So it turns out that men in trousers embroidered with little whales are exactly how I expected men in embroidered trousers to be. Or so Maggie Shipstead has me believe in her dry, cutting New England romp, Seating Arrangements.

It’s the story of Winn Van Meter, who’s heading for his family’s retreat on the pristine island of Waskeke. Normally a haven of calm, for the next three days Winn’s sanctuary will be overrun by tipsy revelers as he prepares for the marriage of his daughter, Daphne, to the entirely appropriate Greyson.

“The sight of his face was a comfort, even the chin someone had once called weak. He arranged his features into an expression of patriarchal calm and tried to memorize how it felt – this was how he wanted to look for the next three days.”

As Winn’s wife, Biddy, executes the carefully planned wedding celebrations, around them there’s all sorts of goings-on – Winn’s youngest daughter, Livia, who has recently had her heart broken by Teddy Fenn, the son of her father’s oldest rival, sets her eyes on the best man; and Winn, instead of reveling in his patriarchal duties, is tormented by his long-standing crush on Daphne’s beguiling bridesmaid, Agatha. Throw in some hard-drinking house guests and the opening of old wounds and it makes for a truly terrific read.

Winn is quite simply a git – full of self-importance and yet so much self-doubt. He’s a social-climber, opinionated and *insert a more refined word than ‘dick’ here*. He’s the character you get to know the best and, when things don’t go his way, he is so indignant – could the chip on that shoulder get any bigger?! Shipstead may have wanted the reader to keep cheering him on but I was thinking ‘Suck it up, you silly old man’ (note that ‘liking’ a character is not important to me and doesn’t change how much I enjoy a book). Continue reading →