Customer Reviews

On This Day

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At their best, Melody Carlson's stories are crisply written and filled with the kind of realistic, mind-grabbing plots that force readers to keep reading just one more page. Unfortunately, this "quieter" story by Carlson is the opposite of the above description. "On This Day" chronicles the intertwined stories of five seemingly unconnected women who attend a lavish wedding while struggling to come to terms with their separate issues. Aunt of the bride Elizabeth feels certain that her marriage is quietly crumbling, grandmother Margaret confronts her mortality, bridesmaid Ingrid questions the wisdom of her engagement, sister-in-law Laura struggles with feelings of inadequacy in the face of her husband's wealthy family, and family acquaintance Suzette hides fury over her husband's affair behind an impeccable appearance.

While each of their stories began promisingly, and were potentially the sort of situations that could easily have crafted into compelling reading, somehow each fell flat. One glaring problem, especially as the novel continued, was the amount of repetition. Each woman's problem was discussed so thoroughly and continuously that I often felt like skipping a few pages to get to a part where something fresh happened. Yes, I know that these detailed revelations were meant to draw the reader deeply into each woman's mind, but in this case, the tactic failed too often. Furthermore, these separate yet connected stories often slowly wound their way toward a sadly weak conclusion. Suzette had a snobbish, dramatic nature that could have made her one the most interesting characters, but her storyline fizzled out in a hasty way that seemed almost purposeless. Elizabeth's worries at first evoked sympathy, yet after being so "built up" but ultimately so tidily resolved, they seemed slightly silly. Ingrid's story had satisfying twists and in general, a resolution that would satisfy most readers. Laura's honesty was refreshing throughout "On this Day," although her story suffered some of the same "tidy resolution" problem that Elizabeth's had. As for Margaret, her quiet, sweet wisdom made her a loveable character (and one had to enjoy the small surprise she received at the end of the wedding day).

"On This Day" just doesn't come together as a truly engaging novel. The premise of strikingly different characters thrown together for a single day was intriguing, but was not fully developed, and while flashes of Carlson's best writing occasionally emerged, she failed to craft the kind of captivating plotlines that made previous "Finding Alice" and "Looking For Cassandra Jane" the kind of books that I carried with me until I finished them. Solidly average and unfortunately forgettable, I can only give "On This Day" 2.5 stars.

What would happen if you were able to follow five unrelated women around for a day as they attend a grand, expensive wedding at a remote mountain lake resort? Well, if you were Melody Carlson you would write a delightful book about it called On This Day, which completely immerses the reader into the thoughts and feelings of each woman.

Elizabeth's beloved niece, Jenny, is getting married, and she is determined that nothing will spoil Jenny's day. Elizabeth's worries that her own marriage is falling apart and that her husband is having an affair, but confronting him today of all days is definitely out. When Elizabeth is assigned the task of making sure high maintenance Suzette Burke doesn't cause a scene during any of the festivities, she is forced to hear about Suzette's marital problems. Suzette has just discovered her husband is having a fling with his secretary, and she isn't about to let the floozy have him without a fight.

The maid of honor, Ingrid, is having serious doubts about her own upcoming marriage to her fiancé, especially when she sees Jenny's handsome cousin, Patrick, for the first time in two years. Sister-in-law to the groom, Laura, has just had her first baby and is having her own issues, what with rushing upstairs to feed her baby, leaking breast milk all over her new dress during the luncheon, and worrying that she's underdressed and outclassed at this overly fancy wedding.

Margaret is the grandmother of the bride, and she worries that she is just in the way. She's already had one heart attack, and her doctor has warned her she doesn't have much time left unless she has heart surgery. However, she doesn't want to have the surgery. Her husband is already gone, "So," she wonders, "why would I prolong my reunion in heaven with my beloved Calvin?"

This book delivers a few gentle surprises at the end, which makes it a satisfying read. - Melanie Dickerson, Christian Book Previews.com

I enjoyed reading from the perspective of each character - ladies connected to the bride one way or another. Each woman is going through a different phase in life. You have the aunt of the bride, the grandmother of the bride, a friend of the family's, the bride's best friend, and the bride's soon-to-be sister-in-law. All have their "angst" that day. It shows how weddings bring out the stress in people, particularly with this one being a "grand" event with the fussy mother-of-the-groom being an "everything in life must be perfect" kind of woman. I felt privy to the day's events - like a fly on the wall.

