A Girl With a Sword

something to talk about

Yesterday I finished About a Boy, to my immense satisfaction (it was on the "to read someday" list and I actually read it!). I don't really feel like discussing book versus movie (I think there's been quite enough of that kind of discussion lately). I love both for what they are, however similar or different they may be. The book is set in 1993 and 1994 and it reminded me how far outside of mainstream culture I was at that time. I'm really not sure what to think about what it's saying. I'd like to think I agree with what it has to say about dependence (not co-dependence, mind you, ordinary, healthy, human dependence on other humans--two people is not enough and all that). But then Marcus (for those who haven't seen the movie . . . see the movie) uses this picture of acrobats forming a human pyramid by balancing on each other, "It doesn't really matter who they are, does it, as long as they're there and you don't let them go away without finding someone else." I don't like to think of my friends as just people helping me balance. There's a reason I need each one of them, unique to who they are. Right? I liked the evolution of Will; he goes from being Mr. Cool "I-Can't-Sing-Songs-And-Mean-Them" to a vulnerable, uncertain, stepping in the right direction, freshly-hatched chick (the book's metaphor). He loses his cynical shell and is forced to be genuine. The thing is, as he is changing into what Marcus is at the beginning, Marcus is changing into Will. At the end (and if you don't like to know the end of books before you read them, well then you probably shouldn't have read this far) Marcus is a scowling, cynical teenager who thinks all grown-ups are stupid and the world was made for him. Hornby writes, "Will had lost his shell and his cool and his distance . . . and Marcus had lost himself." What does this mean, "lost himself?" Is that not the ultimate disaster? But besides these messages pulled out at the end, I really enjoyed this book. I definately recommend listening to Badly Drawn Boy while reading it.