Book Review: A Wedding in December

I've been reading quite a few books lately, catching up on my reading while the kids are at their swimming lessons.  I had picked up A Wedding in December, by Anita Shreve, from the library's used book sale last spring.  I enjoyed it--found it to be well-written and engrossing.

This is a story of the past meeting up with the present and the choices that one makes in the name of love.  Once a close-knit group of high school friends, these men & women had lost touch with one another over 20 years ago, until now.  They're brought together again by two of their own reconnecting at their high school reunion and deciding to get married.

Bridget, now with a diagnosis of breast cancer, has rekindled her romance with Bill, splitting up his marriage and family.  Bill's daughter is confused and angry, refusing to attend the wedding.

Nora, recently widowed, owns the inn where the wedding will take place.  Harrison comes all the way from Canada alone--without his wife & kids.  He still remembers every detail of his first encounter with Nora and still regrets the things he should have said & should have done that day.

Agnes had never married and had never disclosed to her friends the reason why.  Why now, after all this time, does she feel the need to tell them the story of her deep love affair with one of their favorite teachers?  Rob arrives with his partner, Josh.  Did anyone even know that he was gay?  Jerry shows up in a limo with his icy wife, Julie, who carries a fur.  Was he always such a jerk?

And so this weekend in December, they learn things about one another that they had never known.  They rediscover one another.  Will it be another 20-odd years before they meet again, or has the course of their lives changed forever...for some of them?

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