BOOK TITLE: The Christmas Wedding
ISBN:
9780316097390
AUTHOR:
James
Patterson
GENRE:
Fiction
NUMBER
OF PAGES: 288
FORMAT:
Paperback
SERIES
/ STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW
BY: Dhivya
Balaji
HOW
I GOT THIS BOOK: A friend lent me this promising a
good read!
SUMMARY:
The tree is decorated, the cookies are
baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas
is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's
four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own
lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death,
but when Gaby announces that she's getting married--and that the groom will
remain a secret until the wedding day--she may finally be able to bring them
home for the holidays.
But the wedding isn't Gaby's only
surprise--she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their
lives forever. With deeply affecting characters and the emotional twists of a
James Patterson thriller, The Christmas Wedding is a fresh look at family and the
magic of the season.
REVIEW:
When
you are used to reading gory thrillers from an author famous for them, a
normal, mellow book comes as a surprise. So it is with mild apprehension that I
took up this emotional book by James Patterson famous for his Alex Cross and
Women’s Murder Club books. But as is true with any author, only the words and
the knack for story telling matter. And of course, James Patterson has the hang
of it!
Gaby,
a fifty four year old mother of four, decides to marry again after the death of
her husband three years ago. She decides to coincide her wedding with
Christmas. Gaby proceeds to send the news to her four children as video logs.
These have been written well and are endearing as well as getting on the nerves
sometimes. Typical James Patterson protagonist.
What
gets on the readers nerves? The fact that there will be a wedding, but the
groom will be revealed at the altar only. There are three suitors, somehow
related to/ friendly with Gaby and known to all four of her children. The
guessing game continues in line with the lives of all the four children as the
narrative switches to give us a glimpse into their lives on the days preceding
Christmas and the big wedding.
A
woman dealing with an abusive husband and troubled teenaged kid, a woman
helping out a terminally ill husband, a woman who faces life’s difficult career
choices and is faced with a dilemma and finally a man who wants to do one thing
that makes him happy but is repeatedly rejected for his talents. This is the
short synopsis of Gaby’s four children.
But
the story is more about learning to live with the faults and helping each other
through. Gaby starts of irritating but blooms out to be a very well liked
mother, grandmother and bride. The excitement and suspense is built up till the
penultimate chapter, making the reader really cross. At one point of time, I
convinced myself that the wedding was a hoax to bring the family together. But
*spoiler alert* no, that is not the case. There is more than a wedding
underway.
The
plot is… for want of a better word… unique. The characters are well sketched
(if you are in any doubt, the author has included a character gist of sorts at
the start of the book to keep track of who is who. There aren’t many to
confuse, but still). The overall story is well written and coherent. And the
book does deliver what it promises. But if you have typecast the author in the
Mystery/ Detective genre, prepared to be surprised (like I obviously was… No,
honestly, who would have imagined?)
WHAT
I LIKED:
The story
and the whole concept of Grandma being video friendly and tech savvy! Gaby did
have me in splits sometimes. A typical strong female protagonist. Endearing,
irritating, the works!
WHAT
COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
The suspense
is simply too much and not probable at all! But still, I didn’t expect the
author to reveal his secrets so soon. After all, he is the master of twists.
VERDICT:
Noting this
day as the “Day I realised James Patterson wrote Romance and Feel Good novels
too!”
How
can an element of thriller be induced into a Feel Good book? Read to find out!
RATING:
4/5
(simply because I loved the story. I got what I expected).
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
The subject of a Time magazine feature called, "The Man
Who Can't Miss," James Patterson is the bestselling author of the past
year, bar none, with more than 16 million books sold in North America alone. In
2007, one of every fifteen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title.
In the past three years, James has sold more books than any other author
(according to Bookscan), and in total, James's books have sold an estimated 220
million copies worldwide. He is the first author to have #1 new titles
simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's lists and is the
only author to have five new hardcover novels debut at #1 on the list in one
year—a record-breaking feat he's accomplished every year since 2005. To date,
James Patterson has had nineteen consecutive #1 New York
Timesbestselling novels, and holds the New York
Times record for most
Hardcover Fiction bestselling titles by a single author (63 total), which is
also a Guinness World Record.
From his James Patterson Pageturner Awards (which rewarded groups and individuals for creative and effective ways to spread the joy of reading) to his website ReadKiddoRead.com (which helps adults find books that kids are sure to love) to his regular donations of thousands of books to troops overseas, Patterson is a lifelong champion of books and reading. His first foray into books for all ages was the critically acclaimed Maximum Ride series, which debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list at #1 and remained there for twelve straight weeks. The series has so far made appearances on The New York Times bestsellers lists ninety-four cumulative times, proving that kids of all ages love page turners. He captured the attention of boy readers with the Daniel X series, and his third series for readers of all ages debuted in December 2009 with Witch & Wizard, which spent five consecutive weeks atop the New York Times bestsellers list.
From his James Patterson Pageturner Awards (which rewarded groups and individuals for creative and effective ways to spread the joy of reading) to his website ReadKiddoRead.com (which helps adults find books that kids are sure to love) to his regular donations of thousands of books to troops overseas, Patterson is a lifelong champion of books and reading. His first foray into books for all ages was the critically acclaimed Maximum Ride series, which debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list at #1 and remained there for twelve straight weeks. The series has so far made appearances on The New York Times bestsellers lists ninety-four cumulative times, proving that kids of all ages love page turners. He captured the attention of boy readers with the Daniel X series, and his third series for readers of all ages debuted in December 2009 with Witch & Wizard, which spent five consecutive weeks atop the New York Times bestsellers list.
Patterson is the creator of the #1 new
detective series of the past dozen years, featuring Alex Cross and including
the Hollywood-adapted "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the
Girls," starring Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. He is also
the creator of the #1 new detective series of the past five years, featuring
Lindsay Boxer and the other members of the Women's Murder Club, from which the
ABC television drama series was adapted. He has authored books behind six films
on the Hollywood fast-track, including the upcoming Maximum Ride movie
forthcoming from Avi Arad, the producer of X-Men and Spiderman.
He is the author of novels—from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005)—that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award, and the Reader's Digest Reader's Choice Award. And, he has won a Children's Choice Book Council's Children's Choice Awards "Author of the Year" award (2010).
He is the author of novels—from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005)—that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award, and the Reader's Digest Reader's Choice Award. And, he has won a Children's Choice Book Council's Children's Choice Awards "Author of the Year" award (2010).
One of Forbes magazine's Celebrity
100, James made a guest appearance on the popular FOX TV show "The
Simpsons" in March, 2007.
EDITIONS
AVAILABLE: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle
PRICE:
Rs.
656 for paperback
BOOK
LINKS:
