A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve

I actually finished this book on Christmas Day. I started out reading it a couple of weeks ago, and then was interrupted when another book (Slut!, which I'll blog about next) caught my eye. I read half of the other book while babysitting, returned to A Wedding in December, and then checked Slut! out at the library in order to finish it.

My mom recommended A Wedding in December to me, and while I found it interesting and enjoyable, I had more than a few of those moments when you say, "Okay, now how much do I have left?" and wish that you could finish it a little faster. It's a good story, and I do love Anita Shreve, but it's far from one of my favorites of her books. (I liked The Pilot's Wife and Sea Glass
the best.)

Of course, accounting for differences in people's tastes, I can easily see how this might be someone else's favorite. Shreve does a beautiful job of weaving together, comparing and contrasting, the stories of all the different friends' lives in this reunion story. There are parallels, and there are stark differences — both from one another, and from who they were versus who they are now. I also like how she incorporates 9/11 into the story by comparing and contrasting everyone's reactions — the reunion takes place not long afterward, so it is natural that it would be a topic at the forefront of everyone's mind.

In other words, I think whether you like this book will have a lot to do with personal taste. I liked it but didn't love it, but I could totally see how someone else would.