Reviews

Getting Over It by Anna Maxted

wombat_88's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

antukin's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Oh this was an adventure to read.

I first read it when I was 18, I think. And I remember feeling in love with it. It was funny and vibrant, despite the snarkiness of the main character's personality. Or maybe that's why it felt vibrant. I remember being silly, having a thing for Veterinarians (though fortunately the only vet I know are old and married) and finding being pulled out of a Toyota window by a hug to be romantic, or even offering your sleeve to wipe a man's runny nose.

Anyway, despite this book being a favorite, I'm rereading this for the first time after 11 years. And the same vibrant feeling has rushed back. Just that, this time, I have a better understanding of the scenarios that are playing out.

It was a rollercoaster of emotions. I find myself giddy and swooning Tom. He might be nothing special but he does charming things that are indeed very charming if you fancy him enough. Ehem. Also, this might be me, being biased as I fancy Tom, but he is funny. I'm always laughing, giggling, kicking my feet up in the air, whenever he's on.

Spoiler

The way he handled Marcus' comment about him being a vet and having eaten at this posh restaurant before him was funny. And that ketchup trick! Outsanding.

Helen can be a headache, though I give her credit for it because she's going through the loss of her father and she did have a tiny character development towards the end. 

Speaking of which. I love how this book tackled grief. It's... realistic. This book is about how Helen handled her father's death and the events that came after it. It's not a legacy written for her father, or who her father is. Hence why his father is a mere distant memory, because that's what he is to Helen. They weren't close, but like most parents, he has always been there, putting things in order and you don't pay too much attention to how important they are until they're gone and you're left with a lot of things to do and not knowing how to do them. She felt lost when her father died. And Helen never knew how to deal with her feelings, so she deals with it the only way she knows how.

Spoiler

By shoving it at the back of her closet like those shoes she'd buy on impulse

Spoiler

By chapter 34, I find myself starting to question Helen, and even getting frustrated at her. She has done questionable things before this chapter but I guess my patience for her is starting to run dry. I do love her friends though, and it's so easy to slip yourself in Helen's shoes and feel her exasperation and frustration towards her friends at first, but mid-way of the story, I do start appreciating them. I don't appreciate Marcus and Michelle though but it's understandable to me why Helen bears with them.

I had to put this book down after some exhausting chapters, (like i think every chapter after 34) because of how the events were unfolding. 

And when Luke and Tom came to Tina's rescue? OH GOOD HEAVENS that scene just made Tom look so hawt stap.

But oh, that ending. I love that ending. It's so human, yet so stupid. But I think that's what makes it human and beautiful.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content

emp1234's review against another edition

1.0

Boo. This kept showing up in my GR recommendations so I finally gave in and picked it up. I only got about halfway through before I stopped torturing myself. Just bad writing. Can't believe all the great reviews.

cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition

4.0

Recommended by Haley.

Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sgetting%20over%20it%20maxted__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl

seismatic's review

2.0

Hmm. This book did not age well. As a 26yo myself I spent most of the book being annoyed with the main character.

raemelle's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars. This book has its high points, but drags on forever without actually going anywhere, endlessly cycling through the same issues over and over.

cutiejoy's review against another edition

3.0

Wanted a silly read, and that's what I got - I liked it more than I expected to though. A little dated, a little strange, very British, etc etc, but I thought it was surprisingly funny, and unexpectedly poignant at times. The ending felt so rushed though, and Tom really was not all that. They were both dumb. I loved Helen though! Like Bridget Jones but less frustratingly idiotic (mostly), and a bit meaner (which I liked). The grief about her dad and the guilt surrounding her mother made her more of a complex character, but I was surprised at the relative lack of memories calling back to her father. I barely knew who he was, but I guess she didn't either. 
 

• "Shall I kill myself now or later?"  

• "...the entire point of being female and having female friends is that however hideous, stupid, or unwise you look, act, or behave, they are biologically programmed to tell you you're wonderful, your hair looks fab, and that you did the right thing. It's their job!"  

• "I don't want to live like an ant, scurrying about my futile business until one day like any other, I'm crushed pointlessly, indiscriminately, under the black-booted foot of fate."  

• "I feel like a sparrow pecking at concrete in the hope of it yielding a worm."  

• "Tina is a prisoner to the cult of Adrian and my words are blasphemy. She feels guilty for talking to me, she says. Disloyal."  

• "I believe my horoscope for as long as it flatters — the moment it starts chiding is the moment I dismiss it as gobbledygook."  

• "...I believe any man who says the words 'Hey, steady there, angelsweet!' without irony should kill himself instantly to dispel the shame..."  

• "I never was a daddy's girl and now I never will be."  

• "Give me debts and a broken down car any day. At least I owe and drive badly how I want. And I'll never have to sit for another exam." 

sharonfalduto's review against another edition

A British book, which I just love because they're always doing things like "swanning off" and so forth. In this one a young woman's father dies and the book deals with her relationship repercussions afterward.

bougainvillea's review against another edition

2.0

I did not love this one. The main character was a little too dumb and other characters were a bit too caricaturale. The thing with Tina is one example. The story line would have been stronger if she had been more developed as a chaarcter. Marian Keyes tackled it much better in [book:This Charming Man|2334751]. Lots of bodily functions and references to excretions. I mean, obviously they're part of life, but they appear often enough in this book that I noticed. Not sure I need a description of when a characters digs up his nose and wipes what he finds on his shirt, for example. Didn't seem to add much to the story. I started [book:Being Committed|33769] several times and could never get into it, so I'm concluding that Anna Maxted is not for me.

maiareads's review against another edition

funny hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75