About a Boy characters

Appears from the start

A thirty-six-year-old Londoner who lives comfortably on royalties from a Christmas song written by his father. He avoids jobs, commitments, and sustained intimacy, arranging his days around television, music, shopping, and brief relationships. He regards his independence as a complete way of life until he decides that dating single mothers may offer romance without expectations.

First appears in chapter 2

A serious twelve-year-old who has recently moved to London with his mother. His unusual clothes, tendency to sing without noticing, and lack of social camouflage make him an immediate target at his new school. He watches adults closely because his home life often requires more responsibility than a child should carry.

First appears in chapter 2

Marcus's mother, a music therapist raising him in London after separating from his father. She is principled, loving, and dismissive of many popular pleasures, but she is also living with a severe depression that Marcus does not know how to manage.

First appears in chapter 6

Fiona's friend and a member of the single-parent group Will joins. She brings Marcus and her young daughter along on an outing and assumes Will is another parent, unaware that the child he describes does not exist.

First appears in chapter 15

An older girl at Marcus's school whose aggressive confidence and devotion to Kurt Cobain make her seem dangerous to other pupils. She first treats Marcus as an oddity but also gives him a measure of protection from bullies.

First appears in chapter 20

A thoughtful illustrator whom Will meets at a party. She is a single mother and is one of the first women he wants to know beyond a short affair, though his habit of inventing a son immediately complicates their connection.

First appears in chapter 21

Rachel's twelve-year-old son. Protective of his home and suspicious of Will, he reacts angrily to the possibility that his mother may begin a serious relationship.

First appears in chapter 2

Marcus's father, who lives in Cambridge after separating from Fiona. He remains part of Marcus's life but is no longer present for the daily strain in the London household.

First appears in chapter 2

Clive's partner in Cambridge. Her place in Marcus's extended family is awkward but generally well-intentioned, and she shares the household Marcus visits away from London.

Appears from the start

One of Will's settled friends. Married to Christine and absorbed in family life, he represents the adult commitments Will believes he has successfully avoided.

Appears from the start

John's wife and one of Will's longtime friends. Her growing family makes Will feel increasingly separate from the conventional adult world around him.