Customer Reviews

Behaving Like Adults

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Getting Over It is one of my favorite chick lits of all time. Even though I was not impressed with her second novel, Running in Heels, Anna Maxtet is one of my favorite authors of the aforementioned genre. She, aside from Marian Keyes and Jillian Medoff, is the only modern romance writer who mixes dark issues with lighthearted humor. And she has outdone herself with Behaving Like Adults.

In Adults, Maxtet introduces us to Holly, a twenty-nine-year-old woman whose dating agency, Girl Meets Boy, is a growing success. However, her personal life isn't as impressive as her thriving career. Nick, her fiance, refuses to grow up, and so she decides to put an end to their courtship. Little had she imagined that her professional and personal life would take rapid turns toward disaster after she embarks upon a date with someone from her agency...

In typical Maxtet tradition, there are as many laugh out loud moments in this novel as there are poignant ones. Maxtet tackles some rather serious situations with a great deal of insight and wit. I also love the eccentric characters -- Claudia, Rachel and Nige are my favorite ones! And what about Maxtet's unique writing style? Hers is the sort of language that sounds conversational without really trying. I know that I'm resorting to some tiresome cliches here, but I couldn't put this book down and I hated to see it end. A definite page-turner! I so look forward to reading another novel from this talented British writer. Behaving Like Adults is a great reading investment. Enjoy!

At the beginning of "Behaving Like Adults," Holly Appleton appears to have it all together. The successful owner of Girl Meets Boy, a dating service for individuals "beautiful inside and out," she takes pride in bringing people together and in her rosy view of the world. Still sharing the house with Nick, her ex-fiancé, rankles Holly, so she and her friends at Girl Meets Boy decide to speed up the process of getting him to move out.

And thus begins the minor event that causes everything else to happen in the novel. After some coaxing, Holly agrees to go out with one of the new members of the dating service. Things do not go well and he does something that shakes her belief in herself and in the essential goodness of the world.

Once that belief is gone, Holly has trouble in dealing with the everyday happenings in her own life, much less those of her beloved dating service. As things worsen with her, so do they worsen with Girl Meets Boy.

Her sister and co-worker, Claudia, tries to get through to Holly, tries to get her to see the good in the world again. With the support of her sisters, her friends, her clients, not to mention the reappearance of Nick in Holly's life, slowly she finds the inner faith that helped the dating service become successful in the first place.

Although this book could be termed "chick lit" because of its themes, Anna Maxted brings a reality to her characters that goes beyond such labels. Despite the fact that the novel is set in London, and some of the more British turns of phrase are unfamiliar, the reader is drawn into the world of Holly and her cohorts at Boy Meets World.

Maxted is able to make these people seem like friends, co-workers or others you might know. She also brings a lightheartedness to the novel so that even in its darkest moments, you know things will work out. As Nick tells Holly at one point - most people want to see a happy ending.

This is the second book I've read by Anna Maxted, and I'm beginning to notice a pattern. She begins each book with a light, breezy tone, introducing us to a female main character who is in her late 20s, successful, and who initially comes across as somewhat superficial and shallow. However, a life-altering event intervenes, and then the main character (as well as the book itself) becomes more complex and substantial.

In this case, the main character is Holly Appleton, owner of the successful dating company Girl Meets Boy. The intervening event is a date rape which she experiences when she agrees to go out with Stuart, one of her clients, in an attempt to move on after the recent end of her engagement to Nick, the ex-fiance who is still living with her in their shared home. Following the date rape, Holly becomes incapacitated, and her life begins to fall apart bit by bit: Nick finally moves out, her business starts to go under, and Stuart keeps reappearing in her life. Even after Holly finally acknowledges the rape to her sister, Claudia, and reports Stuart to the police, she still can't quite get herself back together; it takes the rest of the book for her to realize that only SHE has the power to reclaim her life.

As a psychologist, I believe that the portrayal of Holly's confusion about the rape was dead on, from her reluctance to acknowledge her experience as a sexual assault to her feelings of guilt and shame to her unreasonable fears and behaviors. Happily, the book also displays an accurate picture of what happens when a rape is reported as well as the beneficial role which therapy can play in healing. Although the subject of the book is both deep and difficult at times, in the end, optimism prevails, and so does Holly.

I read Anna Maxtead's first two novels and couldn't wait for her next effort. In retrospect, I would have waited longer for a novel that kept me entertained. Her first two books were page turners, quirky and witty. This book meanders through some of the most implausible scenarios with some of the most inexcusable human behavior. Did she do ANY research into the emotional impact on a rape victim? It is criminal how almost lightly she treats this subject. And adoption? Does she have any idea how ridiculous her treatment of this issue became? Every woman in the book is a victim in some respect. Yes, dysfunction pervades our lives today, but she took it to the extreme. Ms. Maxtead's heroine is the owner of a dating/mating service, but it is clear that the author has no business sense, no human behavior sense and clearly no idea how such a service would work. The book rambles for almost 400 pages. On page 305 I finally found a light, witty note. That I was still reading that far into the book is a credit to my discipline, not Ms. Maxtead's writing.

This book is about an optimistic girl who sees the world through rose colored glasses. While trying to get her ex to back off, she goes on a date with a man who inturn date rapes her. She is emotionally traumatized, and that is the stuff with which the book is made of. We follow Holly through the twists and turns of her rehabilitation as she struggles with going about everyday tasks, and watching her world crumble.

