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It's exactly 3 stars for me. Just.

Absolutely the least favorite of the numerous Tyler books I have read over the years. Great majority of those were at least 4 stars.

Here we have the easy, peasy pitch of family "return" for an only child daughter wedding. Tons and mountains of stuff for the sit com. pander and quip. Dialogue parses identically to the pauses for the laugh track occur in huge sections of this. If you love Hallmark type sit com (think of Young Sheldon, for instance)- you will love this book.

Gail was portrayed understandable/real and well. But to say she was socially inapt? What an exaggeration. Not in this day and age when snark and sarcasm are reflected in young and middle aged not 10 minutes after you meet them. Where could she be labeled starkly unfriendly? She'd be a roving neighborhood greeter in NYC or Philadelphia, for instance.

And Max! Come on, man. What father turns up as he did on the day before the wedding expecting what he did? No male with a daughter of record would. And to play him so milquetoast and clueless too? I take that back. More "Friends" male then father.

Well, it is a quick read and what real crux it holds becomes modified and entirely resolved. So she will make a semi-truck load of profit off of this one. With movie rights going forward. For me, I truly wonder what Anne Tyler knows about divorce, and the process of divorce at all. Friends you can be- but never, ever seen the "buddy" thing structured so meaningless to core as this.

Myself, I loved The Wedding (Alison Espach) much, much more. Real issues and not make believe comedy. Debbie here should have read THAT one. At least she didn't have her hand purposely closed in the elevator door by a distracted stranger.

2.5 stars rounded up for the clear prose and at least there was a minister for the "ceremony". So superficial and brief as it was. Novella length too was a plus- there was no MEAT on these bones for more.