Title: The Wedding People
Author: Alison Espach
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Release Date: July 30, 2024
A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.
It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.
In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.
This book has been on my radar for a while. If I'm honest, I never liked the cover, which is why it took me a long time to read it.
Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn with no bags and at the end of her rope. She is there to stay in the best room the hotel has to offer, craving room service and a chance to enjoy the night. In recent years, she has been overwhelmed. Struggling with infertility and her ex-husband’s infidelity, it’s no wonder she has been depressed. Then, her cat dies, and she struggles to process the loss. She leaves everything behind, including her home and work.
When Phoebe arrives at the hotel, she discovers it is fully booked for a wedding. Shortly after, she strikes up a conversation with the bride, Lila, and they soon form an almost-friendship. Before she knows it, Phoebe is pulled into the wedding preparations. Without really trying, she begins to have fun and forge new relationships.
The Wedding People is insightful, featuring well-developed characters and an engaging plot that blends drama and humor.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
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