[About a Boy] Ponderings

I love the page number format (check out the sample pages on Amazon).

Will and Marcus cross paths when they're both in their adolescence -- Marcus his actual adolescence, Will the adolescence afforded to him by his inheritance and lack of responsibilities. They speak with the same voice and have very similar reactions and thought processes -- much as Will tries to deny it. They both oscillate between passivity and aggression, standing up tallest when situations get the hardest to handle.

[I would like to write a bit about the idea that both Marcus and Will are the same person, effectively.]

C2's in media res with the cheesy men's survey introducing Will was a nice touch. The sudden shift from this to Will's own thoughts prove that the protagonist is much more charming than the glossy inanimate pages suggest.

Will's thoughts about children -- from silently condemning his friends' decision to "ruin" their lives by procreating, to recognizing the appeal of [essentially] babysitting and leaving with the sunset, to MARCUS & his strengths/weaknesses when compared to Ellie or Ravi

C3's segue-less narration of Marcus' unorganized thoughts / stream of consciousness style (much like Catcher in the Rye and other good coming-of-age stories) is very effective at setting the scene for his mental state.

It would be neat to be a textbook editor, choosing passages/events and explaining with the "proper" connotations / interpretations (creating ideology)

larder

Consider the idiom "going round the bend" (going crazy, context on p30 suggests). Explain "She'll be coming 'round the mountain..."

I like "on the debit side" in place of "on the down side" (38).

In C7, I like that Marcus can recognize that his father's girlfriend does stupid things but that she is not a stupid person.

I appreciate the threading of acting through Will's parts for a few chapters before meeting Marcus.

Des O'Connor
Crankies
Bing Crosby
David Bowie's duet with Zsa Zsa Gabor
Val Doonican
Cilla Black
Rod Hull and Emu
The Cunts

tetchy

egg-and-cress sandwich?
rounders

avuncular

Brent Cross
matily
barmy
Pet Shop Boys
Prisoner: Cell Block H
James Ellroy
J-cloths
daft (brush-daft?)

I like the phrase "spend the information" (106) since knowledge really is power.

Double Indemnity
The Big Sleep

EastEnders
The Bill
Joe Strummer
nip out
skive
Mr. Blobby
pillock
prat
pulled crackers
International Velvet
Laura Nyro
The Rockford Files
cypher
il ne sait quoi 

p199: nineteen ninety-three VS 1993
Paul Smith
Siouxsie of the Banshees and the Roadrunner
wangle
Drugstore Cowboy
Ryan Giggs
Marks and Spencer sandwiches
The Wasp Factory

p250: things left unfinished propel you forward

doolally
John Major
articulated
GLR
Tesco
Toyah Wilcox