About a Boy

I actually finished this book quite a while ago, but it has taken me forever to write about it. That surprises me, because this is such a great book that I expected to write about it right away. For me, it's possibly Hornby's best. Still, I find I have some trouble writing about books I've already read.

I wasn't even sure I was going to read this whole book when I picked it up, and then suddenly it was the end of the weekend, and I had finished it. I chose it because I was looking for a strong first person narrative to study while I try to write a first person story of my own. Of course, you may have realized that this isn't actually a first person novel. I just remembered it that way, probably because Hornby captures the inner life of both a 36-year-old rich bachelor and an awkward 12-year-old boy so eloquently.

After reading this, I finally saw the movie, which was surprisingly good. The first half was very faithful to the book -- almost too faithful, in fact. It's a strange feeling to watch a movie of a book you love. You almost sit there with a checklist keeping track of what did and did not make it. Much of Hornby's material was kept, though I was in no condition to tell if it did indeed work. I'm still not sure how someone who hadn't read the book would have appreciated the film, but for me it worked well.

Eventually, the movie goes in another direction, because, well, the plot of a 2002 movie couldn't really revolve around the suicide of Kurt Cobain. The ending is completely different, although very satisfying and certainly in the spirit of the novel.

Speaking of Hornby, upon his recommendation, I started another young adult novel. This one was Skellig by David Almond. Alas, it seemed to be a lot closer to the young part of the young adult spectrum than the adult part. It wasn't a bad book, but I just couldn't make myself care about a little old man with wings who lived in the garage of a young boy. After getting halfway through it, I just decided I had had enough.

And that was a liberating feeling. I always forget how good it can feel just to give up on a book.