Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Looking for a smart summer read?  Try Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead.  It is a first novel I found on the IndieNext list.  This novel takes place on a New England Island, the weekend of a family wedding and is narrated mostly by Winn, father of the bride.  The characters have some surface likeability, but when it gets down to it, they are all so human, struggling to get what they can’t have, and never quite understanding why they have been denied.  What I find makes the story interesting is the combination of the predictable and unpredictable ways the wedding weekend plays out.  I don’t think anyone is changed in a weekend, and there aren’t any great awakenings for these folks: they are who they are every page!. A well written, modern satire and a good weekend read for fans of Maine and The Marriage Plot. Put a copy on reserve at the library soon!