Book Club June Review: The Wedding People by Alison Espach

For the month of June, I was torn between two books that both incidentally had blue covers. I'm not sure if it's because summer reminds me of the beach and water, and therefore I think of the colour blue, but I naturally gravitated towards Alison Espach's The Wedding People and Coco Mellors' Blue Sisters. Ultimately, I decided to choose The Wedding People because I remembered seeing a TikTok of this group of girls on a reading retreat and the raw images of their crying faces after finishing the book.

Of course, I was intrigued.

The Wedding People is about Phoebe and Lila, two women whose lives unexpectedly intersect when they happen to stay at the same hotel in Rhode Island. One is a divorcee who finally follows through on a long-standing promise to do all the things she put off before her split. The other is a bride-to-be who is determined for her wedding to be perfect. When Phoebe turns out to be the only guest not involved in the wedding festivities, and Lila becomes increasingly anxious about her presence, the two women find an unlikely connection and begin to confide in one another.

Warning: There will be some spoilers ahead, so please read at your own risk!

The Good Stuff

There are so many things to say about this book, but I will try my best to keep my thoughts concise and focus on two main points: characters and tone/theme. Let's start off with the characters. In particular, our protagonist.

At the beginning, Phoebe is portrayed as this depressed woman who is deeply unhappy because of her divorce, the miscarriages that took a toll on her body and mental health, and the death of her beloved cat. For many years, she remained in this box, trying to keep appearances and not stray far from other people's expectations - like when she confronted Mia about the affair with her ex-husband and instead of being justifiably angry she decided to remain composed.

Both Kay and I said we would have been a lot more hostile to the traitorous woman, and this is putting it mildly.

Despite the initial pitiful depiction of the protagonist, it was impossible to dislike Phoebe because in many ways her people pleasing attitude was relatable. In this way, Espach did a great job of portraying the complexity of humans, like how people can change drastically, experiencing a sort of rebirth, after a major event in their lives (Phoebe's switch up from being pitiful and people pleasing to exuding confidence and saying what she wants in the hot tub with Gary), or how people can regress at the appearance of an ex because it feels familiar. It was refreshing to see that characters weren't just one-dimensional. Even a villain like the cheating ex-husband displayed some remorse for his actions, and elicited pity from us, albeit a bit reluctantly.

The relationship between characters was another one of the deciding factors for this book's success. When Phoebe was trying to have a peaceful bath in her own room, Lila barged in to go on a rant about her wedding and the guests, and when she finally noticed that Phoebe was put out by her presence, instead of leaving her alone - she went on to shampoo her hair. The strange moment between the two women further manifested their budding friendship, and it was endearing to say the least. In a similar vein, the relationship between Phoebe and Juice, Gary's daughter, was enjoyable to witness as the latter slowly confided in our main character.

Now, on to tone and theme! Even though it was generally lighthearted and entertaining to read, making both Kay and me laugh out loud quite a few times (e.g. the horny texts between Marla and Bob), The Wedding People still successfully touched on serious topics, such as suicide and depression. Usually, these types of stories can take quite a toll on me because that's the beauty of reading! You get invested and feel the emotions of the characters, but Espach managed to convey these messages without focusing too much on the depressing parts and by highlighting that there is light at the end of the tunnel and to never stop hoping for more.

Because life does get better, doesn't it?

The Tiny Not So Good Stuff

Let's be honest, I am reaching for something negative to say about this book, but if you put a gun to my head and threatened me with the lives of my loved ones, I might say it was a little bit unrealistic that Phoebe became Lila's impromptu maid of honour. Although crazier things have happened, and if we can't accept a little bit of absurdity in a book, how can we really enjoy the fine things in life?

Rating

CY - How can a book about a divorcee and a bridezilla give me so much hope? I don't know, but I loved The Wedding People, and I would highly recommend it. 5/5.

Kay - This book was profound for me, and I loved it in every way. It made me feel a full range of emotions in a way that only brilliant writers can achieve. 5/5.

What are your thoughts on The Wedding People? Did the book touch you as much as it touched us?

Or are you just coldhearted and couldn't care less about the characters?

Let us know in the comments.