About a Boy

Marcus does not tell his mother or Suzie that Will is lying about having a child because he knows the information could be useful later on. He keeps returning to Will’s flat, even though Will seems reluctant to host him. When they get onto the subject of school, Marcus confesses that he is being bullied, and Will suggests he “could do something” about his appearance, like getting his hair professionally cut (99). Will asks about how Marcus feels about Fiona’s situation, but Marcus cannot yet tell Will the truth: that he lives in fear of a second suicide attempt and that he comes to Will’s flat to delay going home. 

Although Will “had spent his whole life avoiding real stuff,” he manages to accommodate Marcus’s visits into his daily routine and prides himself on giving the boy a break from his troubled life (104). One day, Marcus is followed to Will’s house by a group of older children who throw candy at him. While a horrified Will chases the bullies off, Marcus is eerily stoic. Will demands to know the history of the bullying. When Marcus admits that it makes him unhappy, Will takes him out to buy cool sneakers to replace his regulation black slip-on shoes. The next day, Marcus shows up at Will’s in tears because the bullies stolen his new shoes. 

When Marcus goes home without shoes, Fiona demands to know what happened, and he is forced to confess that Will bought him the now-stolen sneakers. This, in turn, means he must come clean about going to Will’s every day after school, and he also reveals that Will is childless. Fiona is furious, and the two march over to Will’s.

Fiona lectures Will about lying and demands to know why he has been spending time alone with her son, insinuating that Will is a pedophile. Will makes it clear that Marcus has been turning up uninvited, then accuses Fiona of being oblivious to the fact that Marcus is “being eaten alive at school” (115). Marcus does not enjoy the argument, but he is grateful to Will for telling Fiona the truth of his situation at school.

Fiona prohibits Marcus from going to Will’s again. Marcus accuses her of pretending that she wants him to think for himself when, in reality, she forces him to think like her. He says he needs to return to Will’s house because he needs a father figure, which makes her cry. 

As late November creeps in, Will hears “Santa’s Super Sleigh” and remembers that his father was as depressive and eccentric as Fiona. There are parallels between the two parents because while Fiona tried to obliterate reality with prescription drugs, Will’s father chose the finest whiskey. While Will is the ideal candidate to mentor Marcus, he believes it is “too much work” and thinks he will have no more to do with the boy or Fiona (126).

However, Fiona calls and insists that she and Will go out for a drink. At the pub, Fiona confesses how upset she became when Marcus told her that he needed a father figure. Will tells her Marcus said that to manipulate her. However, neither of them understands why Marcus wants to see Will so much or that he would target Fiona’s “most vulnerable spot” (131). Will states that he will adopt a hands-off approach to Marcus, which infuriates Fiona. When Will says he is selfish because “there isn’t anybody else” in his life, Fiona insists that Marcus is now and will not be easily shut out of it.

When Fiona comes home from the pub, she tells Marcus that Will will not answer the doorbell if he rings it. Marcus is unfazed, knowing that he will ring until Will opens the door. Fiona makes a complaint to the school about Marcus’s stolen sneakers and forces him to go to the headmistress’s office. Ellie McRae, a rebellious girl in Year 10 who is “famous” for getting into trouble (135), is also waiting outside the office. Ellie teases Marcus for not recognizing the face on her sweatshirt—that of Kurt Cobain, the lead singer American grunge band Nirvana. In Mrs. Morrison’s office, Marcus loses his temper when she offers him the useless advice of keeping out of the bullies’ way. He storms out of school. 

While Will is driving up Upper Street, listening to Nirvana at top volume, he spots Marcus. Since it is two o’clock, he realizes Marcus left school without permission but decides he does not care enough to apprehend the boy. When Marcus shows up to Will’s flat at his regular time of 4:15, Will knows he waited to conceal his truancy. Will does not answer the door, even though Marcus rings the bell for half an hour. Will finally lets Marcus in and confronts him about his truancy. While telling Marcus that the figure on Ellie’s sweatshirt was Kurt Cobain, he realizes that “Marcus needed help to be a kid, not an adult” (147). This is the exact type of assistance that Will is best qualified to give. 

Marcus is accepted by Ellie and her friend group, who think he is funny, especially when he explains his thoughts on Nirvana: “it’s a bit of a racket, but it’s got a good beat, and the picture on the cover is very interesting” (149). Marcus decides that his sense of humor will help him secure Ellie’s friendship. Ellie agrees to “adopt” him, and he begins to earn a measure of respect at school (155).

Will reluctantly agrees to spend Christmas with Fiona and Marcus. To his relief, it is not just the three of them because Fiona’s ex-husband Clive, his girlfriend Lindsey, and Lindsey’s mother join. He notices that Marcus is “a good kid,” given his gratitude when he receives “crap presents” from his relatives (162).

After presents and lunch, the group is joined by Suzie and Megan. Marcus is fascinated by Suzie snubbing Will and then confronting him about his invention of a son “so he can join single parent groups and chat up single mothers” (169). When Will expresses his wish to leave, Marcus insists that he stay. Will diffuses the tension by telling the story of how Marcus killed a duck by throwing a baguette at it. 

At a New Year’s Eve party, Will falls under the spell of a gorgeous, interesting children’s book illustrator named Rachel. Will regrets that there is nothing about his own life that will interest her. While Rachel is drawn into another conversation, Will realizes Marcus is the most interesting thing in his life and vows to bring him up at the earliest opportunity. He finds the chance when the conversation turns to Nirvana. He allows Rachel, who has a 12-year-old son, to believe Marcus is his son, and she suggests that they should introduce their sons to each other. 

Marcus meets Ellie at Suzie’s New Year’s Eve party. Ellie knows about Fiona’s suicide attempt because her mother is friends with Suzie. Ellie, who also has divorced parents and lives with her mother, thinks it is Fiona’s right to decide whether she wants to kill herself and that mothers are judged more harshly than fathers. Marcus thinks life was “simpler” in Cambridge, his old town, where there were rules; in London, “things were bound to be more complicated” without rules (185).