About a boy door Nick Hornby

About a Boy            Open questions

1. Why does Will join SPAT?
2. Why does Fiona send Marcus to the SPAT picnic?
3. How does Will explain his not taking his son to the picnic?
4. How does Will manage to get Suzie to give him a lift?
5. Name three things that make it hard for Will to stick to the lie of being a single dad.
6. What does Will live off?
7. “It was then that Marcus saw – or thought he saw – his mum. She was standing in front of them, blocking the path, and she was smiling. He waved and turned around to tell Suzie that she’d turned up, but when he looked back his mum wasn’t there. He felt stupid and didn’t say anything about it to anyone, ever.”

1. Where is this?
2. Why is Marcus there?
3. Why isn’t his mother with him?
4. Where is she at that particular moment?
5. Why does Marcus see her at that particular moment?

1. How does Will help Marcus out in the park on ‘Dead Duck Day’?
2. Why is ‘Dead Duck Day’ called ‘Dead Duck Day’?
3. What happened that day that turned Marcus’s life upside down?
4. How come Will needs to come to the hospital as well?
5. Had Fiona planned to commit suicide or was it an accident? Explain.
6. What does Fiona’s suicide attempt make Marcus realize?
7. How come Marcus and Will meet again after Dead Duck Day?
8. “ I’ll come if you can take my mum too.” (75)

1. Who’s talking?
2. To whom?
3. Why does he/she want to bring his/her mother? Give two reasons.

1. What does Will do to make his story about Ned more convincing?
2. Give two reasons why Fiona isn’t Will’s type.
3. Why does Marcus come over to Will’s apartment the first time?
4. How does he try to blackmail Will?
5. Why doesn’t he tell his mother or Suzie what he had found out at once?
6. Name the two important things that happened on ‘Dead Duck Day’.
7. What’s the real reason Marcus visits Will so often?
8. Why doesn’t he tell his father, mother of Suzie how he feels after Fiona’s suicide attempt?
9. What makes Will decide to really start helping Marcus?
10. What is the first thing he does to help him?
11. “The whole idea of this expedition, Marcus, is that you learn to become a sheep” (112)

1. Who says this?
2. What expedition is this?
3. What’s the purpose of the expedition?
4. Does it work as they had expected? Why (not)?

1. How does Fiona react when she finds out about the shoes?
2. Where does she confront Will about this?
3. What does Will tell her?
4. Marcus always does what his mother wants him to.

1. Why?
2. Which argument does Marcus win?
3. Which argument does he use?