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Sign up todayThe Wedding People
A Novel
Narrator
Helen Laser
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Length
11 hours 37 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“Alison Espach's newest novel hits pretty hard pretty fast, with suicidal ideation attempted suicide (but make it "let's not take ourselves too seriously.") I wasn't sure how to take this cavalier attitude toward such a heavy topic but I'm happy I stuck with it. At first glance, the titular "Wedding People" appear self-absorbed and typical of a certain sect of entitled Northeasterners (i.e., the target market for preppy coastal shops like Brooks Brothers and IZOD). Once exposed to main character Phoebe Stone's jarringly laissez faire energy, however, "The Wedding People" soon find that life will never be quite the same. I feel the same. ”
— Mary G-B • River Bend Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“This is one of those unexpected books. Hard to describe because it did such a good job describing itself as you read it. Alison Espach has a really special writing style, simple and to the point but also so profound that of course she’s able to strike a moving balance between darkness and humor. Somehow we are able to see all the ridiculous grandeur that comes with the concept of a wedding but are still swept up in being part of it even if we meant to do the complete opposite. This book changes you the way that it changes Phoebe, gradually over a short amount of time so that to everyone else it feels like you just decided to become a brand new person, but to you, you know everything you went through, you know how much time truly stopped and took a look at you before helping you pick the food out of your teeth.”
— Paola • Steamy Lit
Bookseller recommendation
“Whenever I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it. The discussion of heavy topics was done so beautifully and realistically and I loved every second of it. It truly felt like the characters were real people and I was rooting for them the whole book. 10/10 read. this. book. immediately. ”
— Ava • Blacksburg Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Phoebe wants to kill herself. Phoebe goes to a Gilded Age Nantucket hotel to do it. One last lobster and champagne kind of night before she offs herself. Fortunately, her plan gets derailed as she becomes entangled in a wedding party, specifically with a needy yet loveable bridezilla. Phoebe is a curious depressive who realizes it's not too late to start over and careen headfirst into a new life filled with people, both fallible and fascinating. ”
— Lissa • Book Club Bar
Bookseller recommendation
“Captivating, beautifully written, and unexpected.”
— Emily • Capricorn Books
Bookseller recommendation
“A picturesque wedding week at the Cornwall inn is turned upside down with the addition of one very unexpected guest. ”
— Greta • Annie Bloom's Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I just finished this audiobook and want to start it all over again! Despite the heavy topics (depression, suicidal ideation, infertility), the raw honesty and empathy between the characters adds a surprising light to the dark humor. Bold, engaging, and memorable - this one easily moves up the list of best books I’ve read this year!”
— Chelsea • Bromley's Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This was a fun family drama that had very likable characters. I didn’t want to stop listening! Funny too! ”
— Jana • Inscribe Books
Bookseller recommendation
“We kept running out of the book in the bookstore —so I had to get the audio and see what all the fuss is about. And it is a smart, fun read, easy to get sucked into!”
— Mary • Newtonville Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This book took me on an unexpected journey. It is both heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud FUNNY. The protagonist Phoebe is intelligent, witty, and realistically flawed. A layered woman that you will fall in love with and root for. Narrator Helen Laser knocks it out of the park voicing a wide cast of diverse and humorous 'wedding people'. A five star book for me! ”
— Amy • Copperfield's Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Not your typical rom-com. Humorous, gritty and compelling. I really enjoyed the contrasting personalities of all the main characters and the subtle but strong message that in all dark situations, there is always hope. ”
— Shelley • Hummingbird Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I absolutely love this book, it was funny, touching, and relatable. I would never have guessed that a book that started with a suicidal woman would end up being this heartwarming. I understood Phoebe’s pain, and frustrations with the world. I even understand why Lyia is the way she is. This book is about friendship and discovering people in your life at the most unsuspecting time. I’d like to think that Phoebe gets everything she has longed for. Juice I love you. Absolutely incredible.”
