Rating: 
Summary: This book will touch your heart , it's a great book!
Review: On the cover of this book a reviewer wrote " I cried five times and I laughed out loud four ". This is my sentiment too! This is a really good book if you have children or maybe if you have been the child of a broken marriage. The writer has such insight I can't believe. what a twist in the story of single parenting. The father stays and you start to resent the mother for it, even though he brought it on. Oh, I'd better not say more except get this one it's well worth your time and money. I plan on keeping my copy and there some nuggets I'm going to write down too.
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Summary: One Of My New Favorite Books
Review: Certain book resonate stronger with you depending on where you are in your life. "Man and Boy" was one of those for me. A bestseller in England, and vaguely reminiscent in tone of Nick Hornby, Parsons book is both very funny and deeply moving at the same time. Thirty year old Harry Silver has a great job, a beautiful wife, and a perfect son. But after a one night stand with a co-worker, he suddenly finds himself navigating the waters of single parent life.It's weird to describe a book as feeling like a movie waiting to happen,but this does. It was funny, hopeful,moving,and romantic the way "Four Weddings and a Funeral", and "Notting Hill" were. If you're a fan of those movies or Nick Hornby's books, you'd probably like this.
Rating: 
Summary: An Emotional and Entertaining Read
Review: This book was very well written in a humourous yet elegant manner, that keeps you wanting to read on. The book provides a warning to anyone who may be considering straying from their marriage vows as to the impact that it can & will have on the innocent victims of domestic collapse - the children.I rated the book highly due to its thoughtful treatment of the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging
Review: Parson's book has quite a predictable premise about coping with single parenthood how it is a life changing experience for his protagonist, but Parson has a great gift of writing just the right words and sentences to express what we are feeling. This book is ultimately about love, recognising it, and what we are prepared to sacrifice for it. It is ultimately about the growth of a man and the strength of the family bond, esp. between that of father and son. I loved the characterisation of Harry's father, the tough combat hero who is gentle and caring to his family. However, I think the portrayal of the female characters was a little conventional -- Cyd, as the tough talking waitress, who is ultimately a romantic at heart, is too obvious. And Gina's abandonment of the family after Harry's infidelity was expected, but it was hard to believe that a couple so much in love did not try to get back together. All in all, I enjoyed the way Harry was protrayed, and the development in his life, as well as his bond with his father. Single parenthood is also dealt with credibly -- the part where Gina spoke about how being a mother at home should be the most respected occupation and yet is demeaned is like WOW coz it's co true and so aptly put. A great book to read for all those interested in novels on human dynamics and real issues which confront us, as well as for the romantics in us.
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Summary: this father isn't a hero
Review: This book is poorly plotted: the entire book takes place in about 6 months, and both Gina & Harry & Marty all find the new loves of their lives? And how does the Irish tv personality win an award when he can't have been on the air more than 2 months? Plot inconsistencies drive me crazy--coupled with this farce of a man, who thinks being a father is heroic, this book is plain old ridiculous. The relationships between Harry & his father and son seemed the most real--but every other relationship felt false. It felt like the author had no idea how OTHER relationships work.
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Summary: This book is right on the money!
Review: As a divorced dad who's trying to raise his kids with an irrational mother, i found this book to be right on the money. I had to keep looking to see if it was fiction or an autobiography. The dad in the book has many of the same feelings I do, and it's amazing to me that it's fiction. If there are any other single dads out there looking to get a handle on how they're doing, read this book!
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Summary: Kramer vs. Kramer meets England
Review: Like the main character of the novel, I, too, am nearing 30. I have a beautiful wife and a daughter, who by the time I close in on 30, will be five or six years old. On that note, this novel by Mr. Parsons was easily digested and I often found myself deeply engaged in the trials, sadness and joy the main character experienced. However, plot points and story twists were easily guessed and the element of suprise was completely void. On the other hand, the running commentary was fresh and funny, but at times became repetative and drawn out. Overall, the emotion and reality of the book were enough to keep me reading and to cause me to enjoy the book. I'd recommend the book if you are a 30-something male looking to leave your wife.
Rating:
Summary: I feel cheated.
Review: It's not that it's such a bad book. I would categorize it, even, as inoffensive. I'm sure it would serve its purpose if you bought it in an airport bookstore. But I hate it, and passionately. With all the female writers cashing in on the whole "Bridget Jones' Diary" phenomenon-- Anna Maxted, anyone? How about "Otherwise Engaged" or "Jemina J."?-- it only makes sense that the fellows are ready to start making a buck on the corresponding success of Nick Hornby ("High Fidelity", "About a Boy"). The problem is that while Fielding and Hornby are frequently very entertaining, lively writers, folks like Tony Parsons are just going through the motions. I guess what bothers me most about the book is how the author seems to move the characters around like pieces on a chess board but without any real strategy beyond getting them to the next plot point. An infidelity is committed; a wife leaves, a father dies, the wife moves to Japan but then she comes back just in time for a custody fight. But why does any of it happen? Well, aside from the fact that everyone dies, and hey, it could happen within the four-five months during which this novel takes place as well as any other time in the protagonist's life, it seems to happen just because that's what supposed to happen in this genre. I've got no problem with light, entertaining novels. But this one is so formulaic-- it has no agenda other than to ape the style of other more successful novels. The writing is lazy, the plot is ridiculously contrived, and frankly, Parson's main theme-- that fathers make good parents, too-- is simplistic. I've no doubt that you could write a compelling book about being a single father raising a very young son. But this one isn't it.
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Summary: A British Bestseller
Review: B+ to this one! I found this book at an airport bookstore in London, England. It was a British bestseller at the time. I was intrigued by the title. It ended up reminding me how "lucky" I have been in my life. Life is unpredictable and we must be happy no matter what it takes. There was one event in the book that TOTALLY surprised me, catching me totally offguard. That's a 'real find' in a book! This isn't a depressing book...it's a book about real-life, love and savoring the present moments filled with happiness. Interesting lines for me: As the lead character, Harry Silvers' father is dying: 'The worst thing about it', my father whispered in the darkness, 'is knowing what you will be missing. I don't mean the things that haven't happened yet--Pat's wedding day, seeing you finally settle down--but the things that you take for granted. Seeing Pat ride his bike, telling him a story, kissing him goodnight. Watching him running around the garden with his bloody light sabre. All those small things that mean more than anything.'
Rating: 
Summary: Starts well but......
Review: I really liked the first half of the book, powerful characters and good events sequence, but as the end nears, there so many coincidences and unexpected events which takes the steam off.
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