About a Boy - Characters overview
About a Boy has two main characters and several minor characters. There are also several secondary characters, whom we hear about but never meet. The novel is narrated in the third person by an unseen narrator, but it is told from the points of view of Marcus, a 12-year-old boy, and Will Freeman, a 36-year-old man, in alternating chapters. The events take place during the 1990s in London, to where Marcus has recently moved with his mother, Fiona, after his parents split up.
The minor characters are all people who come into Marcus and Will’s lives at various points. They form an interwoven group of characters who reinforce one of the themes of the novel – that we all need other people in our lives.
The secondary characters may only be referred to briefly in the novel, but it is good to know who they are as you will be able to mention them in your essay and receive marks for detail.
Main characters
- Marcus
- Will Freeman
Minor characters
- Fiona Brewer (Marcus’ mother)
- Clive (Marcus’ father)
- Lindsey (Clive’s girlfriend)
- Lindsey’s mother (who gives Marcus £5)
- Ellie (a naughty girl in Year 10 who befriends Marcus)
- Zoe (Ellie’s friend)
- Rachel (the woman with whom Will falls in love)
- Ali (Rachel’s unpleasant son)
- Suzie (a woman who goes out with Will for a while)
- Angie (a woman to whom Will is attracted)
- Mr Patel (the kind newsagent)
- Lee Harper (the school bully)
- Nicky and Mark (boys in Marcus’ class)
- Mrs Morrison (Marcus’ head teacher)
- Frances (the woman who runs SPAT, the single parents’ group)
- Katrina (Ellie’s mother)
- Ruth (the owner of the music shop which Ellie vandalises)
Secondary characters
- Roger (Fiona’s most recent ex-boyfriend)
- Andrew (another ex-boyfriend, disliked by Marcus)
- John and Christine (a married couple who are friends of Will)
- Barney and Imogen (their children)
- Ms Maguire (Marcus’ English teacher who humiliates him)
- Jeremy (the only single father in SPAT)
- Sam Lovell (a boy at Marcus’ old school who recommended Planet Hollywood)
- Robert (the man who throws the New Year’s Eve party where Will meets Rachel)
- Tim Porter (the man who always ends up kissing Ellie’s mother on New Year’s Eve)