I shall miss you. I shall miss the possibility of you

A Wedding in December - Anita Shreve
At an inn in the Berkshire Mountains, seven former schoolmates gather to celebrate a wedding—a reunion that becomes the occasion of astonishing revelations as the friends collectively recall a long-ago night that indelibly marked each of their lives. Written with the fluent narrative artistry that distinguishes all of Anita Shreve's bestselling novels, A Wedding in December acutely probes the mysteries of the human heart and the endless allure of paths not taken.

As usual, I was completely captivated by Shreve's writing style. I love, love her - definitely one of my favorite authors! But... as far as the actual story? Yeah, completely missed the mark for me. I just didn't get it. At all. The seven friends that reunite for the weekend wedding, were extremely unlikable to me. Honestly, I despised them and their adulterous ways. Even the groom-to-be is a complete ass, who leaves his wife and daughter so he can marry his 'high school sweetheart'. I just don't get the message of this book.. adultery is okay and justifiable? Sorry, I completely and utterly disagree.

The most enjoyable part of this novel for me, was probably the story within a story, which involves one of the character's, Agnes, and her new novel, which depicts the Halifax Explosion of 1917. In the telling of her story, I became more attached towards her fictional character, Ines, than any of the main characters taking part in the wedding-reunion. I think that tells a lot about how I feel for this book. When you like the side story better than the main plot, that's probably not a good sign... I honestly could care less about what happens to Bill and Bridget, Harrison and Nora, or any of the other friends that reunited. Just very, very disappointed in this one! Hopefully the next Shreve novel I read will be better.