Customer Reviews

The Wedding

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

THE WEDDING tells the story of middle aged workaholic lawyer Wilson Lewis and his year long romantic journey to rebuild his failing marriage. Although defiantly not the best book in Nicholas Sparks's collection this is however an easy and sweet (sometimes sickly) read without the usual gut-wrenching heartbreak at the end. I found it amazing and a credit to N.S as a writer that he was able to craft an entire book out of the simple premise of a wedding and a few flashbacks. This book is almost like a Seinfeld episode in that it's really about nothing but still intriguing to watch. And even though NS tries to be sneaky you'll have a pretty good idea early on of how it's going to play out.

Despite the shining example set by his in-laws (Noah and Allie from THE NOTEBOOK) Wilson has spent too little time at home and too much time at the office during his marriage. Neglecting his wife and missing his children grow up. The crux comes when Wilson forgets their 29th wedding anniversary and after witnessing his wife's tears and subsequent departure is forced to face a painful truth. Jane has fallen out of love with him and it's entirely his fault. Unable to express his true feelings in words (although we frustratingly get to hear his internal dialogue and more than once I wanted to shout at him; tell your wife how you feel, don't just think it.) Wilson vows to make some serious changes and somehow get his wife fall in love with him again.

Wilson spends the next year planning their 30th wedding anniversary. He also goes on a diet, learns to cook romantic dinners and begins really listening to what his wife has to say. As the day approaches their oldest daughter Anna suddenly announces that she's getting married and as a tribute to her parents wants to do it on their anniversary, overshadowing Wilson's secret plans. Jane however is excited and begins showing new interest in both her routine life and as Wilson helps with the hurried preparations, their long neglected marriage.

Jane and Wilson's story is then told in a series of flashbacks as Wilson remembers what brought them together all those years ago. Throughout the arrangements Wilson visits Noah at Creekside retirement home updating the cantankerous old man on the preparations and getting advice on how to save his marriage. For me Noah was the best part of this book and I loved revisiting this spunky yet heartbroken character. He is absolutely endearing here, spending his days feeding and talking to a lone female swan who in herself becomes a character.

With the memories of Noah and Allie as a guide and their old family home as a setting the wedding plans come together. But has Wilson been able to change himself and their relationship enough to see them through things afterwards? Will he be able to show her how much she has meant to him all these years? And will it be enough?

Wilson Lewis comes to the sad realization one day that after thirty years of marriage his wife, Jane, has fallen out of love with him. Jane's father, Noah, (this book is the sequel to THE NOTEBOOK) has always had respect for Wilson and Noah tells him stories of how he kept Allie from falling out of love with him.

Wilson is an estate lawyer and has spent very little time at home over the years. He realizes that Jane fell out of love with him when he forgot their twenty-ninth wedding anniversary.

Jane was a stay-at-home mom and raised their three kids -- Anna, Joseph, and Leslie.

Anna comes home one day to announce that she is getting married. Because of Noah's health and since her fiancé is heading to college, they want to get married the next Saturday. Anna claims that she wants a small wedding at the courthouse, but her mom, of course, wants a big wedding, even though they only have eight days to put it together.

Saturday is Wilson and Jane's anniversary and Wilson wanted to do something really special this year so he took the week before and the week after their anniversary off from work. He hasn't taken that much time off in eight years!

With all the work to do with the wedding, Wilson has been making Jane dinner more often and trying to help out as much as he can. What will Wilson do to make his wife fall back in love with him, so that she doesn't leave him?

Coming from Nicholas Sparks, this book had a very high bar set for it. And this romantic love story went far beyond that! THE WEDDING is yet another wonderful romance from this amazing author!

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

A wonderful return to his earlier form, "The Wedding" recaptures the fast, easy to read pace of Nicholas Sparks' "The Notebook" and Rikki Lee Travolta's "My Fractured Life." Although I loved "Message in a Bottle" and "A Walk to Remember", as Sparks moved forward in his writing many books lost that fast paced narrative that captured me with "The Notebook". I found myself partnering Sparks' later, slower works with those of other authors ("My Fractured Life", "The Time Traveler's Wife", "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" - all 5 star books also) in order to satisfy all my tastes. With "The Wedding" Sparks returns to his old form. It is a fantastic book.

Several women have suggested that men could learn a thing or two by reading "The Wedding." As a man I can safety argue - "YOU ARE RIGHT." Love is worth working for. Too many of us take that for granted. I know I will take pains to appreciate my wife more and to work every day at maintaining our love after having read this book. If other men will look at Rikki Travolta's "My Fractured Life" as the "learn from my mistakes" manual and "The Wedding" as the How-To Guide for rekindling love to maintain a marriage, then relationships in general and women in whole will be far happier.

After having read The Notebook several years ago and loving it, I was very excited when I found out there was a sequel. Unfortunately, The Wedding did not live up to my expectations at all. It follows Wilson Lewis, who married one of Noah and Allie's daughters and, after having forgotten their twenty-ninth wedding anniversary, works tirelessly to win back his wife's love. I really liked the surprise ending, but I found the novel to be dull and repetitive for the first three-quarters, even though I sympathized with Wilson's plight. I was really hoping for more from some of the original characters of The Notebook, and Noah's small role left me disappointed. It was a quick read that didn't really hit it's mark with me.

This book was a good continuation of The Notebook, also by Nicholas Sparks. Although it had it's own plot and new generation of characters, there were small tie-ins to Ale and Noah from The Notebook, with a couple of new twists.

Has there ever been a more imaginative author? Whether he writes non-fiction or fiction he does so with style and grace. Hands down I appreciate his work, and love his stories. This novel is no exception.
Recommending: Fire In The Ice by Katlyn Stewart as well

I recently watched "The Notebook" on DVD and that inspired me to read the book. After loving the book and the movie... I bought "The Wedding" and loved it. I have never enjoyed reading and I never thought that I would find something that interested me. Now I am currently reading "Road to Rodanthe" and am loving it so far too. So, any nonreaders out there, give Nicholas Sparks a shot.

I believe that every man should read Nicholas Sparks' 'The Wedding' to understand what we value, want, and need from men; what romance truly is. THEN, I think every woman should read 'My Fractured Life' to understand the complex emotions of men. THEN I think everyone should read "The Amateur Marriage" to see what a relationship should NOT be. After we each do our part, we can begin to understand each other and have the healthy relationships we need and want. It works.

Three books that I recently enjoyed were (obviously) THE WEDDING, one called THE LOVELY BONES Alice seabold, and a fantastic and stellar collection of stories about anything and everything titled THE CHILDREN'S CORNER by Jackson McCrae. But I have to say, "Wedding" was my favorite. by Nicholas Spark's "The Wedding" is the long-awaited companion book to "The Notebook". "The Wedding" is a story of an ordinary man who is forced to face a horrible truth: that his wife of thirty years no longer loves him. The protagonist, Wilson, goes to great lengths to win back the love of his life. Spark is known for writing breath taking love stories with a twist that will pulls everything together. He definitely achieves this effect in "The Wedding."