- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Riverhead Trade (May 1 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0965593894
- ISBN-13: 978-0965593892
- ASIN: 1573227331
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13.6 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (276 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #9,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Will Lightman is a Peter Pan for the 1990s. At 36, the terminally hip North Londoner is unmarried, hyper-concerned with his coolness quotient and blithely living off his father's novelty song royalties. Will sees himself as entirely lacking in hidden depths--and he's proud of it! The only trouble is, his friends are succumbing to responsibilities and children and he's increasingly left out in the cold. How can someone brilliantly equipped for meaningless relationships ensure that he'll continue to meet beautiful Julie Christie-like women and ensure that they'll throw him over before things get too profound? A brief encounter with a single mother sets Will off on his new career, that of "serial nice guy." As far as he's concerned--and remember, concern isn't his strong suit--he's the perfect catch for the young mother on the go. After an interlude of sexual bliss, she'll realise that her child isn't ready for a man in their life and Will can ride off into the Highgate sunset, where more damsels apparently await. The only catch is that the best way to meet these women is at single-parent get-togethers. In one of Nick Hornby's many hilarious (and embarrassing) scenes, Will falls into some serious misrepresentation at SPAT ("Single Parents-- Alone Together"), passing himself off as a bereft single dad: "There was, he thought, an emotional truth here somewhere, and he could see now that his role-playing had a previously unsuspected artistic element to it. He was acting, yes, but in the noblest, most profound sense of the word."
What interferes with Will's career arc, of course, is reality--in the shape of a 12-year-old boy who is in many ways his polar opposite. For Marcus, cool isn't even a possibility, let alone an issue. For starters, he's a victim at his new school. Things at home are pretty awful, too, since his musical-therapist mother seems increasingly in need of therapy herself. All Marcus can do is cobble together information with a mixture of incomprehension, innocence, self-blame and unfettered clear sight. As fans of Fever Pitch and High Fidelity already know, Hornby's insight into laddishness magically combines the serious and the hilarious. About a Boy continues his singular examination of masculine wish-fulfilment and fear. This time, though, the author lets women and children onto the playing field, forcing his feckless hero to leap over an entirely new--and entirely welcome--set of emotional hurdles. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
How cool is 36-year-old Will Lightman? Sub-zero, according to the questionnaire in his favorite men's magazine. Not only does he own more than five hip-hop albums (five points), he's also slept with a woman he didn't know very well within the last three months (another five points). Targeting single mothers, he joins a single parents' group under false pretenses and is soon drawn into the lives of depressed Fiona and her bright 12-year-old son, Marcus. Suddenly, his life is messy and complicated, and he's horrified when he realizes that he's now hanging with the type of people who gather around the piano to sincerely sing songs like "Both Sides Now" with their eyes closed. This is Hornby's second novel (following High Fidelity, 1995), and it's obvious he has an uncanny ability for homing in on wholly contemporary, often serious topics and serving them up in truly hilarious fashion. His skillful analysis of hipster angst has obviously struck a chord--this novel has been sold to filmmakers for more than $3 million. Joanne Wilkinson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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"So, have you split up now?" Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
"So, have you split up now?" Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Take a pass on this one,
By
This review is from: About a Boy (Paperback)
The premise of this book is as follows. Single guy decides it would be a good idea to meet women by inventing a son and going to single mom/parent outings. Man gets found out and man learns life lesson from the mom/boy he meets.The book is entirely cliched and entirely suitable for a movie. Which explains why Hugh Grant is on the cover of the book. If you're looking for a Nick Hornby novel to read, pick up High Fidelity. If you're looking for a cliched novel, then this is the book for you.
4.0 out of 5 stars
All about...,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: About a Boy (Paperback)
Nick Hornby is perhaps the premier writer of lad-lit, the male counterpart of chick-lit. And "About A Boy" is one of his best novels, with its sensitive looks not only at male fears, but at how they relate to women and children. It's a far smarter, wittier book than you'd think.Will is a single thirtysomething, self-absorbed and consumed with his own coolness, unattachedness and ability to live off his dad's song royalties. After dating single mom Angie, he realizes how to instantly give his sex life and image a boost: date single mothers, beautiful and desperate. So he invents a nasty ex-wife and a toddler son, and begins going to SPAT (Single Parents, Alone Together). But when he meets attractive Suzie, he also meets the boy she's babysitting -- Marcus, a troubled, intelligent preteen who is picked on at school. Marcus's home life isn't much better -- his depressed mother has just attempted suicide. Despite Will's commitment to noncommitment, he finds himself slipping into the role of father and friend for Marcus. Single moms, precocious kids, immature lads -- none of these things are terribly original. It's Hornby's way of handling them that is really original. And the way he wrote "About A Boy" gives unusual life to what could have been a TV-movie-of-the-week/lame-sitcom plot, with cliched characters. Instead, Hornby has created a surprisingly mature book, by showing a realistic portrayal of an immature man growing up whether he likes it or not. But Hornby's quietly insightful prose is a little less self-consciously cool than in "High Fidelity," and it's also more focused on human experiences. And no, not just Will picking up single mums. Will is a pretty accurate portrayal of men who work hard at being immature -- believe me, he's accurate. And that makes it even more satisfying to see him graduating into adulthood. Marcus's chapters are deeper, however, and it's this pensive kid who grounds the book. He may be young, but thanks to his saddening life, his mind is a lot more mature than Will's. Postmodern Peter Pans and precocious preteens are at the heart of "About A Boy," Nick Hornby's sensitive look at the sexes and their children.
4.0 out of 5 stars
About two boys,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: About A Boy Tie In (Paperback)
Nick Hornby is perhaps the premier writer of lad-lit, the male counterpart of chick-lit. And "About A Boy" is one of his best novels, with its sensitive looks not only at male fears, but at how they relate to women and children. It's a far smarter, wittier book than you'd think. Will is a single thirtysomething, self-absorbed and consumed with his own coolness, unattachedness and ability to live off his dad's song royalties. After dating single mom Angie, he realizes how to instantly give his sex life and image a boost: date single mothers, beautiful and desperate. So he invents a nasty ex-wife and a toddler son, and begins going to SPAT (Single Parents, Alone Together). But when he meets attractive Suzie, he also meets the boy she's babysitting -- Marcus, a troubled, intelligent preteen who is picked on at school. Marcus's home life isn't much better -- his depressed mother has just attempted suicide. Despite Will's commitment to noncommitment, he finds himself slipping into the role of father and friend for Marcus. Single moms, precocious kids, immature lads -- none of these things are terribly original. It's Hornby's way of handling them that is really original. And the way he wrote "About A Boy" gives unusual life to what could have been a TV-movie-of-the-week/lame-sitcom plot, with cliched characters. Instead, Hornby has created a surprisingly mature book, by showing a realistic portrayal of an immature man growing up whether he likes it or not. But Hornby's quietly insightful prose is a little less self-consciously cool than in "High Fidelity," and it's also more focused on human experiences. And no, not just Will picking up single mums. Will is a pretty accurate portrayal of men who work hard at being immature -- believe me, he's accurate. And that makes it even more satisfying to see him graduating into adulthood. Marcus's chapters are deeper, however, and it's this pensive kid who grounds the book. He may be young, but thanks to his saddening life, his mind is a lot more mature than Will's. Postmodern Peter Pans and precocious preteens are at the heart of "About A Boy," Nick Hornby's sensitive look at the sexes and their children.
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