The adept and talented Melody Carlson (FINDING ALICE, CRYSTAL LIES, HOMEWARD) turns her pen to this contemporary romance about the multi-generational struggles of women that coalesce at a destination wedding in ON THIS DAY.

The point of view of each chapter rotates among several interesting women of varying ages and stages in life. Laura Fairbanks is a frumpy schoolteacher and brand new mom who married the groom's brother David three years ago and has found she doesn't fit into her in-laws' high-powered, wealthy world. Rife with insecurities, the elaborate wedding for David's brother Michael makes her question her own simple lifestyle choices. Elizabeth Anderson is the middle-aged aunt of the bride who is bitter toward her handsome husband Phil because she believes he is interested in a young, attractive divorcee. Women will identify with her frustrations over getting older while wishing she'd just stop complaining long enough to give her husband a chance to explain (which would ruin the tension, of course, so never mind).

The hard-drinking Suzette Burke, middle-aged wife of the groom's boss, is there to keep up appearances and cast a watchful eye on her husband Jim's romance with his secretary. Ingrid Campbell is the cute maid of honor who, caught up in Jennifer Simpson's wedding plans, has gotten engaged. Now, eying one of the handsome groomsmen, she questions her impulse. Readers will love bride Jennifer's grandmother, Margaret Simpson, whose own nearly 60-year-old marriage ended with her husband's death a year previous. Her sweetness, wisdom and vulnerability will help the other women as they sort through their various issues.

It takes a few chapters to get the hang of the novel and fix each character firmly in mind. That said, the joy of this book is Carlson's smooth switches back and forth from various distinctive points of view, and her ability to keep each character from turning into a caricature. Suzette has our sympathy because of her philandering husband, but we shake our head over her own grasping, selfish ways and embarrassing drunken episodes. Ingrid comes across as young and uncertain, but trying to figure out the right thing to do. We want Laura to stop whining, but any woman whose ever had a baby will reluctantly remember how it felt to be postpartum, complete with leaky breasts.

Although the wise sage Margaret's generosity and willingness to share her own imperfect life story changes the lives of some of the other women, she still has her own battle with hopelessness that isn't resolved until the very last pages. This makes for some nice plot tension. Of all the characters, perhaps Elizabeth deserves the least sympathy and the most impatience. (Just talk to your husband, Elizabeth! Puh-leeze!)

The choice of a wedding setting is perfect, since what woman doesn't re-evaluate her marriage or dating relationship when attending another woman's Big Event? As Margaret says, "I suppose weddings do that to us, make us remember when we were young brides." The faith touches are extraordinarily light and fit seamlessly into the text. Carlson also throws in a few nice twists that will catch the reader by surprise, and doesn't feel that she has to tie up the loose ends for every character. This is a fun, enjoyable read that should appeal to women of all ages.


--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy at [...].

I love Melody Carlson books, so I snatched this one up on sale at a bookstore. Carlson has a fun style with just the right amount of faith infused without it seeming preachy. In "On This Day", five women come together at a resort for a wedding. Each chapter in the book is from a different woman's point of view.

Elizabeth is 40-something and married 25 years. Her feelings about her husband have gone stale and she wonders if he might be having an affair. Suzette is the classic trophy second wife. She's too concerned about her Prada bags and shoes to even notice her husband's wandering eye. Ingrid, the maid of honor, and soon to be a bride herself has started to wonder if she's more in love with planning a wedding than she is with her future husband. Margaret is grandmother of the bride, recently widowed after 60 years of marriage. She wonders if she's outlived her usefulness. Laura is a young mom, married to the brother of the groom. Postpartum blues and fatigue have left her wondering if her husband still finds her attractive. It doesn't help that she wonders how she fits with this wealthy family.

Throughout the book, we get to know each women. Some knew each other before, others met for the first time at the "destination" wedding. As they spend the weekend together, we find out about their personal insecurities and struggles.

I enjoyed the book, but I thought too many of the story lines wrapped up too neatly. A little too much coincidence, I guess. However, not every story line does. I won't give away which one it is, but at least one woman's struggle isn't resolved at the close of the book.

