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Overview
Helen Bradshaw isn't exactly living out her dreams. She's a lowly assistant editor at GirlTime magazine, she drives an ancient Toyota, and she has a history of choosing men who fall several thousand feet below acceptable boyfriend standard. Not to mention that she shares an apartment with a scruffy , tactless roommate, her best girlfriends are a little too perfect, and the most affectionate male in her life—her cat, Fatboy—occasionally pees in her underwear draw.
Then Helen gets the telephone call she least expects: Her father has had a massive heart attack. Initially brushing off his death as merely an interruption in her already chaotic life (they were never very close, after all), Helen is surprised to find everything else starting to crumble around her. Her pushy mother is coming apart at the seams, a close friend might be heading toward tragedy, and, after the tequila incident, it looks as though Tom the vet will be sticking with Dalmatians. Turns out getting over it isn't going to be quite as easy as she thought.
Synopsis
"Maybe it will be good for you to be on your own for a bit."
"Why?" I say in a bored tone.
Lizzy dabs her mouth with her napkin (her perfect lipstick remains perfect) and declares, "You've got to be happy alone before you can be happy with someone."
"Liz," I say, "did you read that in GirlTime?"
"I might have," says Lizzy airily. "So?"
"I wrote it."
Wickedly funny and unfailingly honest, Getting over It charts the misadventures of Helen Bradshaw, a caustically charming twenty-something who isn't exactly living out her dreams. She's a lowly assistant editor at GirlTime magazine, drives an ancient Toyota, and has a history of choosing men who fall several thousand feet below acceptable boyfriend standard. Not to mention that she shares an apartment with a scruffy, tactless roommate, her best girlfriends are a little too perfect, and the most affectionate male in her life--her cat, Fatboy--occasionally pees in her underwear drawer.
Then Helen gets the telephone call she least expects: Her father has had a massive heart attack. Initially brushing off his death as merely an interruption in her already chaotic life (they were never very close, after all), Helen is surprised to find everything else starting to crumble around her. Her pushy mother is coming apart at the seams, a close friend might be heading toward tragedy, and, after the tequila incident, it looks as though Tom the vet will be sticking with Dalmatians. Turns out getting over it isn't going to be quite as easy as she thought.
Hilarious, wise, and compulsively readable, Getting over It marks the debut of one of the freshest, boldest new voices in women's fiction.
Evening Standard
There is nothing cocklewarming, or tearjerking, about Getting Over It. It is far too witty, and clever, for that. Its protagonist's bad habits, moral weaknesses and drunked lapses are its greatest asset. Like Bridget Jones, it refuses to gloss over life's ordinary squalor; unlike Bridget, however, its heroine's traumas are serious, giving it an edge which makes her predecessor's worries seem laughably small. It's compelling, humane, and worryingly funny, and better written than many more 'literary' novels. The difference between Maxted's novel and her would-be peers is honesty.
Editorials
Marian Keyes
I loved Getting Over It! Its tone is so breezy and subversive, but with a heart of vulnerability. Helen is a fabulous character, and Maxted's handling of the emotional fallout of death is spot-on. Most important, Getting Over It never loses its humor or its warmth — a great achievement.Suzanne Finnamore
Getting Over It is a charming and compelling debut.Evening Standard
There is nothing cocklewarming, or tearjerking, about Getting Over It. It is far too witty, and clever, for that. Its protagonist's bad habits, moral weaknesses and drunked lapses are its greatest asset. Like Bridget Jones, it refuses to gloss over life's ordinary squalor; unlike Bridget, however, its heroine's traumas are serious, giving it an edge which makes her predecessor's worries seem laughably small. It's compelling, humane, and worryingly funny, and better written than many more 'literary' novels. The difference between Maxted's novel and her would-be peers is honesty.Evening Standard
There is nothing cocklewarming, or tearjerking, about Getting Over It. It is far too witty, and clever, for that. Its protagonist's bad habits, moral weaknesses and drunked lapses are its greatest asset. Like Bridget Jones, it refuses to gloss over life's ordinary squalor; unlike Bridget, however, its heroine's traumas are serious, giving it an edge which makes her predecessor's worries seem laughably small. It's compelling, humane, and worryingly funny, and better written than many more 'literary' novels. The difference between Maxted's novel and her would-be peers is honesty.Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction
In this "very funny," "hip" fiction debut, Helen Bradshaw - a young woman with a past she needs to get over (including hopeless boyfriends, a dreary job with an irritating boss, annoying roommates, and a self-obsessed mother) -- gets a telephone call that changes her life. Though most of our readers liked it, others wrote, "too frantic for me. Will appeal to twenty-somethings, but will wear older readers out." "What does 'scuppering' mean anyway?"Library Journal
Maxted, contributing editor to Cosmopolitan UK, has a quick wit and creates amusing characters in her first novel. Helen, the thirtyish heroine, is a features writer for a trendy women's magazine. She's reeling with grief at the sudden death of her father, and her stress is compounded by the neediness of her mother and grandmother. Helen has plenty more on her plate--she is being evicted from her apartment, she is trying to save a friend who is being abused by her fianc , and her neurotic cat suffers a series of psychosomatic ailments. Behind the hilarious one-liners, there's a serious theme: it's tough for a young person to "be in charge" when a parent dies. Unfortunately, the appeal of this likable, if nonessential, novel will be limited in the United States by its many British colloquialisms. In addition, the book is far too long and loaded with slapstick scenes; its episodic content would have worked better as linked short stories. For larger collections.--Joyce W. Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, NJ Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\Jane
If you liked A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing...Wulff
[An] affecting tale of tragic loss, told with wit and gumption.—People