Reviewed by Edee Wilcox
A Wedding in December
By Anita Shreve
Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover, Paperback, Audio Cassette (Unabridged), Audio CD (Unabridged) and Large Print Editions
 A Wedding in December is the story of a group of high school friends who parted ways after graduation and are reunited after 27 years to attend the long overdue wedding of Bridget and Bill. Bridget and Bill were high school sweethearts at the boarding school they all attended so many years ago. As fate would have it, not only did all the friends scatter in various directions, all their lives taking different paths, but Bridget's and Bill's lives moved apart as well.
The wedding takes place at Nora's inn. Nora, too, was a classmate who married the great poet, Carl Laski, some years after graduation.
Harrison, another high school friend, had a crush on Nora, but at the time, she was his roommate's girlfriend so she was off-limits for him. Harrison is familiar with Laski's work as he is in the publishing business in Canada where he lives with his wife and children. Seeing Nora again, without his wife present and with Carl Laski deceased, forces feelings from long ago that Harrison had never quite put to rest.
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A Wedding in December Excerpt
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"All that horror. All that grief." She paused. "People...people are stopping one another on the streets and saying. Can you imagine? and Isn't that extraordinary? and Enjoy it while you can!"
© Anita Shreve
Published with permission from Little, Brown & Co.
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Then there's Agnes who teaches at the boarding school they all attended. She never married and many of her friends, past and present, wonder if she's gay. However, she holds a much deeper secret that threatens to come out.
Rob surprises them all by bringing his boyfriend to the wedding. He is a famous concert pianist.
There are several unresolved secrets among this group of 40-something friends and in the wake of their own mortality comes the decision to face their secrets or let them be forgotten.
Bookworm's Briefing
Anita Shreve weaves a thoughtful tale of mid-life, old friends and all the roads traveled along the way. She is the author of All He Ever Wanted and a long list of other bestselling books.
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