Midnight Champagne
by A. Manette Ansay
Nomination: National Book Critics Circle Finalist 1999
Date Read: August 23, 2021
A couple dead-set on eloping are roped into having a “traditional,” although not religious ceremony by their parents. April and Caleb having only known each other for 3 months and are already living together, a scandal in the eyes of their parents. But they are very much in love and are trying their best to keep the peace.
Their wedding is full of drama, with ex-boyfriends showing up out of the woodwork, kids running amok and ruining various parts of the venue, an out-of-control snow storm that brings a power outage and, yes, even a murder, although not by one of their attendees.
Due to the short notice, April was only able to find a rather run-down hall that has an adjoining hotel. The only date available? Valentine’s Day. As much as this sounds like a cliché, Ansay makes the best of these parameters and uses all of these disparate personalities to her advantage.
The majority of the book is spent exploring various couples and the state of their marriages. A few are actually happy. Many are lost and unsure of their marital future. And many others are considering calling it quits. When the attendees are asked to write down their advice for April and Caleb, they get the typical unthinking responses such as “don’t go to bed mad.”
A man and wife who had checked into the hotel and unrelated to the wedding have a terrible fight and in the heat of the moment, the husband kills his wife. He tucks her in bed and ends up crashing the wedding, posing as a friend of the groom’s family. Over the course of events, he is not only found out as an imposter but also a murderer, adding another layer of drama to an already suffocating night.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, no literary ground was broken here. Ansay is a great storyteller and I consider this more of a winter read by the fire than an award nominated piece of work. Still, though, very entertaining.
Comments
Post a Comment