The book: Songs for Other People’s Weddings is the story of J, a minor pop star from Sweden, who often performs at weddings. For each wedding he’s hired for, he writes a personal song for the happy couple that he performs at the ceremony. He’s dating a woman named V, whose job takes her from Sweden to New York for several months, and he’s having trouble coping with the distance.
Why I read it: This is not normally a book I would have any interest in, if it weren’t for the fact that Levithan collaborated with Jens Lekman, one of my very favorite singer-songwriters. Lekman once wrote a song called “If You Ever Need a Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding)”, and a lot of people took him seriously and asked him to perform at their weddings, which he started doing. The character of J is based very loosely on Lekman, and Lekman wrote both an accompanying album of songs, as well as songs for each wedding that take place in the book. The album is his first new album in a long time, so I was very excited for it. I was even more excited when I opened the book and realized he’d written even more songs (the ones for each wedding in the book can be found on his website–I don’t think he actually released them as an album).
What I thought of it: Well, the book is not my cup of tea. I liked V and I liked J, but I hated them together very, very much. Their relationship is terrible. I wish it had just been a book about J performing at weddings, honestly, because I enjoyed each wedding scene. I dreaded V and J’s scenes together. But! A new Jens Lekman album is always cause for celebration, and finding out that this book spawned not just an album but also some bonus songs was absolutely delightful. I do not recommend the book. I do recommend anything by Jens Lekman.