A few years ago, I had tried reading Sophie Kinsella's Shopoholics series, but was appalled by the vacuousness.I picked up Wedding Night since I'm getting married so figured that the title was apropos for what was happening in my life.
I'm glad I gave Kinsella another chance. She is a humorous writer who can move plots along.
The writing is not layered with emotions and deep characters like Emily Giffen novels, but the novel is a fun romp.
Reading Kinsella is like watching the reality TV show "The Bachelor," mindless entertainment.
The story is told from the point of view of two sisters, Lottie and Fliss. Lottie is crushed when she believes her boyfriend of four years is about to propose, and finds out that that is the furthest thing from his mind.
Fliss' circumstance is no less miserable as she wallows in the misery of her divorce while sharing custody of her son.
Events are kicked off when an old flame (am I dating myself with this term...?) contacts Lottie and ends up proposing to her over dinner despite not having seen her for over a decade.
You see, they had met in Ikonos before starting university and spent a summer together carefree without any adult worries. It was a magical time and both want to recapture that time so agree to get married.
That night. Over dinner.
The wedding is planned for two weeks later. There will be no long engagement as the couple agrees to be together as man and wife when they are indeed man and wife.
The hasty wedding causes concern not just for Fliss, but also Ben's best mate and co-worker, Lorcan. Fliss contacts Lorcan as they plot to prevent Lottie and Ben from making a mistake and going through with their rash decision to get married.
Naturally, Lorcan is a handsome man who is also divorced, and ends up being the perfect man to help Fliss get over her difficult divorce.
Shenanigans ensure involving a hotel concierge named Nico, the re-appearance of Richard, Lottie's ex-boyfriend who of course realizes that he should have proposed after all, and a trip back to Ikonos, where it all began.
Filled with light-hearted capers and lines that made me chuckle, Wedding Night did provide a true lesson - that attempting to recapture the beauty and experience from the past often leads to disappointment.
As observed by Arthur, the grumpy old Greek man who owns the hotel that Lottie and Ben stayed in during their teenage years, people should not revisit the past and expect to be as moved by it as they once were.
"Don't revisit. Youth is still where you left it, and that's where it should stay. What are you returning for? Anything that was worth taking on life's journey, you'll already have taken with you."
The other aspect about Kinsella that I enjoy is that she is English, so the story is peppered with English terms such as git, which is equivalent to a tool in American vernacular. A useful term to know indeed!
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