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Explore membershipsThe Wedding People
A Novel
Narrator
Helen Laser
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Length
12 hours 13 minutes
Language
English
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
“What a perfect mixture of absurd dark humor and impactful resonance. This refreshing and unique novel that will definitely stick with me.”
— Ashley • Whale’s Tale Books & Gifts
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
“An AMAZING book. One of my favorites of the year. It starts off sad but then it’s funny, funny, funny. I can’t recommend it enough. The story is lovely. You can’t help falling in love with the characters and how they evolve. You root for both women and hope they make the right choices so they can be happy… and oh do they deliver!!! ”
— Andrea • Molly's Bookstore
Bookseller recommendation
“The Wedding People is an exquisite depiction of humanity and the exploration of self as strangers meet at pivotal points in their lives. Heartbreaking and hopeful, this may be the best book I've read in years! ”
— Kelli • Back Forty 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 wanted to keep reading and not put it down! This is a must read ”
— Daniela • Dani’s Bookshelf & More
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
“The Wedding People hits the absolute sweet spot of compulsively fun to read while asking serious questions about life, love, and a lavish destination wedding. Alison Espach’s mix of light and dark makes for deeply authentic characters.”
— Nina Barrett • Bookends & Beginnings
Bookseller recommendation
“Full of humor and heart and the things that make us human, "A story can be beautiful not because of the way it ends. But because of the way it's written."”
— Morgan • Hub City Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“What a perfect mixture of absurd dark humor and impactful resonance. This refreshing and unique novel will definitely stick with me.”
— Ashley • Whale’s Tale Books & Gifts
Bookseller recommendation
“Captivating, beautifully written, and unexpected.”
— Emily • Capricorn 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 New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding People, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, a Barnes and Noble Book Club Pick, and a #1 Indie Next Pick. The Wedding People spent several dozen weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and will be published in over 35 countries. She is also the author of Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, a Chicago Tribune and NPR “Best Book of the Year,” as well as The Adults, a New York Times Editor’s Choice and Barnes and Noble Discover Pick. Her fictional audio series In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People is an Audible Original. She has written for McSweeney’s, Vogue, Outside, LitHub, Joyland and other places. She lives and teaches creative writing in Rhode Island.
Alison received her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. She has been a writer-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation for the Arts, Millay Arts, The Wassaic Project, the Cuttyhunk Writers Residency and the San Miguel Literary Sala.
Helen Laser is an audiobook narrator, voice artist, and actor of stage and screen. She's an Audie Award Finalist, SOVAS finalist, LA Times Book Awards Finalist, and multiple AudioFile Earphones Award winner.
Her narration has been picked by Reese Witherspoon for her book club, and has made many best-of lists including features by (but not limited to): Audible, Apple, Libro.fm, Amazon, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vulture, and many more.
She's lent her voice to over 150 audiobooks.
Her narration style is natural, immediate, and lyrical. Sharp wit and vulnerability wrapped up in a youthful down-to-earth package.
Her greatest inspirations are her love of the theatre, independent films, Miyazaki movies, and of course The Princess Diaries audiobook, narrated by Anne Hathaway—the audiobook that started it all as a kid.
She's a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.
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Audiobook details
Author:
Alison Espach
Narrator:
Helen Laser
ISBN:
9781250349705
Length:
12 hours 13 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Macmillan Audio
Publication date:
July 30, 2024
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#25 Overall
Genre rank:
#21 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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