On This Day

By Melody Carlson

Book Overview

As One Marriage Begins, Five Others Are Put to the Test. Drawn to Lakeside Inn from a variety of locations as diverse as they are, Elizabeth Anderson, Suzette Burke, Ingrid Campbell, Margaret Simpson,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578568412
• ISBN13: 9781578568413
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Waterbrook Press
• Length: 329 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

A Fly On the Wall

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.

A good book!

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.

With gentle surprises, a very satisfying read

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

A fun, enjoyable read that will appeal to women of all ages

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

fine character driven tale

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