Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Seating Arrangements

Maggie Shipstead

Gather a crowd of family and old friends together in the days leading up to a wedding and you get this - a story of misunderstandings, mistakes, regrets, not quite forgotten rivalry and awkward situations. Infused with humour and a cast of flawed characters it makes for an engaging wry comedy about people and lifestyle.

Extract
The Van Meters were so charming at first. Daphne was sweet and serene. Livia was just a kid and worshipped Dominique. Biddy was practical, brisk, kind. Winn wore bow ties and pocket squares and attacked all parts of his life with a certainty and precision that Dominique found reassuring. There were no weeds in the Van Meter garden, no unmatched socks in their laundry room. A tennis ball hung from a string in the garage to mark the exact location where the car must be parked. The milk was thrown out the day before it expired. Yet everything they did - playing tennis, cooking dinner, making friends, getting dressed - seemed effortless.
Parallels
  • Privileges by Jonathan Dee
  • The Ice Storm by Rick Moody
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Explicit sexual content