The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Pages: 384 pages
Published: July 2024

Another summer reading pick by Barnes & Noble, The Wedding People by Alison Espach did not disappoint. Written in third person, the novel takes us on a weeklong journey where Phoebe Stone has booked a suite at the extravagant Cornwall Inn for one-night with plans to die of suicide after living through the Covid pandemic and dealing with the grief of the end of her marriage. Unbeknownst to her, Lila, who can be a bit of a bridezilla, has booked the rest of this beautiful hotel for the perfect wedding she's been planning throughout Covid and to fulfill her dying father's wish. When Lila meets Phoebe and learns of her plans, she is intent on stopping her from ruining her perfectly planned soiree. 

For the remainder of the story, we learn more about Phoebe, Lila, and a diverse cast of characters. The plot has some deep elements that are a bit heavy, but the author takes great care with them. Her writing allows space for the read to contemplate the ramifications of one's actions (or inaction). Everything comes together well in the end, but not perfectly, and that makes the book all the more endearing. Life is not perfect either. 

But there are a lot of perfect quotes in this book that I highlighted in the Kindle version I borrowed from my local library. Here are just a few - 

“I just mean, a story can be beautiful not because of the way it ends. But because of the way it’s written.”

And Matt could do that—turn off the TV, quit a marriage—right in the middle of the climactic scene.

She was always too embarrassed to admit that she ever wanted anything, as if there was something humiliating about being a person with desires.

This is exactly what Phoebe has always hated and loved about life—how unpredictable it is, how things can change in an instant.

How are you supposed to go from being the center of someone’s world to being irrelevant? To sobbing in your best friend’s arms unthinkingly to being afraid to call them after your father dies? Phoebe doesn’t know. She, too, was caught unprepared by that kind of loss.

But Phoebe is starting to understand that on some nights, Lila is probably the loneliest girl in the world, just like Phoebe. And maybe they are all lonely. Maybe this is just what it means to be a person. To constantly reckon with being a single being in one body. Maybe everybody sits up at night and creates arguments in their head for why they are the loneliest person in the world.

At the time, the darkness felt like life. It is all about moving on. Saying goodbye to whoever you thought you were, whoever you thought you would be.

“Your husband is not going to take care of you the way you think,” Phoebe says. “Nobody can take care of you the way you need to take care of yourself. It’s your job to take care of yourself like that.”

It is not an easy thing to do, walk away from what you’ve built and save yourself.

She is so good at predicting what will happen in books, so bad at predicting what will happen in life. That is why she has always preferred books—because to be alive is much harder.

Recommendation: I really enjoyed this book. This is a story of healing, and there were many touches of humor, but I would definitely categorize it as literary fiction. I think this is one that could be read at any time. 

Trigger warnings include suicide, death in the family, marital affair, and infertility. 

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.