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A review by bookstorian
The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan
3.5
I'm not sure what it is about weddings that also make for a great premise, maybe it's the range of people involved, the coming together of two families or the opinions that everything surrounding the day seems to create. Nevertheless I was after something short, sharp and witty - The Happy Couple served up all three.
Celine and Luke are getting married. After three years of dating the pair decide to make the ultimate commitment, however as the day looms closer, they and their guests reflect on their relationship and whether or not a wedding should actually take place. Told from a variety of perspectives and employing a ... style narrative The Happy Couple explores relationships,
The most noteworthy element of this book was the retelling in multiple POV. I loved how we get one view of a relationship or incident from one character's POV to then have another character entirely recontextualize or reinterpret the same relationship or incident. I think that this is something that really happens all too often in real life, but often gets forgotten. "The villain doesn't know they're the villain" is the way I heard the author describe it on 'The Women's Podcast'.
Although most of the characters were unlikeable, they were messy and interesting and we only really got a small glimpse into their minds. These glimpses often included some great moments of reflection, especially on the central theme of relationships. Notable was the harmony and melody metaphor:
"I think relationships have a melody and harmony
Melody is the bits... conversations, sex
Harmony is the boring stuff
Doing dishes, remembering birthdays, just basically keepign things going
*keeping"
The little moments of spelling errors was also enjoyable as someone who frequently proof reads their messages after sending them...
With that being said, I did find parts of the novel irritating at times - maybe it was the lack of depth when needed or lack of answers, such as the central mystery. **SPOILER** I missed finding out what happened the night of the engagement party, this was disappointing after churning through so much of the book **END SPOILER**
To end, whilst I agree with a lot of other reviews that say it is a good read but not a memorable one; If every book I read was a memorable one I don't think I'd enjoy reading as many books as I do. Some books are meant to stay with you forever and some reads you can indulge in and enjoy in the moment without having to remember it for years to come.
Overall if you enjoy stories about weddings and want something that you can consume rather quickly, consider this read.
Thank you to Hachette Australia for the gifted copy.
Celine and Luke are getting married. After three years of dating the pair decide to make the ultimate commitment, however as the day looms closer, they and their guests reflect on their relationship and whether or not a wedding should actually take place. Told from a variety of perspectives and employing a ... style narrative The Happy Couple explores relationships,
The most noteworthy element of this book was the retelling in multiple POV. I loved how we get one view of a relationship or incident from one character's POV to then have another character entirely recontextualize or reinterpret the same relationship or incident. I think that this is something that really happens all too often in real life, but often gets forgotten. "The villain doesn't know they're the villain" is the way I heard the author describe it on 'The Women's Podcast'.
Although most of the characters were unlikeable, they were messy and interesting and we only really got a small glimpse into their minds. These glimpses often included some great moments of reflection, especially on the central theme of relationships. Notable was the harmony and melody metaphor:
"I think relationships have a melody and harmony
Melody is the bits... conversations, sex
Harmony is the boring stuff
Doing dishes, remembering birthdays, just basically keepign things going
*keeping"
The little moments of spelling errors was also enjoyable as someone who frequently proof reads their messages after sending them...
With that being said, I did find parts of the novel irritating at times - maybe it was the lack of depth when needed or lack of answers, such as the central mystery. **SPOILER** I missed finding out what happened the night of the engagement party, this was disappointing after churning through so much of the book **END SPOILER**
To end, whilst I agree with a lot of other reviews that say it is a good read but not a memorable one; If every book I read was a memorable one I don't think I'd enjoy reading as many books as I do. Some books are meant to stay with you forever and some reads you can indulge in and enjoy in the moment without having to remember it for years to come.
Overall if you enjoy stories about weddings and want something that you can consume rather quickly, consider this read.
Thank you to Hachette Australia for the gifted copy.