Journal Entry 1 by OBCZDeWaag from Delft, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Thursday, September 28, 2006

Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk
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.
 

Journal Entry 2 by OBCZDeWaag at OBCZ De Waag, Markt 11 in Delft, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Friday, September 29, 2006

Released 5 yrs ago (10/1/2006 UTC) at OBCZ De Waag, Markt 11 in Delft, Zuid-Holland Netherlands

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Dit boek gaat mee naar de openingsmeeting op 1 oktober 2006! 

Journal Entry 3 by Suzy26 from Delft, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Sunday, October 01, 2006

Took this book home with me from today's BC meeting at the new OBCZ De Waag. 

Journal Entry 4 by Suzy26 from Delft, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Wednesday, October 22, 2008

An easy-to-read, very funny, affecting and realistic story. Great idea to put a 12-year old and a 36-year old together in their coming-of-age. Maybe a bit dated because of the Kurt Cobain part, but a good read nontheless. 

Journal Entry 5 by Suzy26 at Rotterdam, A little surprise! -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Released 3 yrs ago (10/22/2008 UTC) at Rotterdam, A little surprise! -- Controlled Releases

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Sent to AnnevO for the De Eerste Pagina Zegt Alles ring. 

Journal Entry 6 by AnnevO from Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Friday, October 24, 2008

This book arrived in the mail after I picked it in a First page says it all-ring. I'd love to read it! 

Journal Entry 7 by AnnevO at Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Released 3 yrs ago (12/30/2008 UTC) at Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland Netherlands

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I gave this book to a friend, who will be travelling to India next week and needed some books to read and leave behind. 

Journal Entry 8 by StienStruis from 's-Heer Abtskerke, Zeeland Netherlands on Thursday, January 01, 2009

REad this book in India. Very big contrast with the streetchildren I was working with, but still both adolescent problems.

Try get this book to indian friends or eleave it a tourist place.