This is a difficult topic to deal with in a book, and Maxted attempts to use humor to diffuse some of the more emptionally tense parts, Unfortunatley, this device does not always work- many of the jokes fall flat because they are ill timed, or ill conceived. There are a few nice moments, but not enough to make this an interesting read.

THe book is also a bit long. THe reader gets the same points thrown at them again and again. This is a book that could be at least 100 pages shorter. It seems to drag at points (another reason why the humor doesn't work)

The heroine, Holly, is also not that intersting a character, I feel her pain, but more because of the situation than becaus of the way she is written. ANd you want to kill her sisters! THey are horrible!

IF you have nothing better to read, try this, otherwise don't bother.

I enjoyed Anna Maxted's previous novels and bought this one in hopes that it would follow in that vein. I read through the first chapter or so at the book store and thought it would be a wonderful book. However, my view abruptly changed when the main character was raped. From the perspective of a rape survivor this book was horrid. The incident came about with no warning and severely triggered me. I would have appreciated a slight warning (calling Stuart a "rapist" or a "criminal" on the book description instead of a "cad" would have sufficed), so that way I could have either prepared myself for what was coming or avoided the book altogether. I urge anyone who recommends this book to a friend to remember that what is light-hearted and strong to you, may not be considered as such to someone who has survived a rape (more likely it will be considred being forced to relive a traumatic event).

I was excited to see that Anna Maxted had written a new book. I am a big fan of her previous novels "Running in Heels" and "Getting Over It". I am not, however, a fan of this one. I could barely finish it and found myself just skimming through to the ridiculously stupid ending. I felt no empathy for the characters. It was contrived and at times, seemed like storylines taken out of "Beverly Hills 90210". I wish I could say more but I don't want to ruin it for those who may have the courage to want to read it. All I can say is, that while I was reading it, I kept thinking of what the publishers thought when they read the book. Did they honestly think it was quality work or were they just cashing in on the success of Anna Maxted from her previous books?

Behaving Like Adults focuses on the months before and after the lead character's--Holly--30th birthday. Holly owns her own business, which is a match making service, and employs a varied cast of characters, including her own sister.

Early in the book, Holly loses patience with her long term boyfriend because of his constant immaturity, and breaks up with him. However, the two keep in touch and obviously still care for each other, even though they have several disagreements. Holly takes advantage of her own business, selecting a date from the "top of the stack" for herself. Their second date ends in a case of date rape, understandably sinking Holly into a depression that negatively impacts her work, her friendships, and her relationships with her family.

As Holly fights to regain control of her sense of self and her life, events continue to explode around her. One of her sisters comes out about her homosexuality, the other believes her husband is having an affair, a cor-worker enjoys sudden success in his acting career, and two other friends hook up romantically. Most importantly, her ex-boyfriend discovers information about his past which changes his perspective on himself and his life.

Behaving Like Adults is well written, and the development of Holly's character is empathetic. Her parents are well drawn and most readers will want them for their own. The novel is not four stars because it is too long in several places, and tends to swing unevenly between comedy and sadness.

Like "Running in Heels" and "Getting Over It", I wanted to throw this book out the window when I hit the middle chapters. At first I enjoyed the book. I could identify with Holly as a rape victim and some of her feelings. However, in the middle of the book when she realizes she hasn't had her period since the rape and she blames it on the stress FROM the rape...that's when it got a little silly. In Running in Heels it was anorexia, in Getting Over It Jasper moved back in...and now a pregnancy. From experience, I know that you actually DO worry about pregnancy and STDs and such...not just completely forget about it. And she had a rape exam and seeing as how it was a month later, I think they would have given her a test. Which would have made it a little hard for her to invent this baby. And the police officers did not seem realistic at all.

I enjoyed the first half of the book. It showed the emotional consequences of rape in a realistic way. But in the middle, the cops came in and catered to her every need, which is not realistic. The plush setting and sympathy were not realistic at all. And suddenly she's back with Nick and the world is wonderful.

Maxted's books always have a promising beginning, but somewhere in the middle it seems as though she got bored with the story and decided to throw something random in but didn't go back and try to blend it in with the story.

I have a soft spot for Anna Maxted. She is published by Regan Books in NYC and I was lucky enough to be contacted by them in regard to my first review of "Behaving Like Adults" and went to NYC for an interview ---- to make a long story short, I was really impressed with them and everything Anna Maxted.

So, that being said --- the minute I find out there is a new Maxted book coming out - I order the hard copy. Which is something I rarely do. I must confess - I am never disappointed. Her work is always powerful, insightful, smart, and really mature. She is not your usual "Chick Lit" novelist. She is above and beyond that criteria - she is wonderfully powerful. Her characters, storylines and subjects she covers are for true readers.

"Behaving Like Adults" focuses on 29 year old Holly who is struggling with a few areas in her life. After breaking up with her unfocused boyfriend, she turns to her friends and her business (matchmaking / dating service) for a fresh start. However, this has drastic and powerful consequences and that's where the heart and soul of this book meet. It's a wonderful book to really sink your teeth into and I loved every minute of it. Her best book to date! Without a doubt.