A GREAT MARRIAGE

A broken engagement raises two questions: What makes a great marriage, and what do wedding vows really mean?

This book delivers a grand love story with plenty of surprises, while admirably steering clear of treacle and melodrama. Dara Willcox, a well-to-do, lively North Carolinian headed to law school, falls for British architect Austin Clarke when they meet at a New York art gallery. The book opens with a celebratory engagement dinner marred by an ominous spilled glass of red wine. Dara’s parents, Lee and Rich, are portrayed as having a “great marriage.” Grandmother Charlotte, the Willcox family’s titanic matriarch, offers wit and gravitas based on her epic second marriage. The engaged couple is surrounded by friends eager to participate in the wedding preparations. If the beginning of the novel presents a few too many points of view and fluid verb tenses, the story clarifies when Austin discovers a major obstacle to the wedding. Dara cancels the ceremony without telling anyone the reason. Austin returns to London, where we meet his father, an antiquarian bookseller, and sister, who’s in a similar business. Austin reconnects with and leans on his sister as he navigates the thickets of his predicament, telling her that in “those old maps you and Dad love, there’s always a dragon creature in the choppy waters where the known world ends. That’s where I am swimming.” Austin matures within these waters, while Dara takes advantage of her privilege to avoid thinking too much. Despite this setup, the characters deepen and mature over the course of the novel, making it easy for readers to empathize with their differing opinions and behaviors. Old-fashioned morality comes into play, with refreshing and satisfying results.

The pleasure of this book is in its rare combination of eloquent writing, human insights, and page-turning storytelling.