Book Report #122 - About A Boy

About a Boy by Nick Hornby

Will is a mid-thirties guy living in London who has never had a job because he's lived off the royalties of his father's famous Christmas song. He's comfortable in a life of easy entertainment and prides himself on how he's skirted emotional depth. Then he dates a single mother and realizes it's not so bad. In fact, it's kind of interesting. He'd like to meet more single mothers but can't figure out how to do it until he discovers that it would work best if he was a single father. Easily done. He invents a son and starts attending a single parents' support group.

The rest of the book is about how he propagates his lies and the connection he makes with a troubled high schooler named Marcus. As his relationship with Marcus and various single mothers grows he realizes that depth may not be the enemy after all.

GENERAL CONSENSUS: It's obvious Hugh Grant played Will in the movie, right?