This semester we are reading a book in groups. I’m going to tell you about my choice!
- Why did you choose this book?
I’ve chosen the book “About a boy” written by Nick Hornby by chance. I saw some screenshots from the film and then found out that it was based on the book which was on the list! I liked the description of the plot and decided to try it. This story is about growing and becoming mature. I think after the advert my groupmates became interested too, so here we go!
- How do you find it so far?
Honestly, I find it easy to understand, because I like the author’s style. The sentences are not short, but not easy either: there are a lot of jokes, descriptions, funny dialogs and monologs. Often i can see slang and even filthy language, but it helps to reveal the characters.
- Does it match your expectations? Why?
I thought that “About a boy” is quite fun and cheerful book, but I was mistaken. Of course there are many moments when you want to smile, but the main events in the book are serious and sad: the characters face depression, solitude, problems with relationships, misunderstanding and growing up. I found some deep thoughts about life and people, i usually distract from reading and just reflect.
b) The qoite I’d like to share
‘What are you supposed to tell a kid whose mum has just tried to top herself?’
It was a rhetorical question of the main character Will Freeman, who had to support a boy (Marcus) because his mother tried to commit a suicide.
I think it means that one can’t find words not to hurt but to comfort a child whose parent needs help. Will is a cool guy, he usually has no feelings of empathy to other people, but in this situation we can see that he can at least think about others.
Personally, i can’t find the answer to this question, because it’s to hard to think about such sorrow. I wonder if you guys have some ideas.
c) Describe one event from the book that you remember most of all and explain what is so special about it.
One of special moments in this book is connected with Marcus’s mother. She tried to kill herself, because she had depression. She was alone, her boyfriend dumped her, she didn’t feel like a good mother and had no more strength to act like she was doing alright. I felt sorry to her. I thought about poor Marcus and his mom’s miserable life. They had a lot of troubles because of mom’s depression, and I wonder how one can become so unhappy with her life that she decides not to exist anymore and left the child that she has to take care of. I hope she will handle all the problems.
