Piglet is the nickname of the lead of this tale of wedding woe. She’s a cookbook editor with a loving fiance, a supportive social network, and family who loves and understands her.
Or, is she?
In the fortnight leading up to her elaborate and long-awaited wedding, her fiance confesses infidelity. We, the reader, never learn the sordid details of his unfaithfulness, because it doesn’t really matter what he did, right? It matters that he did it. It’s the betrayal that eats away at Piglet.
But she’s made a commitment. She’s made plans. Her fiance’s wealthy family have bankrolled the whole thing. So she keeps calm and carries on. The days tick by with awkward lunches, passive aggressive half-fights, and horrific dress fittings. The tension in this book is almost unbearable, and I could hardly look away as I devoured it in less than a week.
For anyone who has gone through planning a Big Wedding, you know the stress and fear that comes along with it… doubts at every turn, illogical fears. You replay that scene from the Sex and the City movie where Carrie thrashes Big with her white bouquet of flowers thinking… that’ll never happen to me… right?
As the tension climbs, Piglet starts to unravel. She seeks solace in the comfort of a full stomach and, eventually, confesses what her fiance has done to her best friend and then her father. Where she may have hoped to find help, understanding, and a chance to process her doubts and fears, she is instead met with judgement and dismissal, even disgust. Sharing her pain exacerbates her isolation rather than relieving it. And the wedding draws ever closer…
I loved this horrible book. It was messy and raw in the best of ways. I highly recommend it.
5 straining pearl buttons out of 5.