About a Boy

A bit of a switch here from Zadie Smith, but I absolutely *love* Nick Hornby's writing. I've read this 7 or 8 times and it still never gets old. It's so easy to read and you feel a bit better afterward, possibly from all the laughing. If you saw the movie, but didn't read the book, do yourself a favor and push the movie from your mind and read it. They set the movie in the present, but this is set in the early 90s and so, so much better. It's the story of a self-absorbed man who learns the world isn't just about him and the kid that makes that possible. It's a story about connections and what happens when we reach out to someone. It was this novel that received the following description from the NY Times: "Hornby is a writer who dares to be witty, intelligent and emotionally generous all at once." So well said.