Structure

The novel About a Boy by Nick Hornby is structured around the lives of two main characters, Will Freeman and Marcus Brewer, who come from very different backgrounds but are brought together through their personal growth and experiences. The novel is divided into 36 chapters, each of which alternates between the perspectives of Will and Marcus, allowing readers to gain insight into both characters' thoughts, feelings, and development.

The story unfolds in a mostly chronological order, which makes it easy for readers to follow the characters' personal growth and changing circumstances. This is especially significant since the main characters’ development is at the core of the story. As a result, the events in the novel progress in a way that reflects the characters' evolving relationships and individual journeys. 

The alternating chapters between Will and Marcus’ perspectives help to highlight some of the main themes of the novels, such as connection, responsibility, and the impact of parental figures. The alternating perspectives show how these themes are central to both Will and Marcus’s journeys, as well as how they influence each other.

The novel begins in medias res with two lines of dialogue between Marcus and his mother Fiona: 

‘Have you split up now?’
‘Are you being funny?’
People quite often thought Marcus was being funny when he wasn’t. He couldn’t understand it. Asking his mum whether she’d split up with Roger was a perfectly sensible q...