I think even if it seems like things work out too perfectly in stories, women can relate to the feelings of other women. Whether it's early in marriage, or after many years, a woman has certain needs for security, love, affection. We can relate to the heartbreak of discovering a husband's affair. We can understand the pain of a love lost. We can understand insecurity in social settings. That's what I loved about this book. It's like a conversation with friends.

Melody Carlson came through on her delightful writing style as well. I love her sense of humor.

The five women are at the Lakeside Inn to attend the wedding of Jennifer to Michael. Each has differing feelings about marriage and relationships with men in general. All feel they are in some form of a personal crisis.

The bride's Aunt Elizabeth Anderson plans to confront her seemingly indifferent husband Phil after the ceremony as she sees nothing positive with their quarter of a century together especially since she assumes he loves his jogging partner Delia. The wife of Michael's boss Suzette Burke thinks her spouse Jim is cheating on her. Jennifer's widowed paternal grandmother Margaret Simpson misses her Calvin, who died almost a year ago. The groom's sister-in-law Laura Fairbanks suffers from postpartum depression, but her husband David, their family and her friends refuse to see her mental troubles as their two month old daughter Amy is perfect. Finally Ingrid Campbell suffers from doubts about tying the knot to Jason; she fears she agreed to his proposal as a knee jerk reaction to her best friend's wedding.

This character driven tale contains a female ensemble effortlessly rotating chapter leads. The shifting view point is easy to follow as each of the fivesome differs in relation to the bride and that brings some depth to the troubled quintet. Though readers will empathize with each of the lead players, what initially seems like anguish built up over varying time periods, resolves relatively too easily though not all remain as couples by the end of the day; expediting the issues make the quintet seem somewhat shallow. Still this is a fine relationship drama starring likable people in trouble.

Harriet Klausner

So many characters, several of whom are related in some way or about to be.

There's Elizabeth whose husband Phil doesn't pay her much mind. At this point, she's thinking about what life might be like without him in the picture. Elizabeth is aunt to the bride, Jennifer. Conner and Patrick, ushers at the wedding, are Elizabeth's adult sons.

There's Suzette who believes she's arm candy for her lawyer husband. Everything and everybody to Suzette, has to be top notch in her little world. She wears designer clothing and looks down on folks, quickly judging them by appearance. All is not well in her world. Her husband is the groom's boss. Suzette is convinced her husband is having an affair with his secretary.

Meet Mrs. Simpson (Margaret) - Margaret is pleasant, positive and upbeat. She sees trouble in people's lives and prays for them. She is the grandmother of the bride. She's missing her late husband Calvin of almost 60 years.

As Suzette and Elizabeth talk, things look bleaker and bleaker.

Laura is David's wife. They have an almost 2-month old daughter who keeps her busy. David is brother to the groom-to-be. She's feeling insecure in her marriage right about now. After all there are many lovely looking women at the wedding and her in-laws are so wealthy. She wonders if David is having second thoughts about her.

Ingrid, it appears, is the wedding planner for her friend Jenny. Ingrid is the maid-of-honor, Jenny's best friend. She and her fiance, Jason are planning on getting married soon as well. She's having second thoughts, eyeing Patrick.

Jeannette -- mother of the bride.

Eric -- father of the bride, son of Margaret.

Lana -- a bridesmaid and also Jenny's roommate from college. Also eyeing Patrick.

Catherine is the groom's super rich mother. She looks down her nose at her daughter-in-law, Laura. Catherine is married to Alex. He seems like a decent rich guy.

What appeared to have potential for the first several chapters, is now dragging on with whiny, insecure females, comparing themselves to the other women. Some of them are so sure their guys are or might be, more interested in someone else. I want to hear the guys' side of the story now.

The author uses a lot of "my Eric," "my Calvin, "my David..."

I have to add though that folks do need to be reassured how much we value and appreciate them.

Melody Carlson's latest novel tells the story of one young couple's wedding day from the perspectives of five women at different stages of their own marriages.

From a young woman newly engaged, to a grandmother recently widowed after almost 50 years of marriage, Carlson craftily weaves together the five women's stories over the course of the wedding day as the women meet, interact, and share their life experiences.

On This Day is a lovely story that is all at once interesting, touching, insightful and thought-provoking. Readers will find themselves easily engaged by Carlson's characters and hoping for a happy ending.

Melody Carlson is a freelance writer and the author of many works of fiction, including Finding Alice and Crystal Lies.

Armchair Interviews says: The perfect summer read.