About a Boy Trivia Quiz

Answer: Roger

Marcus' father Clive had left him and Fiona four years earlier, but they had only recently moved from Cambridge to the London suburb of Holloway. The sense of not being settled is established with this opening - Fiona and Roger had some sort of argument that led to him storming out of their lives while the pizzas they had just ordered were on their way.

It didn't seem to have been a particularly traumatic event, as their conversation was focused more on what to do with the excess pizza!

Answer: Sub-zero

The items he lists as having been ticked to earn him this rating give us a good idea of his lifestyle, in which he devotes most of his energy to finding activities to fill in his days of leisure. Completing questionnaires like this, and being totally honest with himself over them, fill in some hours; television, videos, music and picking up women also help. What he has studiously avoided is getting involved in any kind of serious relationship (which he describes as adding clutter to life).

Answer: His father had written a famous song

In 1938, Will's father wrote 'Santa's Super Sleigh', which became an international hit, one that was a must to include in every singer's Christmas album. The royalties have never stopped, and are more than ample to support Will in his chosen lifestyle. However, he is terribly embarrassed by the inanity of the song, which people start singing at him whenever he reveals that his father wrote it. The book includes a small sample of the lyrics, which help us sympathise with him:
"So just leave out the mince pies, and a glass of sherry,
And Santa will visit you, and leave you feeling merry,
Oh, Santa's super sleigh,
Santa's super sleigh ..."

Answer: SPAT

A satisfyingly brief affair with a single mother named Angie gives him the idea that single mothers offer a large pool of prospective short-term partners, and where better to meet them than at a group for single parents? Single Parents - Alone Together (SPAT) is the group of choice, so he creates a fantasy child (and a fantasy ex-wife who conveniently insists on having Ned for the day when Will is expected to bring him along on a picnic). Of course, he does find it hard to get the details right, but he manages to convince everyone at that first meeting, where he meets Suzie, and his path is about to cross that of Marcus.

Answer: Marcus throws a baguette at a swimming duck

Will's excuse for the absence of his fantasy son involved a vindictive ex-wife, but Marcus actually sees through this pretense, and realises that there is no Ned (but not immediately - he realises it later as he reflects on the events of this momentous day). Bored by the picnic, Marcus decides to throw his sandwich at a duck in the pond.

He actually succeeds in hitting it, but is then appalled to discover that he has killed it. When Will enters into the coverup that avoids any retribution from the park-keeper, Marcus starts to believe that there may be more to Will than meets the eye.

Answer: Fiona has attempted to commit suicide

The chapter started with a dead duck, and finishes with Marcus finding his mother half-on, half-off the sofa. Marcus doesn't realise immediately that she has attempted suicide, just that she is clearly extremely ill. Once he realises what has happened, he appreciates that his life is going to be completely different, both because he feels a sense of responsibility for causing Fiona's angst, and because he doesn't know how to prevent a recurrence, since he doesn't really understand why it happened in the first place.

Answer: A pair of Adidas trainers

Will, at 36, has a much better idea of how teenagers look in order to fit in than does Marcus. The trainers are just the first step of his planned transformation, which will eventually include hair (getting a professional cut instead of having Fiona chop it off twice a year) and trendy clothing. the trainers, however, are not an instant success - the bullies steal them from him the next day, and Marcus arrives at Will's place after school in his socks.

Answer: Kurt Cobain

Ellie is constantly in trouble for wearing a sweatshirt with Kurt Cobain's image on it, and the fact that Marcus has no idea who that is (hearing the name as Kirk O'Bane, and thinking he played football, until Will corrects him) helps us see just how out of touch with his peers Marcus is. Her distress when the news of Kurt Cobain's suicide hits the papers places the novel forever in 1993.

The Nirvana song 'About a Girl' was the source of the title Nick Hornby used for the book, according to an interview on the BBC Radio 4 series, 'Book Club' in 2001.

Answer: Rachel

Will is instantly attracted to Rachel when they meet at a New Year's Eve party, and continues his usual practice of letting fantasy fill the gaps by letting her think Marcus is his son, after he had made a reference to him in conversation. Since she has a son about the same age, this creates a bonds which he plans to develop. Of course, this means that he has to convince Marcus to pretend to be his son and spend some time with Rachel and Ali.

The deception is revealed, but it all works out, and Rachel and Ali join Will as part of Marcus's newly-constructed extended family.

Answer: Both Sides Now

At the start of the book, Will and Fiona regularly sing Joni Mitchell songs together, and he periodically lets the songs that run inside his head turn into singing aloud, even in inappropriate places like a classroom. His mother doesn't see any problem, but his peers certainly do, and he is doomed to be seen as strange from his first day in a London school. When he tells his mother that he now hates Joni Mitchell, Will knows that he is developing a rebellious teenage attitude that will allow him to develop into his own adult self, rather than accepting his mother's values and behaviour unquestioningly.

The choice of song can be seen as a comment on the way that Will and Marcus have effectively changed roles by the end of the book, with Will shedding the shell that had kept him emotionally free of others, and Marcus developing enough of a shell to survive. There is an additional suggestion that all three of the central characters have gained perspective, and no longer look at the world from a single point of view.