A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
One of Time’s “100 Must-Read Books of 2024”
Named a Best Book of 2024 by The Guardian, Chicago Tribune Biblioracle, HuffPost, US Magazine, Sunset Magazine, the Chicago Public Library, Elle, Real Simple, and Glamour
The #1 Indie Next Pick for August 2024
One of The Washington Post’s 10 Noteworthy Books for July and August
Named a Best Book of 2024 by HuffPost
Named a Best Book of Summer 2024 by People Magazine, Bustle, Star Tribune, Goodreads, and LitHub
“The Wedding People is the perfect book to wrap up your summer reading. . . . heartwarming [and] hilarious.”
—Jenna Bush Hager, The Today Show's #ReadwithJenna
“A collision of diametrically opposed life events and general drama, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Maggie Shipstead’s Seating Arrangements. . . . Espach has an eye for the full gamut of emotions that go hand in hand with lifelong commitment, from humor to self-involvement to pathos.”
—Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times Book Review
“Espach’s wit and warmth deliver a gratifying story about how people who have given up might find a reason to start caring again.”
—Becky Meloan, The Washington Post
“Deeply satisfying. . . . A story of what it means to lift oneself out of one life and into another through acts of individual will and fellowship with others. . . . Espach is now three for three on delivering funny, emotionally moving explorations of the difficulties people have in being themselves.”
—John Warner, Chicago Tribune
“A feel-good testament to the life-altering magic of chance meetings.”
—People
“Deceptively complex...Espach’s story of a life-changing chance encounter is as rewarding as it is unexpected.”
—Lucy Feldman, Time
“A refreshingly sharp and funny examination of loss, love and wrestling with the expectations we have for our lives. This book is the rare lush escape that avoids falling into predictability; the characters feel full and real, and offer genuine moments of insight and warmth amidst their quirky circumstances.”
—Jillian Capewell, HuffPost
“Full of witty dialogue and lovably imperfect characters you’ll root for till the end.”
—Real Simple
“They say a good actor can read a phone book and still keep an audience spellbound. Alison Espach is that kind of writer. She is a master of taking the seemingly mundane and creating moments that transfix.”
—Maren Longbella, Star Tribune
“Filled with hilarious scenes and brilliant banter.”
—Marion Winik, Newsday
“By deftly invoking many popular romantic comedy tropes, Espach fills this novel with champagne-tinged fizz, while never losing sight of the more sober emotional truths that kicked off her narrative.”
—Bustle
“It’s simply delightful, entertaining, and heartfelt.”
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour
“Think: Eleanor Oliphant and Meredith, Alone vibes. As of this writing, The Wedding People is my favorite book of 2024.”
—Isabelle Eyman, Camille Styles
“Witty dialogue is just a bonus in this engrossing read centering on complex women making life-changing decisions. Recommend to readers who enjoy Sally Rooney, Curtis Sittenfeld, or Elizabeth Berg.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“The Wedding People is so much more than a funny story (though it is very funny). Espach has penned a keenly observed novel about depression, love, the ways women make themselves small, and how one woman got over it. Fully realized and completely memorable.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“Sparkling . . . Readers are in for a treat.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The Wedding People is a wickedly funny and deeply satisfying novel about a woman with nothing to lose, armed with a green dress, some chocolate wine, and a coconut pillow, cut loose to cause delightful mayhem. It’s a story of lovers who turn into strangers, strangers who turn into friends, and the weird and wonderful connections that make us feel truly alive. I loved it.”
—Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street
“The Wedding People is my very favorite kind of novel—hilarious and witty with enormous heart and characters I fell in love with. I was delighted to be at this wedding, in the middle of the drama and gossip, watching the entanglements of friendships old and new. I haven’t stopped talking about this book since I finished it, and I won’t stop until I’ve made everyone I know read it . . . so read it! Now! You can thank me later.”
—Jennifer Close, bestselling author of Marrying the Ketchups
“Alison Espach! How does she do it? I mean, really—how? The Wedding People is so utterly, ringingly true it feels less like fiction than like a field guide to personhood. It's so funny and romantic that I sometimes laughed out loud and sometimes got actual goosebumps. I tore through it like I didn't have a disordered deficit of attention. It's a perfect novel. I loved it.”
—Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich
2024-09-13
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is mywedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
