The Wedding Book Review

I have a few Nicholas Sparks books remaining to read and in his section in our library, I chose to read next the book with the most attractive cover. That is The Wedding. I simply like the shiny blue box behind the title and the photo of the swans at the background. The book looks new, too, like as if I’m the first one who’s going to read it. And I knew I was right as I flipped through the borrower’s list. However, it’s more than just bound papers with a good cover. It’s another masterpiece of Sparks that will warm the hearts each of its readers.

Couples who aren’t married yet has their own stories. They are actually the common stars of love movies and books.  Couples who are newly-weds has their own stories, too. Sparks’ At First Sight narrates a love story on this stage. Couples who are dealing with their kids also has their own stories. As they say, it’s the most challenging part of pair’s life. But with The Wedding, I realized that couples who were alone because their kids already have their own respective families and careers has their own stories as well.

I would like to tell you how the story goes but I do not know how to start since its full of surprising throwbacks. In The Book, while talking how they started their relationship, Wilson narrated what happened to him and his wife after their children left them for their own families and careers. Of course, it was just the two of them left so the house was less lively, as well as their relationship. Wilson was the type of guy who is not sweet but workaholic. So when he realized that his relationship with Jane was becoming complicated, especially after he forgotten their anniversary, he realized his weaknesses not just with Jane but also with his family. Therefore, for their next anniversary, he planned his surprise for his wife the whole year. On the other hand, their daughter, Anna, announced that she’s getting married on the day of their anniversary. So, in my mind, that somehow ruined Wilson’s plan. But he worked it out by trying to be sweet and fatherly as he joined in preparing for Anna’s wedding.

However, the scene that touched me the most wasn’t any of the encounter between Wilson and Jane nor the wedding that happened. It was Noah, Jane’s father, and the swan that really melted my heart as he believed that the swan was his late wife, Allie. Days after her death, Noah just couldn’t leave the pond where the swan lives. The same goes with the swan even though the weather isn’t suitable for her. Isn’t it adorable? If his children sees him as stupid because of the way he treat and care for the swan, I see it as sweet and inspiring.

Honestly, as I was flipping through the pages, I was having assumptions for the possible ending. I assumed that there will be a double wedding. But when Wilson already gave his anniversary gift prior to the wedding, I left that idea. I also expected Noah to die at the end and will come back as a swan, together with his wife. But no death happened. The ending was far more beautiful than what I’ve thought. It was a big revelation. The wedding of Wilson and Jane, which I knew was Anna’s all this time, was indeed a big one. Yes! The wedding they are planning all along was for Jane. Wilson is so good in hiding that he didn’t just keep it from Jane, but also from us, readers. The Wedding may not be one of the most wonderful novel of Sparks but I think that it has the most incredible ending.

As always, I admire Sparks for having this ability of filling his readers’ minds with astonishment and ability of narrating two stories simultaneously. In The Wedding, the author just told me the life of Wilson and Jane when they first met until their first marriage, and at the same time, he told me their life after their children left their house until their second wedding. You would not understand what I’m talking about if you will not read for yourself.