The Wedding People: A Novel
4.3 | 151,684 ratings
Price: 17.71
Last update: 02-05-2026
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- CrazyAboutBooksThe best book of the year !!!When reviewing a book I often think of this truism: there is the truth and then there is everyone's perception of the truth. Most if not all of us bring our own experiences and life choices to what we read as well. Hence, divergent opinions from readers about any selected book being reviewed at the time. Fortunately there are thousands upon thousands of authors writing books from which we can choose. So, then, one person may think there is too much descriptive material which slows the narrative down while another will want more. Of course some authors are better than others at writing narratives about places, clothes, food and the like but if they did not include such tangible items then we would all be reading nothing but short stories.
Another divergent point is how realistic should the narrative be? In my opinion, an author has done his/her job when some facet of the human condition, whether negative or positive but certainly negative, is turned into a great read as nuanced, as wise and as powerful as THE WEDDING PEOPLE: A NOVEL by Alison Espach. Even though suicide is a serious topic and is not treated lightly in the book, it should be noted that those suffering depression have our concern and our hope for those needing it to seek help. On a positive note however, statistics show that people who were saved or rescued from the final act are grateful that they did not succeed regardless of how the "rescue" happened. Add Phoebe Stone, the MFC, to such a "literary" saved list!
I try not to include spoilers but Phoebe's intentions for checking into the exclusive Victorian Hotel have been mentioned several times already so consider that even though she meant it, she did not realize she had checked into the hotel with improper equipment for such a final act. However, regardless of her plan, the contrast is startling between her self-agonizing, self-criticism and constant worry about how others see her compared to the bombastic over-the-top, her-first-concern-is-herself, Lila, the bride. What better way to lift Phoebe up than being put in a position to help others with less weighty concerns than her own--or are they less weighty to each particular individual?
Phoebe's upbringing was so quiet and calm that she could not step outside what she assumed others thought of her, even when she was married. Once she met the crew in Lila's wedding party, Phoebe started broadening her outlook for the first time in her life. How all this happens is a serious, laugh out loud, shed a few tears very believable fictional narrative about self discovery and self determination. Each character contributing to Phoebe's evolution is fully presented as being different from one another with each having their own quirks, hangups and personalities. Then there is Clay, the groom, a person Phoebe could look in the eye and be totally honest with about her feelings and opinions. Phoebe's growing relationship with each person is clever. Special note: there is a scene about a vintage car that will have readers laughing for days.
Books that have stood the test of time are not compact, quick reads though many of us enjoy those too but rather are about the difficulty we have growing up then living a "normal" life (whatever that is) or that are written about unforgettable subjects i.e. the orphanages of Dickens day and then the "snake-pit" mental hospitals in the early 20th century (and do not forget the future--1984) and so on. One of the reasons so many of those books are still being read today is that they took a terrible situation and turned it into a story most of us could relate to while being grateful the situation(s) were eventually adequately resolved. I believe we will be reading this book for a long time. I loved it, read it in a day and will read it again, something I have only done one other time in all the centuries I have been an avid reader (LOL). With no hype or personal fixations, just simply my truth: the best book of the year. - kclouds2A good read with a realistic endingThis novel was set primarily in my hometown of Newport, RI, and Phoebe, the main character, is a college professor like me. That was enough to draw me in.
It was the story that kept me reading, though. Unhappy woman wants to die in the Victorian inn of her dreams. Then she meets a bride living the wedding of hers. Such a creative and sometimes amusing plot moves the book along easily. A good read! - T. P. CaseyThe Most Important Life of Your DayThe Wedding People, by Alison Espach, is a coming-of-age (coming-to-life) comedy novel. It is the story of a suicidal protagonist who awakens to her life as an inadvertent addition to a week-long wedding party she disapproves of entirely. Her name is Phoebe, and she unexpectedly bonds with the bride. What ensues allows for revealing high humor. The loquacious and self-absorbed bride, Lila, bursts into Phoebe’s deep depression, to ask, “How do you like my hat?” In another scene, Phoebe returns clothing she borrowed from Lila’s mother and notices two bedside books: How to be Your Own Best Friend, and We Die Alone.
Espach uses the week-long wedding as a character study of participants and their humanity as a platform for what might be obscured in the overreaching excess of a such a thing. Phoebe, unincluded in her own life, becomes personally involved as a foil for emotional honesty. She is sense and truth confronting a big happy day – a week, actually — dressed up like a life. Swept into it, Phoebe disapproves, pointedly and hilariously, of the whole idea. Alison Espach’s writing is funny, sharp, and smart, using humor and character development to great effect: Lila confides that her future mother-in-law mentions the bride’s dress is a little short. “That’s code…”
Lila’s wealthy widowed mother: “’I fell in love with what Henry gave me. And he gave me so much. But loving someone like that doesn’t make you a better woman. Only losing them does.’” This seems a cynical comment but it is an honest appraisal of wrong judgement. It is the voice of experience, and Phoebe is listening to it. The Wedding People is filled with such occasions of unguarded sincerity. This makes for moments of poignancy as well as humor.
Awakening to yourself is the undergirding theme of The Wedding People. Author Espach knows she is in territories of a dangerous stereotype. Yet, like her protagonist, Espach confronts emotional traps and rabbit holes of catastrophe to seek perspective. “Phoebe looks at her green dress. Six days ago she was ready to die in it. In some versions of this story she would already be buried in it. But in this version, Lila had it laundered by the hotel staff.” There are many ways to seek redemption.
Throughout the wedding week Phoebe’s sharp mind functions like an analytic recorder, observing this contretemps and that message flashing between eyes, or wildly costly gestures unable to conceal misgiving hovering in the near and actual chaos encountered at the Newport RI. setting. Phoebe struggles to know how irony and satire carry the real message of truth. Frantic attempts to be perfect, no matter the cost, cultural fashion, or mandate, inevitably leave a wake of what it means to be human. And everybody’s truth is different.
-- Tom Casey - MoraDora29Not as good as the hypeThe title paints a different story than the dark beginning. Some of the writing is clever and engaging but other sections drag on and on about things not so relevant to the plot. Made it to the end which I always try to do and it redeemed itself a bit as not your usual ending trying to wrap it in a bow.