The Wedding People

by Alison Espach

4 stars. I may have even upped it to 4.5 stars although I am still not sure how I feel about giving “half stars”. I feel like we should commit one way or another, right? Anyway, I really liked the book, and although I did not love it, I liked it more than other books I have “liked” which is why I would consider splitting a star for this book. My book club ladies were surprised! I was surprised myself!

I didn’t expect to like it. And at first, I did not like it. I searched for any opportunity to get out of finishing it. If I had started reading this on my own, I would have stopped after the first couple of chapters. However, I did not want to miss Book Club and I knew I would not attend if I did not finish. I powered through. I heard recently that being a good reader is submitting to where the author wants to take you (or something like that). “This is a good opportunity to practice this lesson.“

The Story

The main character starts off pretty hard to relate to: her husband has cheated on her, she’s spiraling, and she checks into a ritzy resort with a plan to end her life. But a twist of fate puts her in the path of a bride, and somehow, a strange but real friendship begins. Initially, the main character’s victim mentality made me role my eyes and sigh more than once. But, I stuck with it and am glad I did. The shallow beginning ended up having a surprising amount of depth.

Those Catholic Moments

While it’s not a “Catholic” book (none of our book club books are), I have been challenging myself to find God in each book we read. 

A few Catholic characters with stereotypical Catholic backgrounds; some of the characters shared their Catholic school experience (again stereotypically not good); a funny moment of a disapproving grandmother insisting on saying grace before every course at a rehearsal dinner. While Catholic stereotypes can get annoying, there were not enough to stop me.

There were enough redemptive themes, while not overtly credited to God, to keep me curiously reading, wondering where the author would take me. I liked the arc of the protagonist. A woman chooses to live after contemplating death, to learn, grow, and make different choices. Finally, she stops being defined and victimized by the brokenness of her past. I expected to see a dumb, contrite ending, but disappointing ending I waited for did not come. There was no Hallmark ending– it was real, unresolved, and dignified. While there was more profanity than I liked, there was no gratuitous immorality or messy affairs. The author leaves the ultimate end to our imagination.

You can link to this book here.

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