ALMOST 30 years before A Wedding in December opens, Stephen dies in the sea as he parties with his young friends. It is a death that haunts them all but especially his best friend Harrison and the girl he secretly adores, Stephen s girlfriend Nora. It is

ALMOST 30 years before A Wedding in December opens, Stephen dies in the sea as he parties with his young friends. It is a death that haunts them all but especially his best friend Harrison and the girl he secretly adores, Stephen's girlfriend Nora.

It is 26 years before the group all meet again, for the wedding of Bridget and Bill, long-ago lovers who have come back together as Bridget fights cancer.

Their love, the dilemma of Harrison and Nora and the plight of Agnes, the neglected mistress, make up much of the book. Agnes is writing a book of her own, highlighting a vast explosion in Canada, and the effects on the population. Many are blinded and the life of her hero Innes is changed and reduced for ever.

Agnes' story and her parallel between Innes and Harrison echo throughout the book.

Anita Shreve writes with precision, craft and care but I ached for a little more emotion and less restraint.

Thanks to Ottakar's of Stevenage

3/5