About a Boy

"About a Boy" is a nice book with Nick Hornby's unmistakable hallmark. As usual, Hornby's characters are remarkably human and credible; their thoughts and actions unveil the author's deep understanding of human nature and the comic tragedy which is Life.

Just a couple of days ago I saw the movie based on this novel, with Hugh Grant as Will (perfect casting!), and I thought it was pretty good. It isn't half as good as the book, though, and the whole school concert thing in the end was pretty lame and no proper substitute for Marcus and Ellie's trip to Cambridge. I won't even go into what I thought when I found out that Kurt Cobain's role in the book had been snatched by rap music in the movie ... as if !

Synopsis

Will is 36 and doesn't really want children. but then he comes across 12-year-old Marcus. Marcus is weird - under the influence of his mother, he prefers Joni Mitchell to Nirvana. But Marcus is also sharp for his age and knows something about Will that he can definitely use.