About A Boy

Pearson Education Limited
Edinburgh Gate, Harlow,
Essex CM20 2JE, England
and Associated Companies throughout the world.
ISBN-13: 978-0-582-77962-4
ISBN-10: 0-582-77962-6
First published in Great Britain by Victor Gollancz 1998
This edition first published by Penguin Books 2003

Contents
p age
I ntroduction

iv

Chapter 1

A Man and a Boy

1

Chapter 2

SPAT

6Chapter 3

T he Dead Duck Day

15

Chapter 4

Marcus's Plan

20

Chapter 5

New Trainers

27

Chapter 6

Ellie

34

Chapter 7

Christmas at Fiona's

41

Chapter 8

Falling in Love

45

Chapter 9

Depressions

50

7 9 10 8
Original copyright © Nick Hornby 1998
Text copyright © Penguin Books 2003

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56

Chapter 11 Growing Up
Published by Pearson Education Limited in association with
Penguin Books Ltd, both companies being subsidiaries of Pearson Plc

Chapter 10 A Trip to Cambridge

63

Activities

71

Introduction
C hapter 1
They were all staring sohard at the scene of the crime that they didn't
notice the park-keeper standing next to them. Marcus felt very frightened.
He would be in big trouble now.
'One of your ducks has died,' said Will. He made it sound like the
saddest thing he'd ever seen. Marcus looked up at him. Maybe Will
wasn 't such a bad guy.
About a Boy is the story of the growing relationship between
Marcus, atwelve-year-old boy, and Will, a 36-year-old man. Marcus
is having problems at home and at school. Will wants a life without
responsibilities; he isn't interested in children, marriage or work.
But Will is interested in attractive single mothers, and he invents a
two-year-old son so that he can join a single parents' group. When
he meets Marcus and his mother, his life begins to change.
About a Boy isvery funny and enjoyable, but it also has a much
more serious side.
The writer, Nick Hornby, was born in 1957 and grew up in
north London. He studied English at Cambridge University, then
worked for the Korean company Samsung. Later, he worked as a
teacher and journalist before starting to write fiction.
Nick Hornby has written four books: Fever Pitch (1992); High
Fidelity (1995); About aBoy (1998) and How to be Good (2001).
The stories all take place in north London, and are mainly about
relationships. The first three books have been made into
successful films. In About a Boy, t he popular British actor Hugh
Grant plays the character of Will. The end of the story was
changed for the film. Which ending do you prefer?

IV

A M a n and a B o y

Will Freeman was thirty-sixyears old and he had never had a job
in his life. Sometimes he thought about working. He looked
through the job advertisements in newspapers and wrote
occasional letters to employers, but he was never invited to
interviews.
He didn't mind. He was OK as he was. He was a cool guy
with a cool lifestyle. He read quite a lot; he saw films in the
afternoons; he went running; he cooked nice mealsfor himself
and his friends. When he got bored, he went to Rome or New
York or Barcelona for a few days.
Will didn't need to work for money because in 1938 his father
had written a very successful Christmas song. Many famous
singers had made recordings of this song, and each time Will's
father had received royalties. Since his death the royalties had
come to Will.
So Will had become rich...