Editors Reads Verdict
Hornby's warmest and most structurally accomplished novel — Will and Marcus are complementary figures in arrested development, and their friendship is rendered with genuine affection and formal precision.
What We Loved
- The dual-narrative structure — alternating between Will and Marcus — is perfectly calibrated throughout
- Will's philosophical commitment to non-involvement is one of Hornby's sharpest comic inventions
- The novel's emotional warmth is earned rather than imposed — the friendship develops convincingly
Minor Drawbacks
- The resolution is somewhat tidy given the complexity of Marcus's family situation
- Some find Will's voice less interesting than Rob Fleming's in High Fidelity
Key Takeaways
- → Adulthood cannot be entirely avoided — it arrives through the needs of others even when you have organised your life to prevent it
- → An island is not a stable configuration for a human being — Will's self-sufficiency is a defence that works until it fails
- → Friendship between a child and an adult is possible when both parties are operating in arrested development
| Author | Nick Hornby |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Riverhead |
| Pages | 307 |
| Published | January 1, 1998 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Literary Fiction, Comedy |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
| Best For | Literary comedy readers who enjoyed High Fidelity and want Hornby's warmest novel, and anyone interested in comic portraits of voluntary immaturity. |
Will Freeman
Will Freeman has no job. His father wrote a Christmas song in the 1950s that became a perennial — two bars of melody that plays every December in every shop in Britain — and the royalties are sufficient. Will is 36. He watches television, buys things, has short-term relationships with women who want more than he will give, and has constructed a life in which nothing is required of him.
His theory: human beings are islands. Self-sufficiency is achievable and desirable. He has no relationship with children and wants none.
Marcus
Marcus Brewer is twelve, unstylish, unselfconscious, and capable of singing along to his mother Fiona’s folk music in public without apparent awareness that this is social suicide. His mother is depressed in ways that are approaching clinical. He is trying to manage her.
Will and Marcus meet through Will’s fictional son Ned, who was invented to enable Will to attend SPAT meetings and meet women. Marcus sees through this immediately but continues to involve Will in his life because Will is the first adult he has encountered who is not entirely swamped by their own needs. The friendship that follows is the novel’s subject.
The 2002 film with Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult is one of the best British literary adaptations of its decade.
Our rating: 4.2/5 — Hornby’s warmest novel; the Will-Marcus friendship is genuinely touching.
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "About a Boy" about?
Will Freeman is 36, wealthy from his father's royalties, and has constructed a life entirely free of obligation or development. He invents a fictional son, Ned, in order to meet single mothers at SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together). Through this deception he meets Marcus, a twelve-year-old who is relentlessly uncool and whose mother is suicidally depressed. Their unlikely friendship changes both of them.
Who should read "About a Boy"?
Literary comedy readers who enjoyed High Fidelity and want Hornby's warmest novel, and anyone interested in comic portraits of voluntary immaturity.
What are the key takeaways from "About a Boy"?
Adulthood cannot be entirely avoided — it arrives through the needs of others even when you have organised your life to prevent it An island is not a stable configuration for a human being — Will's self-sufficiency is a defence that works until it fails Friendship between a child and an adult is possible when both parties are operating in arrested development
Is "About a Boy" worth reading?
Hornby's warmest and most structurally accomplished novel — Will and Marcus are complementary figures in arrested development, and their friendship is rendered with genuine affection and formal precision.
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