Anna Maxted

I read this book years ago. But since I was on a chick lit diet of books at the beginning of the year, I went and found this book on my shelf. I do love re-reads just because you find out more about the book and also your tastes in books over time. I initially loved this book. I mean ridiculously loved this book when it came out. I thought it was smartly written and I also felt sad for the main character Natalie. Now almost more than a decade after I bought and read this book I realize that show more the main character is so far up her own butt you wonder how she gets anything done. That her very real eating disorder was not addressed by professionals and that most of the people in this book are pretty horrible.

Told in the first person, the main character is Natalie Miller. Natalie is at the wedding of her childhood and continued best friend Babs. We wonder at why Natalie is so shaken by her best friend getting married. It becomes all too clear after the first few pages that Natalie is unhealthy in her obsession with all things Babs and hates that anyone could come before her. Yeah a little too Single White Female for me too.

It becomes quickly obviously that Natalie resents her mother, brother, Bab's husband Simon, Bab's other friend Frannie, and heck she even resents Babs. Due to her feeling left alone she proceeds to blow up her life spectacularly by cheating on her long time boyfriend and getting involved with a cocaine sniffing supposed band manager. Yeah I can't make this stuff up.

Here's the thing. I have said it time and time again. You have to root for the main character. You end up getting really sick of Natalie before the first half of the book is even done. By the end you may want to shake her. I think what got me was that Anna Maxted throws in a little twist in the book and you find out that Natalie has a serious eating problem and that her family and friends have realized it, but no one has tried to address it before now. And once that is out in the open, the book becomes a different thing. It's no longer a funny and kind of mean book about Natalie dealing with being regulated lower on her best friend's list. Instead we know she has a serious issue that she needs to deal with and it kind of gets hand-waved away by the author.

The other characters in this book don't feel real at all. We have Natalie's gay somewhat best friend Matt, Babs, Frannie, Bab's brother Andy, Natalie's brother, mother, and her father. I think that because we were force fitting in so many of Natalie's issues it was hard to keep a handle on everyone. I can say that I was thoroughly disgusted by Natalie's brother Tony. There is a big reveal about him and ugh, he sucked. I also though was sick of Natalie still acting out because her father and mother split when she was younger and it was so beyond childish I rolled my eyes repeatedly.

The love interests that Natalie has in this book make no sense. The one love interest was horrible to her and for her and the second one excuse me for saying it, was too good for her. And I wondered why he was even interested in her. She was a mess and was not at all nice, loving, or seemed to be smart at all about life in general. We hear from others about how attractive she is, but that's about it.

I will say that the writing was funny and Anna Maxted can thrown out some funny metaphors and asides while Natalie is being yelled at or thinking about something. I do wish that there had been more dialogue between characters. Most of this book is just Natalie thinking about what someone is doing/saying and her reacting to it in her head but not out loud.

The setting of the book taking place in London was great. The city and just everything about London was nicely showcased.

I did kind of roll my eyes at the ending. I had a whole host of questions that were never answered at all. show less

Interesting book! Maxted's heroine Holly rings true as she tries to hold herself together after a date rape. And while her reactions and her struggle to cope with this, on top of a broken engagement to a man she loves, is painful -- it's written with a loving humor. And somehow, as important as that story line is, it's secondary to the Holly and Nick theme.

I'm not being very articulate -- but Maxted dealt with a horrifying subject in a truthful yet hopeful way, eventually getting it into show more context in Holly's life.

I recommend it. show less

This is the type of book that I like: great character development and interesting dialogue. The reviewer from the Washington Post says Maxted writes in a "droll comedic voice". It really has the tone I like in a book. While keeping a light-hearted feel, it explored all kinds of mother, sister, relationship and even religious issues. Maxted has some great, funny lines like when the character says that her fear of children is "like a fear of spiders, only rational". Or when she says her show more sister's loud, shocking comments are the "verbal equivalent of a low-cut blouse". The only reason I don't give it five stars is there are some parts that geta little too sappy, but overall a highly recommended read. show less

#54, 2004

I received this as a manuscript from Harper Collins' "First Look" program. What a fantastic read! It's chick lit, more Jane Green than Helen Fielding, but I enjoyed it more than any of Green's books (and I've read them all, save the newest one). The main character is flawed but definitely loveable, and is able to see through her flaws to great degree, and laugh at herself. What I loved about this book that seems to be often lacking in this genre is a sense that the main character show more has really, substantively, *changed* over the course of the book. It's not just about her "getting her man," (and maybe losing weight or getting a makeover to do so), but we see her face some deep emotional issues from her past, and it's very clear that she really has grown and changed after she struggles through. Maybe I'm not being fair to say this is missing in other books, but I got a very strong sense of it in this one. This might be because I could relate to some of her issues (particularly with intimacy; although the circumstances of her childhood were not particularly similar to mine), and I felt the book went far deeper into exploring these issues and feelings than most books of this type tend to do. At the end of the books, she's stronger and has learned some valuable things about herself and her family, and I finished this book feeling very satisfied. It was funny and touching and smart. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys chick lit - it's undoubtedly the best in the genre I've ever read. show less