Will

Will is initially selfish and shallow

At the start of the Nick Hornby’s novel About a Boy, Will is depicted as a self-indulgent and aimless thirty-six-year-old man. He has no occupation and is living off the royalties of a Christmas song his father wrote, which allows him to avoid traditional employment and live a life focused on leisure and shallow pursuits. He takes pride in his bachelor lifestyle, free from the responsibilities of a family or children. Moreover, this leads him to fall out of touch with friends who end up having families, as Will does not care about such things (Chapter 2, 75%).

What is more, Will’s disinterest in other people’s lives also makes him come across as cold and shallow at times. For example, at the hospital, Will thinks everyone in the waiting room is “a deadbeat” (Chapter 10, 43%) and has no empathy for the people there, failing to see that, despite being rich and looking more presentable, he is the actual deadbeat. Moreover, he finds Fiona’s attempted suicide the thing that is “most attractive about her” (Chapter 14, 1%) showing no empathy for her or Marcus’s struggles.

Will lies about his life to appear more interesting

Will’s shallow attitude also lea...