About a Boy - Nick Hornby

He has you know, I’ve mentioned on here before that he’s one of the few authors I do back-flips for when I hear he’s wrote a new book (apparently he does 1 book every 3 years so I’ve got a loooong time to wait yet), and that his books never take me long to finish, well as the title said – he’s done it again. The recent release of the cinematic version of ‘About a Boy’ coupled with a lot of spare time due to half-days at work whilst I recover from a broken ankle made me want to re-read the book that spawned it all. When I’d read it first ... more

I read the novel the first time when it was published in 2000, I've just finished reading it a second time and I'm going to read it again next week, the third perusal will take about three weeks. Even if you've heard that the book is good or if you've read it yourself and are of the same opinion, you may think that it isn't worth so much attention. Let me explain: I read it the first time because everyone did then, I decided to read it in class with my (German) A-level students of English which will take some time and so I read it again quickly to brush up my memory. The plot: 12-year-old ... more

‘About a boy’ is a book by Nick Hornby. There was a film adaptation of the book made in 2002 which stars Hugh Grant and Rachel Weisz. The book is set in London in the 1990s and we are firstly introduced to the character of Marcus, who is a twelve year old boy living with his mother. His mother Fiona is slightly eccentric, or at the very least a bit ‘different’ to the rest of society, often exercising some views and tastes or styles that wouldn’t be out of place in a 1970s hippy commune, and she seems to enjoy allowing these traits and styles to envelop her son and his opinions too. This is ... more

Having read High Fidelity from cover to cover, twice in roughly twelve hours, I wandered dazed into the library, parched for more of the same. Stupified as I was, and greatly lacking in any vocal capabilities (at this point all talking went on inside my head, in voices not entirely my own), some internal homing instinct drew me to the HO-HU shelf. There, nestled between two weighty tomes about football and music, I saw the magical words: 'Nick Hornby's Latest' Shaking and clutching the precious thing in my reading-stint-deformed hands, a hobbled to the counter, back bent from my comfy chair at ... more

About a Boy by Nick Hornby You probably all know this one either from the book or the film but this review is of the book. My partner watched the film one night and I thought I would read the book first because I had wanted to do this but hadn’t got round to it. So I bought the book on ebay, very reasonably and there are loads of copies on there at the moment I assume because of the recent film. I have to say it’s a really good place to get them too because mine only set me back 1.50 and when it came the spine hadn’t been bent to open it. It was brand new and unread. Anyway less of ebay more ... more