About a Boy

At the beginning of the book, Will is the shallowest person on the face of the earth and he loves it, but as he spends more time with Marcus, his shallow life is deepened. When Will’s neighbors ask him to be their newborn’s god father, he’s horrified and hopes that it’s all just a joke.

“We were wondering’ said John, ‘whether you’d like to be Imogen’s godfather?’ the two of th

. . .
even though his friends think that he has some hidden depths, but he tells them that he is that shallow. “Kurt Cobain doesn’t play for Manchester United,’ he told her. Suddenly reality slaps Will in the face, the reality that he is now a part of Marcus’ family. The title of the book is not about the physical boy, but a man living up to his title. Fiona had given him the idea that Marcus was after a father figure, someone to guide him towards male adult hood, but that wasn’t it at all: Marcus needed help to be a kid, not an adult… He wasn’t able to tell Marcus how to grow up, or how to cope with a suicidal mother, or anything like that, but he could certainly tell him that KURT Cobain didn’t play for Manchester United, and for a twelve-year-old boy attending a comprehensive school at the end of 1993, that was maybe the most important information of all. They take him to pieces every single f***ing day of the week, and you’re worried about where his sneakers came from and whether I’m molesting him. Just like Will, Marcus has transformed from a man in a boy’s skin, into a 100% pure boy. Marcus never really noticed that he needed a father until his mum attempts to kill herself. Sometimes he’s pursued by gangs of savages.

Common topics in this essay:
Marcus Fiona, Marcus OK, Marcus Throughout, Manchester United, Listen Im, Ellie Mock-horrified, Joni Mitchell, Super Sleigh, Nick Hornby, Uma Thurman, joni mitchell, throughout book, marcus throughout book, gat clue, marcus mother, marcus weird, single parents, marcus throughout, marcus boy, play manchester, havent gat clue, play manchester united, manchester united,

Approximate Word count = 1424
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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