Book Chat Issue #128
The Wedding People
Hello reading friends,
This edition of Book Chat features the perfect holiday read and a recipe for pancakes!
But first, here are some holiday snaps from my recent visit to Kangaroo Island in South Australia, near Adelaide.
I went to the island with a group of amazing women including my two sisters, two nieces, two daughters, and my lovely daughter-in-law, to celebrate my recent significant birthday. Kangaroo Island is known for it’s beautiful stark landscape, abundant wildlife, and clear blue water. There was a tremendous amount of chat and laughter as we celebrated being alive and being together.
What I’ve been reading
I always put a lot of thought into choosing my holiday read as I have a horror of being stuck somewhere with nothing to read, or with a book that turns out to be a dud! It happens. Once I was on a plane and both my books were duds, so I tried to sneakily read the book of the person next to me. She was reading Harry Potter and was mightily annoyed (understandably).
For many years I carried an ‘emergency book’ in the boot of my car to read while I was waiting for various children to finish music lessons or sporting activities, but these days I have a phone filled with hundreds of sample chapters of books, so I’m never really stuck.
Having said that, I wanted to keep off my phone as much as possible on this holiday, so I was thrilled when my friend Denise loaned me her copy of The Wedding People by Alison Espach. I thought it would be perfect for a holiday and I wasn’t wrong.
The Wedding People is one of those rare books that is funny, well written, and moving.
The plot revolves around Phoebe, a depressed professor who goes to a flash hotel in Rhode Island wearing her favourite dress and least comfortable shoes. You know from the beginning she’s not planning to have a great time.
In the lobby she meets Lila, who has planned an elaborate week-long wedding celebration and is very unhappy to find a depressed woman crashing her big event. Lila has booked the entire hotel for her family and cannot believe that Phoebe is not part of the wedding party. At first she assumes that Phoebe is part of her extended family, and this makes Phoebe feel even worse.
It had been a crushing realisation, one that had started slowly after the divorce, and got stronger with each passing holiday, until she woke up this morning to such a quiet house, she finally understood what it meant to have no family. She understood it would always be like this—just her, in bed, alone.
Gradually the two women develop an unlikely friendship based on the realisation that they can be completely honest with one another. Their developing relationship is handled really well, and is neither schmaltzy nor unbelievable.
The Wedding People is an excellent choice for people who enjoy sharp dialogue, pithy observations about life, and some light romance. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed You are Here by David Nicholls.
What I’ve been eating
Yesterday was Pancake Day here in Australia and I love following this tradition.
As many of you will know, Pancake Day is also known as Shrove Tuesday. It falls immediately before Ash Wednesday, which marks the first day of Lent in the Christian calendar. To be shriven is to be absolved of your sins in preparation for the Lenten period which runs until Easter.
Lent is traditionally a time of austerity, and sweet foods, particularly those containing eggs, sugar, and fat were commonly forbidden, so in order to use up those ingredients, people made pancakes.
As a child we always had pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, even though we weren’t Catholics, so I thought I’d whip some up for me and hubby.
I used this recipe by Ravneet Gill from the Observer Newspaper, although I reduced the sugar slightly as three tablespoons seemed like too much. I also left out the blueberries as I had neglected to buy any.
They turned out well but we had far too many so I gave them to the neighbours.
International Book Club
If you’re new around here, you might like to know we have an online book club which is free for subscribers.
Our next read is Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.
Wild Dark Shore is both a thriller and an ode to the natural world and I’m really looking forward to discussing it with you.
If you haven’t been to one of our book club meetings and you’d like to be part of the discussion, just hit reply and let me know. We are a very informal group, so don’t feel intimidated or shy. All are welcome.
Our next meeting will be in April, date TBC but probably Friday 17th (that will be Thursday 16th in the US and Canada).
That’s all for this issue my friends,
Until next time, keep safe and read as much as you can.
Marg xx
Belated Happy Birthday, Marg! What a glorious getaway! The pictures are fabulous--and how perfect to celebrate with the significant women in your life.
I always enjoy your book recommendations and capsule reviews, as well as the glimpses of your life and the recipes you share. I hope to join you for the next book club if I don't get distracted and forget, as happened last time!
Gorgeous photos! That water!! Wedding People is a great emergency book. As a friend of mine (who similarly read it in a "reading emergency" situation) said: it's awfully nice to disengage in an extravagant wedding for a minute. I haven't read You are Here, maybe I'll pick that one up next!