A Wedding In December by Anita Shreve...OH where to begin?! I toyed with putting this one down many times mid-read. It just isn't my style of book. However, I tried to read it through to get a grasp on the full experience. I can say that I really love Shreve's writing style. She carefully builds stories about the characters, leaving full reveal of each character's history sprinkled throughout the book. She definitely has creative tactics to tie the reader into the story. Though, this is where I get stuck. I just had very little taste for the story line. Not my style!
The central premise of the story is that 6 high school friends get back together for the wedding of 2 of them, Bill and Bridget. Quite the time has passed. The characters are in their 40s now and have led separated lives. Though, Bill and Bridget somehow found each other after all this time and tied the knot. Sounds very sweet; sappy even. However, where I loose eagerness and excitement is when I found out under what circumstances Bridget and Bill rekindled their high school love, an extramarital affair. That's right, Bill was married with children. He had an affair with Bridget for several years eventually leaving his wife. Bridget, a divorced mother of 1 teenage son, has stage 4 cancer. They have decided to get the wedding underway because of their fond love of one another despite her terminal illness. This is not the only affair in the book. Harrison, happily married -- setup to be seen as the perfect husband and father -- gives into a childish crush as well during his weekend visit at the wedding. The book is ridden with infidelity. This was a huge turn off for me. If this doesn't put distaste in your mouth and you think you could still find the storyline appealing, it is surely a good read. Shreve is very talented and skilled at the composition of developing her characters. There were several layers of conflict and climax. There was also a missing faith element. Faith didn't play a role in the storyline. This was also disappointing particularly when the sanctity of marriage was continually muddled over. Truly talented author, just not my type of story.
The Next Level by David Gregory proved to be better than my first Gregory treasure. I will admit my first experience with his previous book left me a bit disgruntled at the end. Though, it was a good read; highly encouraged, if only to be thought provoking. That would be my summation here as well. The Next Level is a clever story of young man, fresh out of college trying to secure his first job in corporate America. He's brought on in this "Universal Solutions" company and progresses fairly quickly from one level to the next. The entire book parallels his rising in levels with varying depths of faith in Christ. Again, a good quick read. This book definitely pushes to you to ponder which level you're on. It does not end "cheesily" either. Try it out! 
Strega Nona Meets Her Match by Tomie dePaola delivers another great story. He truly never disappoints. This story is definitely one that will make it to baby McGehee's personal library. Strega Nona finds herself confronted with stiff competition in her village. However, leave it to great old Anthony to set everything right once again...on accident of course. Enjoy. 
No comments:
Post a Comment