Being Committed
by Anna Maxted
On This Page
Description
A hopeless unromantic gets a crash course in love in the fourth hilarious novel from bestselling author Anna Maxted After her disaster of a marriage ends when she is justtwenty, Hannah is convinced you have to be out of yourmind (or desperate) to tie the knot. And life without ahusband at thirty-one is just fine, thank you very much.She has a steady job working as a private investigator(albeit a mediocre one); a devoted boyfriend of fiveyears, Jason; and a wonderful relationship with her show more dad(it's a shame her mother is such a lost cause). Then, ona romantic weekend retreat to a faux-ancient castle,Jason proposes marriage, leaving Hannah with nochoice but the obvious: to turn him down cold. Much to her horror, four weeks later, Jason becomesengaged to his next-door neighbor, a fine bakerand "proficient seamstress." Has Hannah blown herlast chance at a solid relationship as her familyclaims? Jason agrees to give her another chance -- butonly if she meets his terms, among them a promise todust off the many skeletons in her closet. Brimming with her characteristic blend of humorand heartache, Anna Maxted's Being Committed is a perceptivelook at intimacy (and its substitutes), commitmentphobia, and the power others have over us. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
#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 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 show more 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
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 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 show more 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
Maxted's books are chick lit books with "issues." The heroine in this one (and one of Maxted more likable ones) has commitment issues that stem from parental issues. Her ex-husband's also got some issues, some trust issues. Can they overcome their baggage and find a happy ending? Well, it is a chick lit book, so you can probably make an educated guess.
Slow start to the book--but it picked up later on. Hard to translate from Britishease initially.
pretty good read, pretty fun. the main character was a bit annoying, but good story.
This too forever too read. i keptfaling asleep. The characters were not as engaging as some others i have read about.
Tolerable.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
16+ Works 2,411 Members
Anna Maxted was born in 1969. She graduated from Girton College, Cambridge University with a degree in English and started working as a reporter for the Jewish Chronicle. Later on, she became a freelance writer for numerous publications including the Sunday Mirror, the Daily Mirror, Independent on Sunday, FHM, and Cosmopolitan. After her father show more died of a stroke, she wrote a piece about her grief which attracted interest from the book publishing industry. Her first novel, Getting over It, was published in 2000. Her other works include Running in Heels, Behaving Like Adults, Being Committed, and A Tale of Two Sisters. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Being Committed
- Original title
- Being Committed
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 287
- Popularity
- 112,123
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 4
