Seating Arrangements

By: Maggie Shipstead

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

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.

Resist, Not Worth the Credit

Boring, boring, boring. Who listens to this stuff and likes it? I think I get over zealous on the sales, though I always read reviews, because this is the third book purchased on the last 6 months that was simply terrible.

I can't give you a redeeming value because the book had none. I listened for 4 hours and decided to move on to one of the many great books available.

Trite, predictable, over the top PC

Would you try another book from Maggie Shipstead and/or Arthur Morey?

Disliked the book, love Arthur Morey

Would you recommend Seating Arrangements to your friends? Why or why not?

No

Any additional comments?

The headline says it all; even Arthur Morey (whom I love) couldn't salvage this one

Test Review - only for tech testing

this is nothing but a test and shall not go online at any point and if it does please ignore

Annoying narrator

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would suggest reading this book instead of listening to the audio version.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Arthur Morey?

I would cast someone that could do a better job with women's voices. I would also prefer that the father did not sound like he was 95 years old.

Liked it a lot!

Seating Arrangements was a really good book about family dynamics and relationships. I'm sure most people could relate to at least some of the characters. It helps to remind us that constantly striving for more is not the route to happiness.