I.S.P BLOG #2

ABOUT A BOY by Nick Hornby

When writing, your goal is to not only think about yourself but what will draw in your readers, a dramatic or action packed beginning can work in movies, most of the time in literature if there is too much happening right off the bat, surprisingly you will lose interest. What intrigues me to continue reading to the end of this novel is Hornby's opening scene; the moments after a breakup. As I said, dramatic and action packed could sound like the way to go, but it's the authentic drama that we readers are looking for. When people are breaking up, their emotions are running wild and melodrama will often take over. When we come in, it's all over and now we are going to watch real people not being fueled by their hormones. Marcus' mother and Roger had a big argument that he says "he hadn't understood a word of it," so how could a reader? Also, physically it is easier to write less. Eavesdropping on the breakup would tell us about the couple, we don't need to know Roger. The aftermath dialogue gives good background to Marcus' facts and character traits. Mainly, that he loves his mother and when she's upset "he ought to say something optimistic."

The narrative is present in this novel to only tell us what could not be shown by character action or speech, it describes the people and lets the reader read about them. It is fueled by English diction, filled with slang terms that we don't find in Canada. The voice of this narration is looking through similar eyes as Marcus the kid; he name drops popular children's movies of that time as well as his opinion on them, and the most interesting characteristic is the attention span. "And that when she was his age... something, he couldn't remember what."

The ending of this chapter is not as much of a segway into the next chapter as it is more enchanting narrative. Marcus' mother is depressed after ending another relationship, she feels alone and unwanted, her son turns on the 'tele' and hopes to find something that won't get her mind on her being single; he "zapped" to the channel programming "a sort of fish thing that lived right down at the bottom of caves and couldn't see anything, a fish that nobody could see the point of; he didn't think that would remind his mum of anything much." The naivete is humorous. A light-hearted way to end the introduction.