Product Description

'Modern women don't believe in love. Believing in love carries roughly the same stigma as wearing court shoes. It's as old-fashioned as going on a diet (as opposed to a detox). A modern woman cannot accept that Father Christmas is a fraud and persist in believing that one sunny day her dark handsome destiny will appear in a puff of Fahrenheit and haul her off to Happy Ever After.' Holly Appleton knows all that, and yet she believes in love so much that she sets up a dating agency, Girl Meets Boy, to help others fulfil their romantic destiny and find true happiness. Holly's life is a growing success, yet her own love life is beginning to unravel. She has just become un-engaged to Nick. (his job - as Mr Elephant, children's party entertainer - reveals his lack of ambition. He plainly doesn't care enough about her to try harder.) But Nick won't even move on, he won't even move out. Holly decides Nick needs to be shocked into shifting and agrees to go out on a date with one of the men who writes to her agency. And that's when the problems really start. Not only in Stuart Marshall not her type, he's deeply unpleasant and unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. Will Nick see sense? Will Holly discover what she really wants and needs? Will Girl Meet Boy survive? Maybe they will, when they stop acting like children and start behaving like adults.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1216625 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Anna Maxted is not one to shy away from difficult and emotionally traumatic issues. Here in Behaving Like Adults she tackles date rape having dealt with bereavement in her first book, Getting Over It, and with eating disorders in her second novel, Running In Heels. It sounds grim--"doomed chick lit"--but the joy of Anna Maxted's books (and they are joyful, despite everything) is the humour and sympathy of her writing.

The heroine of this story is Holly, who runs a dating agency. She split up with Nick, her childish boyfriend of five years, because "he didn't know how to make an effort in a relationship" (he lives on "hygiene's edge" not washing or talking enough, and being a generally lacklustre dating companion). She decides to throw a party to celebrate the success of her business and chooses rich and arrogant Stuart as her date for the evening. He brings Holly home, pushes her to the floor, and rapes her, and she doesn't tell anyone. As she says: "as long as I skated along the surface of my composure, I was fine. There was more underneath, I knew, but it was dark and cold and deathly and I refused to go there."

The rest of the novel deals with the repercussions of the rape, with Holly trying to carry on as normal, but being unable to. She is forced to redefine her life and her relationships, especially with Nick. Behaving Like Adults is well observed, moving, funny and intensely readable. --Eithne Farry

Review
"Moving, without being sentimental, riotously comic without being superficial." -- "Daily Express
"Funny and inspiring, you'll be turning the pages until the small hours." -- "Company

"From the Trade Paperback edition.

Company
‘Funny and inspiring, you’ll be turning the pages until the small hours’

Customer Reviews

Dealing with a tricky subject
Another book from this Author dealing with a taboo subject. I am a man who doesn't mind admitting to reading books written for women.

This book should be compulsory reading for those men who consider rape as acceptable. In this book the emotions of a woman wronged are examined. I cannot agree with the other reviewer who found the treatment was trivialised in some way. I saw that as a strength because it highlighted the way in which some women consider such an attack. The way in which she came to understand that it was not her fault and the reaction of other people showed what a long and difficult journey this can be,

The light heartedness of the sub-plot helped to focus my thoughts on the suffering, the attempts to live a normal life.

If I have one criticism it was that the ending lacked the strength of the body of the story. Basically it was a cop-out. But having said that I'm not sure how it could have been done better.

All in all a good book dealing sensitively with a difficult and emotive subject.

Anna Maxted - Behaving Like Adults
To the reviewer who gave this book 1 star due to it 'taking a witty approach', did we read the same book???

I found absolutely nothing witty in that particular scene, or the whole book even. To imply that the author took a witty approach is to imply that she somehow trivialised the subject matter - a point I would strongly disagree with.

Even before I started reading the book, I knew what to expect. I knew the basic plot line and having read 'Running In Heels' I knew that Anna Maxted's books do not follow the usual, formulaic style of most 'chick lit' books, and that she dares to broach subjects that most female writers dare to touch.

'Behaving Like Adults' tells the story of Holly Appleton, manager of dating agency 'Girl Meets Boy'. She is idealistic, a real softie at heart, can't even bring herself to throw ex fiancé Nick out of their shared house. In an attempt to convince Nick that they are undeniably 'over', she decides to go on a date with an agency applicant, Stuart Marshall. This is where things start to go wrong.

I thought it was incredibly brave of the author to approach such a sensitive subject in this way.

My only gripe against the book is that I felt it 'lost' itself in places, and could have been shorter toward the end. Those of you with a soft heart will be glad to know that the ending is ultimately happy, maybe too happy for some. I though the characters were well thought out and the contrasting storyline of Nick and his family gives the reader something else to concentrate on other than what is happening with Holly. I particularly liked Claudia's character, and found myself laughing out loud at her 'driving etiquette'.

All in all, I would say this is an excellent book. As a young female myself, I feel things like this should be explored more. There is sometimes too much of a light-hearted feel to 'chick lit' books, and I think a lot of authors would benefit from straying from the constraints of the genre every once in a while.

Touching, poignant and very moving. Will stay in my mind for sometime after putting it down - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The cover doesnt do this book justice, Anna.
I dont often write reviews but I really had to comment on this book, short of writing directly to the author. I really loved the story and "couldnt put it down". It's a shame it has a bit of a frothy back cover, because the description really doesnt do it justice. It's theme is actually very serious so it is eloquent and thought provoking when it needs to be, yet enjoyable and light hearted too. I loved the character of Holly and really laughed at some of the "that's so true" things Anna Maxted made her come out with. A great book, Anna. Well done. I think it should be a movie made by Richard Curtis!