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I saw the movie first. I didn't even know that About a Boy had been a book.

The story in both is almost the same. Mostly it's almost the same. The movie is set in current times, but the book is set in the early 90's, just before Kurt Cobain died. A major plot point hinges on Cobain's death.

The character of Toyah is much more fully fleshed out and realized in the book than the movie. And she is also much more of central figure of the plot.

Usually I always think the book is better than the movie. But this is one of the rare instances when I think the book is better than the movie. Nick Hornby's other book that was made into a movie, High Fidelity, was also one of the rare exceptions of the movie being better. I think it has something to do with the way he writes. It's almost like his books are written to be movies. He may actually be a better screenwriter than novelist...and he's a very good novelist. If he hasn't already, he should turn his hand to screen writing.

Learn more about this author, Maxwell Hammer.
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