And a Man, and a Woman (Well, Several Women)....

About a Boy, Nick Hornby’s sophomore effort (novel-wise anyway), is a sweet tale of deception and redemption in the world of…single parenting.

Actually, it’s amazing that Hornby gets away with what he does. His characters aren’t the most three-dimensional in the world. Everyone lies to everyone else—it’s practically a requirement, at least in Boy, How to Be Good, and A Long Way Down, the three of his four novels that I’ve read. Everyone starts out horrifically flawed and ends…usually still horrifically flawed, but having learned to moderate/appreciate/utilize those flaws. Still, despite their seemingly flat and repetitive constructions, somehow he always manages to make you think. By exaggerating, I think, by making his characters so onerous and melodramatic that they couldn’t possibly walk the earth with mere mortals, he makes his points, points that most people wouldn’t catch for their subtlety, except in the particular way Hornby presents them. As I told a friend earlier, “If you want deep, measured prose to disturb you about life, read José Saramago. If you want to laugh while being disturbed about life, read Nick Hornby.”

But on to the novel itself. Will is a middle-aged man keen on women and having a good time, and mostly satisfies the two desires simultaneously. Still, as he gets older, it gets harder to get the girls—until one day he meets a single mother. Here is a woman who likes him, who can’t get another guy, and who he considers undeniably gorgeous. Bingo! Will joins a group for single parents, along with his imaginary two-year-old. Never mind that he’s never been married, never had a kid, never even worked—he lives off royalties from a Christmas carol his father wrote, and regretted his entire life—in other words, never done any of the things that characterize the lives of SPAT’s (Single Parents Alone Together) members.

Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Marcus lives with his single mother. Marcus is hopelessly nerdy, living the wholesome but wholly boring life his mom has foisted upon him. This mother, incidentally, is depressed and quite possibly suicidal. Young Marcus is in a bit of a bind, especially between his mother, and the fact that he gets beaten up on a daily basis…and it goes on.

The two collide, with messy results.

It’s typical Hornby, as described above. A quick read—I’ve found all of his novels to go by pretty fast—but thought-provoking despite its briskness.

For some reason I thought Hornby had been more prolific. Now I only have High Fidelity, and perhaps Fever Pitch if I feel like nonfiction. How sad.