Just good friends door Penny Hancock

1. The Story
a. What’s the title?
”Just Good Friends”
b. Who is the writer?
”Penny Hancock.”
c. What is the subject/theme?
”It’s about a couple, Stephany and Max, who’re going on a holiday to Italy.”

2. The Characters
a. Who are the main characters?
”The main characters are Stephany, a language teacher and Max, an architect. They’re living in London.”
Other characters are Carlo, a friend of Stephany’s, and his wife Ruth. They both live in Italy.“
b. What is their relation?

”Stephany and Max are in love with each other. Carlo came to England and Stephany taught him English. They became friends.”
c. What kind of problems do they have, what are their interests?
”The problem in this story is that Max doesn’t know if he can trust Stephany. He thinks she’s in love with Carlo. The have also very different interests: Stephany likes sports and Max likes to look at buildings.”
d. Which character do you like/dislike, and why?
”I don’t like Stephany. When she’s alone with Carlo she kisses him. She has got a boyfriend though, and Carlo has a wife. I think it’s wrong to do something like that in their situation.”

3. The Time
a. When is the story set?
”It’s not mentioned in the book. I think it’s somewhere around summertime because the are going on a holiday.”
b. Is the time an important aspect in the story, if so why?
”Time isn’t an important aspect in the story.”

4. Place
a. Where is the story set?
”Most of the story takes place in Italy, in Genoa.”

5. Intention
a. What did you learn from this story?
“There were a couple of words that I didn’t know, but now I know them.”

7. Give a short summary of the story
Stephany and Max want to go on holiday. Stephany has a friend, Carlo, in Italy, who has a flat he doesn’t use. She calls Carlo and he says it’s alright if they come to Italy and have their holiday there. Ruth, Carlo’s wife, agreed as well, but she wasn't happy about it, because the last time Stephany stayed with them it wasn’t a happy time. Ruth calmed down a little when she heard Stephany was coming with her boyfriend.


Stephany and Max went to Italy by plane. When they arrived at Carlo's flat they were welcomed by Carlo’s parent, who also lived in that flat.
The next day Stephany and Max went swimming at the beach at the bottom of the village. After they had lunch they went to the flat to meet Carlo and Ruth, then they all went to a restaurant for a dinner. At the restaurant Stephany was talking a lot with Carlo and Max felt a bit jealous. He went for a walk with Thomas, Carlo's and Ruth's son.

Max was feeling sick the next day, so Stephany was going to the bar alone. Luigi, the waiter, told her he hasn’t forgotten what happened two years ago when Stephany was in Italy. She and Carlo had kissed when Ruth was at home. They had said to each other they must never let it happen again. Stephany didn’t feel well about the fact Luigi reminded her of the things that happened two years ago.

That night Max was still sick and Ruth was home with the children. Stephany and Carlo went to the beach. At the end  of the evening they were kissing again, just like two years ago. After it, they both felt uncomfortable.

The last day they were in Italy Stephany and Carlo were sitting in the bar together. They kissed each other. Then came Luigi. He said he had found Stephany’s watch on the beach were she and Carlo went that night. Max didn’t know. He was very angry. He didn’t want to speak to Stephany again.
Back in England Stephany tried to make things good again with Max, but he didn’t want a relationship with a woman he couldn’t trust. Stephany felt really sad. But she thought she didn’t need Max to have a good evening. She called other friends and they went out to have a good time.