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Summary: Pitch Perfect Book about Growing Up
Review: Loved this book from beginning to end. every single word in this book fit the story, and there was not a single wrong note throughout. Although the book is about the young lad, Marcus, Hornby draws a stunning portrait of the ultimate slacker: Will, a guy who is not too rich, but entirely comfortable with taking things as they come. Just when I thought that he couldn't top High Fidelity, he comes up with this.The ending is superb as well: nothing too neat and tidy, but definitely a fitting wrap-up to the chaotic world that we have entered for 280 pages.
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Summary: Only buy it if you are a big Nick Hornby fan
Review: I was disappointed by this effort. Though there are some clever moments, the book lacked the heart or soul I expected.
Rating: 
Summary: A few steps down from "High Fidelity"
Review: Like most of the people who have read "About A Boy" so soon after its release, I am a huge fan of "High Fidelity." What made HF such a great book, in addition to its dead-on-target depiction of guys like Rob and his friends, was the fact that the ending wasn't a foregone conclusion from page one. Sure, you knew that everything was heading for a happy ending in HF, but it was great fun getting there. While reading "About a Boy," I was engaged until the point where Will and Marcus link up. Uh-oh, I thought, Will and Marcus are going to teach each other some Lessons about Life. And while I was wrong about the particulars, my general conclusion was painfully correct. The rest of the book was as predictable and almost as banal as a "very special episode of Growing Pains." After reading "High Fidelity," "About a Boy" was a real disappointment. Had I read AAB first, I would not have been inclined to pick up HF. Having said that, I still look forward to Mr. Hornby's next novel. AAB could have just been a sophomore slump.
Rating: 
Summary: Another worthwhile read from Nick Hornby.
Review: To begin, I must state that I stumbled accross Hornby during my stay in Nottingham, England last year. I read the hilarious tale: Fever Pitch. I was hooked. Hornby writes in a fashion that is easy-going, entertaining, and introspective. This mode transfers to his second novel: About a Boy. I think the life of Will is the bachelor in every man, and the life of Marcus is the boy in every man. This statement does not segregate women - it simply expresses an emotional and reflective view of manhood and the pursuit of maturity! The development of Hornby's characters in all of his books to date, reveals the simply complex nature of life. And as Will would say, "It is just life, don't take it too seriously." Bravo Mr. Hornby on another success.
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Summary: What were they thinking of when the made that cover?
Review: If you've never read Fever Pitch or High Fidelity than you should enjoy About a Boy. Enjoy, not rave, I suspect. It's definitely not his best effort. I'd wait for it to come out in paperback or borrow it from some hardcore Nick Hornby fan that probably rushed out and bought it the first second it was available (like me). Try the Rachel Papers, by Martin Amis if you liked High Fidelity, or Alain de Botton's work. And as an aside, I think the cover is pedophilic and weird.
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Summary: A Great Book
Review: If High Fidelity burst on the scene like a great first album - say the first Clash record, then About a Boy is the more developed later effort - 'London Calling' maybe. Both books are terrific in their own right and deserve all the praise they are receiving. It will be difficult to cast a young actor to play 12 year old Marcus in the movie version of About a Boy. The kid's character is fascinating and complex in the book, but I'm afraid Hollywood will just go for some Macaulay Culkin type and miss the whole point. Reading About a Boy is time well spent. It makes one eager for Hornby's next book and to see how his literary style continues to evolve.
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Summary: Another wonderful book from Nick Hornby
Review: Hornby is spot on about men and their relationships with women. Whenever I've read books about love and contemporary life I almost always end up hating the characters and the author for having created them and a world that bears no resemblance to my own. Life in Hornby's London is not so different from mine in San Francisco. Hornby is witty without being cynical, amiable without becoming smarmy. I loved "High Fidelity" and I visited Amazon a million times checking on "About a Boy". Its out, its great, its too short, do I really have to wait two more years for the next one?
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Summary: How can REAL be shallow?
Review: Nick Hornby's novels have been accused of being shallow... of not "haunting" the reader. Now I am equal parts fan of "haunting" authors such as Michael Ondaatje and Flannery O'Connor, and fan of authors like Hornby, Irvine Welsh, and David Sedaris. Sometimes I don't want to be haunted by a book, but rather to have fun, to laugh, and to really relate to a character on a human level as opposed to on a ghostly, enigmatic one. Hornby's new novel is not shallow; it is real and heartfelt. You don't need an Oxford companion or a Phd in Lit Crit to "get" this book. And it is precisely those critics and readers who are suspicious of such a book that haunt me the most.
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Summary: "About a Boy" is an all grown up child's view of manhood
Review: I was a huge fan of Hornby's first outing, "High Fidelity," and for the past couple of years have kept my eyes open for the follow-up. "Fidelity" was absolutely hysterical, and Hornby's observations of modern single life rang astonishingly true. It was like a good pop song, fast and a joy to experience. But like even a good pop song, "Fidelity" was somewhat shallow. Hornby explores real depths in "About a Boy," and does so quite well. Part of the fun of "Fidelity" was the overwhelming sense of comfort the reader felt from recognition -- I've been there, I've seen that, someone's done that to me, too. "About a Boy" is remarkable for the discomfort Hornby makes the reader feel. When 12-year-old Marcus sits down to watch "Groundhog Day" with his suicidally depressed mother, I want the video to cheer her as much as he does, and I really feel his doubt that things will really improve. When the main character in the film begins his repeated attempts to off himself, I squirm in my seat and want it to stop, too. Hornby's humor continues to shine through, and his observations of interpersonal relationships are as keen as ever. There's just so much more going on here. Hornby hits on interesting questions (What is childhood? What is responsibility, and where does it come from?) without hitting the reader over the head with them. Telling the story from the perspectives of Marcus and 36-year-old Will (and sometimes retelling the same episode from both viewpoints) immediately has us wonder, "Who is the boy from the title?" The development is absolutely satisfying. I guess I'll spend the next few years on the lookout for Hornby's third.
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Summary: Boy meets world, nan meets boy
Review: "About a Boy" is a moving story about a single man who plays a father figure to a young boy who previously had no male role model in his life. If you liked High Fidelity you will recognize the warmth of Hornby in this one. More mature, but still the same sense of humour.
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