviewers here, I bought this novel (and its sequel, Man and Wife) at an airport bookstore. As a divorced and remarried father myself, I was hoping for a resonant exploration of the experiences of fatherhood, "sonhood", marriage, divorce, remarriage, etc. My expectations were not particularly great - Hornbyesque cleverness would have sufficed for a 3 1/2 hour flight. Sadly, even with the bar set this low, I was profoundly disappointed and surprisingly annoyed by this book. Parsons' writing is lazy in the extreme; his characters are occasionally touching (a bit like the people in a Kleenex commercial) but are generally wooden and unconvincing. Tedious descriptive similes are repeated ad nauseum (I don't know how many times you want to hear someone's eyes described as "Tiffany-blue", but once was enough for me) and the authorial interjections are grating. This book is a hugely wasted opportunity and reads like a cynical "lad-lit" cash-in. The sequel is simply a shocker, with great slabs of the first book reproduced virtually verbatim. What a shame...
Rating: 
Summary: Family values
Review: A man has everything in life he might wish for: an excellent job, a beautiful wife, and a nice boy. So it seems, until an act of infidelity brings his world into crumbles. Unemployed, left alone with his four-year boy, this man has to face a new reality and new responsibilities. Greatly a reflection of his life experience, Tony Parsons deals with a a very simple issue many contemporary couples have to face. Many people take for granted what love and parenthood is all about, the joys are evident and easily savored, but most often the inherent hardships and sacrificies are ignored. When confronted with the real facts, the main character (Harry Silver) has to reshape not only his daily routine but his family values and life perspectives as well. This confrontation will eventually strenghten his self-respect, character, and family relationships. An easy narrative, with sentimental touches, and a fine reading to relax.
Rating:
Summary: Way too simple - No depth
Review: While I enjoyed reading this book, Parsons missed numerous opportunities to hit a home run. After the main character (Harry) has a one-night stand with a co-worker, his wife leaves him - end of marital story. No attempt at reconciliation, no marital remorse on either side, no love lost - simply good-bye. Having demonstrated Harry's genuine love for his wife prior to the one-nighter, surely Parsons could have spent a few pages on how much Harry stilled loved his wife and how bad her leaving hurt. Parsons does do an admirable job describing the affection and emotions that Harry feels towards his son. Unfortunately, Parsons does a poor job arriving at the climax described on the book's cover as "the hardest decision of his (Harry's) life". Without having read the cover, I may not have recognized the climax! I do, however, give Parsons credit for the admirable way in which he describes how adult indescretion has significant long-term negative impact on children. Parsons accurately reflects the baggage children carry through their lives based on the selfish actions of the adults who gave them life! All in all, a decent first effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't miss this one!
Review: Excellent book, wonderful story, well rounded characters. Don't miss this book.
There's nothing I can say about this, you just have to read it for yourself. I laughed, I cried, I laughed again. You just can't help but read the next page and it's not even a very exciting book, the characters are just so well written. You'll enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful man and terrific boy
Review: Fiction doesn't get much better than this! The opening paragraph (one of the best I have read), will draw you into the world of two of the most interesting, warm, funny, human characters you will ever meet. You'd like to have them as neighbors, or members of your local PTA, or friends that hang out at your coffee shop. Becoming a biological father is an easy task, becoming a Dad is a lifelong journey. As we watch the transition, we are drawn in to the struggles, both inner and outer, of parenting, as well as the journey toward healing after a broken marriage and learning to trust again. I carried this book with me everywhere. I read in the dentist's waiting room, while eating lunch at the mall, while cooking dinner, and even at stoplights while driving my car. It was a grand journey with these characters and I look forward to the sequal, "Man and Wife" which is due out this spring.
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