Rating: 
Summary: Poignant and witty novel about people needing people.
Review: Having recently seen the marvelous movie "About a Boy," I decided to pick up the novel that inspired the film. I was not disappointed. Nick Hornby's clever, original and touching book goes to heart of how important it is to connect with other people.Will Freeman, the anti-hero of "About a Boy" is not an admirable individual. Will does not work for a living. He lives in a beautiful house in London and his expensive lifestyle is paid for by the royalties that Will receives from an ever-popular song, "Santa's Super Sleigh." Will's father wrote this ditty many years ago, and he never had another hit in his life. Although Will is thoroughly sick of the song, it pays the bills, since countless individuals and musical groups have recorded it over the years. Since Will has nothing meaningful to do, he spends his time shopping, watching television, listening to music, taking recreational drugs, and chasing beautiful women. Through a convoluted series of events, Will meets Marcus, a nerdy twelve-year-old with a depressive and smothering mother, named Fiona. In spite of Will's determination to stay aloof from long-term commitments, he begins to care about Marcus and he tries to teach the boy how to be accepted by his peers. Marcus, in turn, teaches Will how to care about someone other than himself. Hornby's smooth writing style, his deft characterizations, and his subtle humor make "About a Boy" a smart and entertaining novel on several levels. Hornby's book is not only a poignant story about lonely people connecting with one another. It is also a social commentary about the shallowness of some aspects of modern society. To some people, one must have the right CD's, wear the right clothes, and know the right people in order to be accepted. Merely being a kind and loving individual is just not enough. Without being in the least cloying or heavy-handed, Nick Hornby shows that meaningful relationships are what life is all about.
Rating: 
Summary: About a boy, or about a man?
Review: A very well written book projecting the evolving relationship between a boyish man and a manish boy in modern England and the way they help each other realize their own selves. Will, leading a (what many men would think) perfect life, not having to work but still being able to enjoy it, with his fancy car and yappie ways encounters a boy way beyond his (and his own) years. They both find new things about life and about themselves and they build this amazing and unbelievable at first friendship. A light, pleasant read, recommendable to spend the warm/hot days of the summer with....
Rating:
Summary: Marcus's Acrobatic Display
Review: Marcus is different. He knows he's different. He never minded being different until he moved to a new school where "different" is unacceptable and every day proves to be a challenge to his survival. Fiona, Marcus's mother, is different, also. She hasn't a clue what Marcus is being put through, and Marcus isn't sure how to tell her. It seems Fiona is winning all the arguments, too, until Marcus comes up with a nuclear weapon in his argument arsenal - 36-year-old Will. Marcus meets Will through an unlikely string of events (you've got to read the details yourself) and Marcus isn't even sure if he likes Will or not...in the beginning, anyway. Will Freeman is carefree, dislikes kids and commitments, scoffs at the notion of falling in love, and schemes for sex. He's detached himself from anything that could possible present a problem - he believes he's slammed the door on life and as long as he refuses to answer the door, he's safe (I wonder why he answers the door when Marcus comes to call???)... Will doesn't know that there is even a point to life. Which doesn't help when he decides to try and help Fiona believe she has a reason to live. Marcus initially attaches himself to Will in order to build his acrobatic display - you know, like the pyramids that the cheerleaders make. Marcus wants some support, he needs more people in his life. He's afraid his mother will kill herself and then he would be alone. What's the result of Marcus's reaching out to Will? It's like Marcus planted a seed which yields a garden - read the book and watch everything blossom and grow!
Rating:
Summary: Good... but the movie is better?
Review: I'm going out on a limb here, and actually proclaiming a movie is better than a book. If you've seen the movie, you might be disappointed by the book a bit. The funniest parts are all intact in the movie, so you're not really missing much by not reading this. The endings are very very different, but I think that the movie's ending comes to a much more natural conclusion. If you haven't seen the movie, definitely read this first...it's a great read, and then proceed to the theater or rental shop and be floored by how good the movie adaption is.
Rating:
Summary: Better than High Fidelity...
Review: I read this book after seeing the film, and so I don't know how much one has been affected by the other. (Hugh Grant was perfect casting for Will, in my opinion.) But overall, I felt that this book was humorous and enjoyable, making me laugh out loud at times. Marcus is written believably and I really enjoyed the chapters from his viewpoint.