— Sarah • Parthenon Books
"As narrator, the terrific Laser, an actress and puppeteer, only enhances the swoon-worthy quirks and romance." —Vulture
A Today show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick, A Goodreads Choice Awards 2024 Winner, and long-listed in many Best of the Year 2024 picks!
A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.
It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.
In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.
Alison Espach is the author of the novels The Adults, a New York Times Editors' Choice and a Barnes & Noble Discover pick, and Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, which was named a best book of 2022 by the Chicago Tribune and NPR. Her short stories and essays have appeared in McSweeney’s, Vogue, Outside, Joyland, and other places. She is a professor of creative writing at Providence College in Rhode Island.
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Audiobook details
Author:
Alison Espach
Narrator:
Helen Laser
ISBN:
9781250349705
Length:
11 hours 37 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Macmillan Audio
Publication date:
July 30, 2024
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#4 Overall
Genre rank:
#3 in Fiction
Reviews
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
The #1 Indie Next Pick for August 2024
One of The Washington Post’s 10 Noteworthy Books for July and August
Named a Best Book of Summer 2024 by People Magazine, Bustle, Star Tribune, Goodreads, and LitHub
“The Wedding People is the perfect book to wrap up your summer reading. . . . heartwarming [and] hilarious.”
—Jenna Bush Hager, The Today Show's #ReadwithJenna
“A collision of diametrically opposed life events and general drama, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Maggie Shipstead’s Seating Arrangements. . . . Espach has an eye for the full gamut of emotions that go hand in hand with lifelong commitment, from humor to self-involvement to pathos.”
—Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times Book Review
“Espach’s wit and warmth deliver a gratifying story about how people who have given up might find a reason to start caring again.”
—Becky Meloan, The Washington Post
“A feel-good testament to the life-altering magic of chance meetings.”
—People
“Full of witty dialogue and lovably imperfect characters you’ll root for till the end.”
—Real Simple
“Filled with hilarious scenes and brilliant banter.”
—Marion Winik, Newsday
“By deftly invoking many popular romantic comedy tropes, Espach fills this novel with champagne-tinged fizz, while never losing sight of the more sober emotional truths that kicked off her narrative.”
—Bustle
“This engaging rom-com is an entertaining reminder that change isn’t always negative – and often is necessary.”
—Connie Ogle and Carole E. Barrowman, Star Tribune
“Think: Eleanor Oliphant and Meredith, Alone vibes. As of this writing, The Wedding People is my favorite book of 2024.”
—Isabelle Eyman, Camille Styles
“Witty dialogue is just a bonus in this engrossing read centering on complex women making life-changing decisions. Recommend to readers who enjoy Sally Rooney, Curtis Sittenfeld, or Elizabeth Berg.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“The Wedding People is so much more than a funny story (though it is very funny). Espach has penned a keenly observed novel about depression, love, the ways women make themselves small, and how one woman got over it. Fully realized and completely memorable.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“Sparkling . . . Readers are in for a treat.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The Wedding People is a wickedly funny and deeply satisfying novel about a woman with nothing to lose, armed with a green dress, some chocolate wine, and a coconut pillow, cut loose to cause delightful mayhem. It’s a story of lovers who turn into strangers, strangers who turn into friends, and the weird and wonderful connections that make us feel truly alive. I loved it.”
—Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street
“The Wedding People is my very favorite kind of novel—hilarious and witty with enormous heart and characters I fell in love with. I was delighted to be at this wedding, in the middle of the drama and gossip, watching the entanglements of friendships old and new. I haven’t stopped talking about this book since I finished it, and I won’t stop until I’ve made everyone I know read it . . . so read it! Now! You can thank me later.”
—Jennifer Close, bestselling author of Marrying the Ketchups
“Alison Espach! How does she do it? I mean, really—how? The Wedding People is so utterly, ringingly true it feels less like fiction than like a field guide to personhood. It's so funny and romantic that I sometimes laughed out loud and sometimes got actual goosebumps. I tore through it like I didn't have a disordered deficit of attention. It's a perfect novel. I loved it.”
—Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich
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