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Summary: About a ...
Review: I have to admit that I didn't read 'High Fidelity,' but I did enjoy this book. Ok the end was a bit Hollywood, however the story does have some substance.
In a perfect world children are able to enjoy their childhood, and adults are responsible people in touch with the society that surrounds them. Well, the world is not perfect, and fortunately for us Hornby explores [if only lightly] these relationships through some imaginative and humorous storytelling.
A good read.
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Summary: One of my favorite books ever!
Review: This book is not only laugh out loud funny, it also has a point to it. Both characters are unable to relate to their peers.
For me the great thing about this book was not just that what works for us at 12 may not work so well at 36, but also that there is a reason we develop such seemingly stupid defenses. Will may have to shed his "coolness" to get a life, but Marcus will need to get some of Will's hipness to make through adolescence without getting beaten on every day. The ending was
realistic, not sentimental. Hope the movie does it justice.
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Summary: Nick Hornby takes the role of a modern Charles Dickens
Review: Using cutting-edge humor and driving plot, Hornby's book will certainly make you laugh, might make you cry, and may even make you a better man. Says a lot about the modern non-nuclear family, maturity, and machismo. Although Hornby's latest, _How To Be Good_ is not bad, this one is much better. I just hope the movie and Hugh Grant do justice to the book.
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Summary: Let's Pray the Movie is Better Than the Book!
Review: For about the first 200 pages, I felt like I was in the company of true genius. Mr. Hornby is that rare creative talent who keeps the reader turning pages and wanting to know more. But the last third of this novel -- to borrow a phrase from Nirvana -- is "Neverending." Will's initial deception to Rachel (who just magically appears without warning)about the true nature of his relationship to Marcus is totally implausible and the narrative shifts away from the relationship between Marcus and Will to Marcus and Ellie and the death of Kurt Cobain. It just goes on and on and on. Great writing, bad plotting. Historically, the book is always better than the movie. Let's pray it's not the case this time.
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Summary: Living a superficial life is d..mned hard work
Review: Will Freeman is a 36 year old boy in a man's body, unformed, immature and working hard to stay that way. He has no desire to search his soul, let alone get involved in a serious relationship leading to marriage, children and what he sees as a cluttered, complicated life. He doesn't even have to hold down a job, living on the royalties of a hit song his father wrote years ago, a song that has continued to remain popular.
Will does, however, enjoy brief liasons with women and the one-night stands that come his way. With skewed logic, he decides that his best prospects are single women with children, women who may not want more than a brief fling. So Will attends meetings of SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together), pretending to be the father of a 2 year old child, a child he creates from his imagination.
And that's when complications ensure (but not the type you might expect) as Will befriends a 12 year old boy, Marcus,an adolescent desperatedly in need of a guy who understands what it is like to be a 12 year old boy. Since Will is not much older than that emotionally, he is the perfect companion for Marcus,
Nick Hornsby has never been more on target in his despiction of what it means to be a guy who just wants to stay a boy forever (if a boy could drive a cool car and charm women into bed). But Hornsby also shows what hard work it can be to shut life out, to skim along the surface of things and avoid love, connection and attachment. And he does it with a huge dose of humor, making ths book irresistable.
