The one-dimensional characters and the insipid dialogue make for a slow read. Over all, this book loses out on many fronts. Obstacles are put forth by Fliss, who wants the marriage to be annulled, the best man Lorcan, and, of course, Richard, who suddenly realises that he does want to marry Lottie, after all.ĭon’t expect any twists and turns - the end, too, is rather predictable. The ensuing hundred-plus pages illustrate the tragicomic attempts of the newlyweds to consummate their marriage. She instantly lets go of her long-standing visions of what a wedding should be, and jets off to Greece for her honeymoon. At this point, a summer fling from fifteen years ago makes a convenient return, proposes marriage, and she says ‘yes’. The result of this severe dichotomy is that neither woman is easy to relate to, neither seems real.įurthermore, the central plot of this novel doesn’t have enough meat to to support almost 400 pages: Lottie is devastated when the love of her life, Richard, does not propose when she expects him to. Lottie is young, idealistic and longs for romance, whereas Fliss is a recently divorced mother of one, who cannot help being bitter about love. The difference between the voices of the women is jarring, their actions too different. This work is Kinsella’s first attempt at narrating the story from two different points-of-view - that of Lottie, and that of her older sister, Fliss. After one reading, it saddens me to say that my closeted love affair with Kinsella may have come to a screeching halt. However, in Wedding Night Kinsella disappoints in the creation of the protagonist Lottie. We followed them through their compulsions, confessions and credit card defaults. Thus we came to expect from Kinsella loveable, clumsy heroines. It was a well-lacquered critique of consumerism balanced expertly on the Louboutins worn by a single 30-something. Since Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary in 1996, chick lit had no better champion. We guiltily loved Madeleine Wickham aka Sophie Kinsella because of her best-selling six-book Shopaholic series. Even romance novels need plot and depth of character even if they are light reading.

Runabout by Pamela Morsi