Sadly, this is the end.

 

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    Marcus had fallen in love with a girl named Ellie, but they were just so different that it was hilarious; she liked messing around and listening to Nirvana (cool band, by the way), and he was a nerd, sad and lonely boy. Of course they would never match up. However, for some reason, she enjoyed hanging out with him, but she was not in love. They even got in trouble when she broke the window of a shop with a picture of Kurt Cobain, who had died recently. So they were taken to the police station. It is worth pointing out, though, that Marcus did not do anything bad. Now, at this point, Will is like Marcus's old brother already, so of course he went to get him out of there.

    After a long and rather funny discussion, they were finally released, and Will realized that Marcus was capable of getting through life on his own, which was something amusing. I would even say that Will was proud of him.

    Marcus started showing a different personality, a more mature one. On the other hand, Will was able to stay with Rachel, and they were thinking of getting married (the idea of getting married was not something particularly fascinating for Will). Marcus's mom was a bit  happier and she was no longer thinking of killing herself, a good improvement for her. Basically everything seemed pretty good, and Will had something that he had never had before: a family (sort of).

    The story finishes when Will goes to Marcus's home in order to take him out, and Marcus is wearing normal clothing (not the weird, hippy-like clothing he would wear before), and he is reluctant to listen to his mom's music, and instead, he wants to listen to The Smashing Pumpkins like any other kid. At that moment, Will realizes that Marcus would be fine. 

    The novel was very interesting for me, I really enjoyed it, and I could see Will's evolution in terms of personality and caring for others. Now, could this happen in the real world? Perhaps. It is not a ridiculous thing to think about: someone who, at the beginning, is very selfish, but then over time and with the influence of a rather weird boy, he changes completely in order to become a better person. Will was a great character (so was Marcus), and reading about his adventures and turning points was a source of delight for me. Also, I liked Nick Hornby's writing style, and I definitely want to read another book written by him. I am pretty sure it is something worth doing. 

    I hope you have enjoyed reading these entries as I enjoyed reading the book.

  THE END

Fake son.

 

Picture source: www.duperrin.com/2017/04/14/fake-news-un-faux-probleme/

    On a New Year's Eve, Will falls in love with a woman called Rachel, and he realizes that he has nothing interesting to talk to her about. Because of this, she then ignores him and when she mentions her son to another person, Will starts over the conversation with her and talks about children (not his favorite topic, to be honest). It was funny for me to read that Will said to Rachel that Marcus was his son (of course he was not). He said it in order to be more interesting for her. They then arrange a meeting at her house, and Will is supposed to bring along Marcus.

    The meeting ends up well in general, even though Marcus and Rachel's son do not get along. However, after some time, Will tells Rachel the truth: Marcus is not his son; he confesses that because, I believe, he is really in love with her, and he does not want to mess it up by lying to her from the very beginning (even though he actually did it). Now, to Will's amazement, Rachel does not care about the truth, and actually, she realizes that Will really cherishes Marcus. From then on, it is obvious that Will likes Marcus in a good way. His personality has evolved and now he is a different man, I find this fact rather interesting, and  I like to read that Will's life has more meaning now (kind of) because of the boy. It is a good turning point indeed!

To be or not to be... a "Father Figure"

 

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    Because Marcus is a lonely boy who has no "role model" and he often goes to Will's flat after school, his mom Fiona starts thinking that he sees Will as a father figure, which is something that concerns her because she knows who Will is, and he is not necessarily someone to look up to. When Will is told this by Fiona over the phone, he has ambivalent thoughts, he does not know what to say (or think, indeed). He likes Marcus, but being considered a "father figure" is... well, it is absolutely ridiculous to him. The thing is that he does get along with the boy and he wants to help him cope with school and the problems at home, but he knows, he really does, that he is not the most appropriate person to be the "father figure" for Marcus. Will's life has changed dramatically since he met Marcus, he went from being a complete strange in London to being an important character in Marcus's life. Also, I can see that Will is having troubles with this situation, and he is rather torn between going back to his previous, selfish life or being of help to a sad boy. He has to make an important decision now. Having said this, the only thing I know is that he will not be a "father figure", it is easy for me to notice that he will not get that far, however, he is still interested in helping the boy.