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Title details for Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead - Available

Seating Arrangements

by Maggie Shipstead
Arthur Morey
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Maggie Shipstead’s irresistible social satire, set on an exclusive New England island over a wedding weekend in June, provides a deliciously biting glimpse into the lives of the well-bred and ill-behaved.
Winn Van Meter is heading for his family’s retreat on the pristine New England island of Waskeke. Normally a haven of calm, for the next three days this sanctuary will be overrun by tipsy revelers as Winn prepares for the marriage of his daughter Daphne to the affable young scion Greyson Duff.  Winn’s wife, Biddy, has planned the wedding with military precision, but arrangements are sideswept by a storm of salacious misbehavior and intractable lust: Daphne’s sister, Livia, who has recently had her heart broken by Teddy Fenn, the son of her father’s oldest rival, is an eager target for the seductive wiles of Greyson’s best man; Winn, instead of reveling in his patriarchal duties, is tormented by his long-standing crush on Daphne’s beguiling bridesmaid Agatha; and the bride and groom find themselves presiding over a spectacle of misplaced desire, marital infidelity, and monumental loss of faith in the rituals of American life.
Hilarious, keenly intelligent, and commandingly well written, Shipstead’s deceptively frothy first novel is a piercing rumination on desire, on love and its obligations, and on the dangers of leading an inauthentic life, heralding the debut of an exciting new literary voice.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 12, 2012

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780449008805
      • File size: 349788 KB
      • Duration: 12:08:43

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Shipstead's vibrant prose sparks the raw energy driving this satire set on a New England island on the eve of a reunion and wedding. The revelers converge to witness the marriage of Daphne, the daughter of Winn, the protagonist. All manner of tangential relationships, lusty attractions, malignant resentments, salacious misdeeds, and sad ruminations shadow the happy occasion. Arthur Morey champions Winn's introspective nature and bewildered missteps, but he gives women's voices, even quite youthful ingenues, an incongruous trembling that sounds aged. Still, Morey's perceptive performance accords with each character's specific angst, building memorable encounters, hilarious misunderstandings, and a witty romp through class barriers that separate the social elite and those striving to join them. A.W. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 30, 2012
      Vibrant prose and moments of keen insight lighten an otherwise lackluster debut in this comedy of manners set during the days preceding a wedding. Daphne Van Meter is getting married at her family’s New England summerhouse, her advanced pregnancy a blight on the festivities for the older WASP set. Her father, Winn, feeling increasingly irrelevant at work and in the eyes of his family, toys with the idea of adultery, though his real passion is gaining admittance to Waskeke island’s exclusive golf club. Daphne’s younger sister Livia, unable to recover from her recent abortion and breakup, makes halfhearted attempts to find a rebound interest as the weekend progresses. Also on the scene is Biddy, Winn’s solid if unspectacular wife (she falls asleep during sex and only wants Winn to be discreet if he cheats). The characters are either bland or unsympathetic, and with little plot, the book lacks energy. Readers looking for a thoughtful beach read may find moments of distraction in Shipstead’s linguistic dexterity, but the glacial pace and dull characters will likely put them to sleep. Agent: Rebecca Gradinger, Fletcher & Company.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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