My only gripe is that the end of the book is a little laboured, especially the conversation between Marcus and his dad. Also Marcus and Ellie's friendship was cute, but didn't always come across as believable. But these flaws didn't seriously detract from the book and I recommend it as a comfortable and gently humorous read.
Rating:
Summary: Which boy is it really about?
Review: I need not summarize the plot, I am sure. There are two boys involved here -- one is thirty-something and the other is twelve. The story revolves around their relationship and the ways in which the relationship helps each of them to grow up. The novel is charming, but not fast-paced. It is more of a character study than an adventure. It's literate, well-written and humorous at times. Incidentally, I bought the book and read it because of the several movie reviews that I read about the Hugh Grant movie based on the novel. I have not seen the movie, believing that the novel is ALWAYS better than the cinematic version. Perhaps I will see the movie on DVD when released and write a review of it.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh-out-loud hilarious!
Review: When I first read the book description, I didn't think it sounded that interesting. A guy trying to con women? Er...right. But I gave it a shot, mainly because I had heard about the movie with Hugh Grant and wanted to see what it was about. And good thing, too, because I ended up being pleasantly surprised! About a Boy is about Marcus, a twelve-year-old kid, and Will, an adult (the chapters alternate between the two's viewpoints). Marcus is, to put it bluntly and perhaps a bit cruelly, a "loser." His two so-called friends ditch him; he is easy prey for bullies; his clothes and hairstyle don't exactly help his cause. Things at home aren't so hot, either--he is being raised by a single mom, who is becoming more and more depressed. Forced to grow up too soon when he stumbles across his mother's suicide attempt early in the book, Marcus' childhood is effectively over. What's a boy to do? Will is the antithesis of Marcus. Cool, hip, and trendy, he actually PRIDES himself on not having perma-attachments and being, so to speak, an "island." The very thought of having children (oh, the awful commitment!) repulses him; he is also somewhat of a lady killer, who loves 'em and leaves 'em. About a Boy deals with the gradual intertwining of these two very different lives, as Marcus learns to be a kid and grow into his own, while Will learns that maybe, just maybe, being attached to people and actually caring about somebody other than himself might not be so bad after all. Nick Hornby has a way with dialogue, as can be seen by the offbeat conversations between Marcus and Will. Their loopy, eccentric thoughts (as I said, the chapters alternate between the two's views and so we get an insight and peek into the mind of each) also make for some delightful reading. All in all, I highly recommend this book (and if you have time, watch the movie adaptation, too--in some ways, it's even better).
Rating:
Summary: Surprised!
Review: I am a huge fan of the single 20 something books...I picked this one up for a little change and am very happy with it. Very funny and the author helps you to imagine what is happening as you read. I am already half way through and looking forward to getting home to read again tonight!
Rating: 
Summary: read it only because it's Nick Hornby
Review: I decided I wanted to read this book for two reasons. 1) I have read High Fidelity, and have grown a great respect for Nick Hornby and 2) I heard it was coming out at the theatre, and I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. I finished the book in a couple days. It was indeed a fast, enjoyable read. BUT, it didn't offer the same kind of humour High Fidelity did, possibly because of it's 3rd person narrative. Either way, I gave it three stars because I expected more laughs. And, in the end, looking back on the novel, I came to the conclusion that nothing really happened. BUT, that's my opinion, and I think if you've read other things by Hornby and enjoyed them, then you should read this simply because. Now I'm off to see it in the theatres!
Rating:
Summary: Should have read it a long time ago!
Review: I shall admit that I hadn't the slightest bit of interest in reading this book until it was made into a movie. Having read it, I realize that I should have read this gem a long time ago! A shameless 35-year-old commitmentphobe, Will has the life that every guy aspires to: he owns a cool bachelor pad, makes loads of cash without really trying, stays up-to-date with the latest music trends, and has discovered an ingenious new way to meet women. However, his life changes drastically when he meets Marcus and his mother, Fiona. Nick Hornby is one of the most talented writers out there. I loved High Fidelity, but About a Boy is much better. I highly recommend it!
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