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Summary: A character study of two boys
Review: My wife is not as much of a reader as I am. So when I found her cutting out her sleep and TV time to devour Nick Hornsby's ABOUT A BOY, I thought I should take a look. I was pleasantly surprised to find a clever, tightly written story about Will Freeman, a 36-year old adolescent who has discovered the pleasures of dating single mothers, and Marcus, a socially awkward 12-year old boy of a depressed hippy. Fabricating a fictional child, Will meets Marcus at a picnic for a support group for single parents. Upon taking Marcus home with another single mother, Will and Marcus find Marcus's mother, Fiona, passed out from a suicide attempt. This incident launches Marcus on attempt to expand his social circle to insulate himself from tragic events. So Marcus inserts himself into Will Freeman's life. Marcus soon discovers that Will Freeman, a jobless man obsessed with coolness and style and supported by the royalties of his late father's Christmas song, is the perfect guide to usher Marcus into the social world of adolescents. Chapter by chapter, Hornsby alternates viewpoints between Marcus and Will, mirroring their parallel journeys: Marcus, the outcast, social incompent's journey from childhood to adolesence, and Will, whose own journey from adolescence to adulthood stalled out some time ago. The catalyst breaking both Marcus]s and Will's inertia is, of course, love. ABOUT A BOY paints vivid portraits of its two main characters. Both Will and Marcus are written quite authentically. (I was reminded quite vividly of Judith Rich Harris's book, THE NURTURE ASSUMPTION when reading about Marcus's desire to be accepted by his peers and Will's understanding that to be accepted is to be similar to your peers.) The interaction between these two characters is poignantly detailed. Unfortunately, the book begins to lose steam when the love interests, Rachel for Will and Ellie for Marcus, are introduced. Though the plot point seems necessary to move the book along, Hornsby doesn't provide the same level of detail or motivation for Rachel or Ellie, and, as a result, the book slows down. This doesn't keep the book from being a good read or from provoking good thoughts. One of the most interesting thoughts that Hornsby brings up is the idea of "The Point" (as in "What's the point of it all?") When Will plans to confront Marcus's mother about the possibiltiy of another attempt at suicide, he worries that "the Point" will come up, and Will doesn't have a good idea and what "the Point" is. In detailing the daily workings Will's life, Hornsby examines the existential angst and boredom that comes by default to most modern human beings, and when Will finds no one point, but rather, a multitude of daily small points (a daily quiz show, the daily crossword puzzle, and, most importantly, meaningful relationships with other people.), Hornsby proposes a way of coping with the lack of some overarching purpose to human existence that I could relate to. Sometimes, looking forward to finishing a good book is all you need to get through a tough day. Dav's Rating System:
5 stars - Loved it, and kept it on my bookshelf.
4 stars - Liked it, and gave it to a friend.
3 stars - OK, finished it and gave it to the library.
2 stars - Not good, finished it, but felt guilty and/or cheated by it.
1 star - I want my hour back! Didn't finish the book.
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Summary: About a Boy is Pure Nirvana!!
Review: I originally picked up this book at the library because the title reminded me of the song "About a Girl" by Nirvana; I didn't think the book would have anything to do with that. Once I began reading, I couldn't put it down. My favorite part is where Ellie says the man on her shirt is "Kirk O'Bane." Anyway, the book makes parallels between the lives of the characters and, since the book takes place in the early '90s, the life of Kurt Cobain. That made me happy because I'm a big Nirvana fan. Everyone compares this book to High Fidelity, which I haven't read so I can't do that, but I'm sure this is just as good.
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Summary: Really about two "boys"
Review: Let me start by saying that this is a quick, witty and untimately enjoyable book about a boy who just wants to fit in, and a man who perhaps just blends in too well. I must agree with another reviewer who stated that the character of Marcus seemed remarkably placid and content considering that he had such hopeless parents, both of whom appeared incrediably self absorbed and self-centered. Marcus finds what he is lacking in parental direction in Will, an unlikely candidate considering he is a 36 year old man who appears quite content in a life with no career, no real interests (except finding women ), and no real thoughts for his future. The two form an odd but mutually beneficial friendship, that brings them both closer to maturity and what it takes to really be a man. While I did not enjoy this novel as much as "High Fidelity", it still makes for a fun read.
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Summary: Witty and engaging
Review: A thoroughly un-likeable character has an opportunity to redeem himself, unbeknownst to him, in this novel by Nick Hornby. I love writers who can make me laugh out loud, especially while reading on a crowded bus in midtown Manhattan during rush hour, and Hornby is no exception. Read it fast before the movie is released and you will forever be equating Will with Hugh.
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Summary: Nick Hornby always has insights
Review: This book again is a prime example of Nick Hornby's ability to render a realistic character and write with insight. Through out this book, the character grew in engaging ways. Nick Hornby writes with sensitivity and insight into the human condition.
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