Valerie Frankel's book, I Take This Man, skillfully mixes comedy and tragedy in the lives of her characters. You may start the book thinking it is about the bride Penny - but it really develops into the relationship between Penny and her mother Esther. And how they need to deal the past history and "baggage" of their lives before they can move on to future happiness. And if the bride gets dumped at the altar and the mother knocks out the groom, and kidnaps him, and holds him hostage until he writes all the thank you notes for the soon to be returned gifts, well these things can happen in the best of families.
She is able to blend the wackiness of life with the revelation that it is who you have in your life what matters most. Watching Penny and Bram's relationship change to a deeper one, and seeing Esther take a chance on having man in her life again, the groom's widowed dad - none the less, makes the reader stay up late, and want to see how this is all going to end. Frankel manages to create great characters that we can relate to and cheer for when they finally find their way.
A great read!
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