The World is a Wedding - Wendy Jones

This is the second novel to feature undertaker Wilfred Price, set in Narberth, Wales – the first was The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals (click the title to read my review.)

I very much enjoyed the first encounter with Wilfred, yet I must admit that I liked this second book even more. It is 1925, we are back in the affectionately portrayed Welsh countryside, and Wilfred is now happily married to Flora, and together they live with Wilfred’s father, whilst Grace is headed away to London alone, escaping a painful past, though there is no real escape for her from her situation. It was a delight to be reminded of these characters and to follow their lives once again. Wilfred is looking to expand his operations by starting up a wallpaper and paint business, whilst Grace takes a position as a maid at The Ritz hotel, and discovers the Suffragettes. 

I love how Wendy Jones uses words; there are some sentences to savour in this book. She writes about her characters with compassion and honesty, there is humour and a lightness of touch, but she doesn’t shy away from the sometimes very painful truths of life either, and there are some thoughtful moments as Wilfred contemplates his life.

There are some lovely moments as Wilfred and Flora adjust to married life and living together; Wilfred and his da have been used to a certain way of living and they are aware that some adjustments ought to be made now that it is Flora’s home too. Flora realises she has a good man for a husband in Wilfred, yet she mourns for the man she loved before him, who died in the war.

I cared about Wilfred, Grace and Flora when I started reading; as I read on, I grew to care about them even more. Wilfred is an endearing character and a fundamentally decent man; I felt he really grew and developed as a character this time and there is some wonderful humour in his actions and thoughts - his philosophical musing whilst judging the dog with the waggiest tail for example, and his use of his newly acquired vocabulary from the dictionary - as well as poignancy at the sadness that befalls the couple, and regret as to what happened with Grace. I loved the reflections on his reading of Socrates.

I also really liked the chapters involving Grace finding her feet in London and tentatively finding out more about the Suffragette movement. I would never have guessed they did the activity that they do in the book back then (I won't spoil it by mentioning it here). Through the narrative and her characters the author also highlights some often very difficult situations and limited choices for women at that time, and this felt right in the tale to me, done skillfully and never in a heavy-handed manner.

It's an attractive cover on this hardback edition too. My enjoyment of this one was enriched by having already read the first novel featuring these characters; it's not a necessity but I would recommend it. I hope there will be more to come should Wendy Jones decide to revisit Narberth once more, as this novel made for very good reading indeed.

Source - publisher review copy
Publisher - Corsair 
Find the author on twitter @abilliontimes

Book Beginnings (13) - The World is a Wedding by Wendy Jones

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays

The idea is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog. 

My Book Beginning

The Wolrd is a Wedding by Wendy Jones

Published by Corsair, an imprint of Constable & Robinson

Narberth, late summer 1925

'Wilfred Price, undertaker, purveryor of superior funerals, was up with the larks and off for his morning constitutional. And no time, today, for a cup of tea first. Wilfred strode out of his house, put his hands on his hips and breathed in the watery Welsh air that smelled of turned earth. He felt affection for Narberth, the small town - green as a bean - five miles from the crinkly coast of Pembrokeshire, where he had lived all his life.'

I really enjoyed reading the first novel featuring Wilfred Price, and I am happy to be reading this second book featuring him. I like this opening, which gets us straight back into the swing of things with Wilfred again and gives us a flavour of the place where he lives.

Synopsis:

Wendy Jones picks up where The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals left off: It is 1926. Wilfred is newly married and preparing for fatherhood. But can he embrace his future, without letting go of his past?

It's 1926 and Wilfred Price, purveyor of superior funerals, is newly married to the beautiful Flora Myfanwy. His brief and painful marriage to Grace is in the past. He's busy with funerals - and preparing for fatherhood by reading a philosophy book and opening a paint and wallpaper business. As much as he loves Flora, he senses her distance from him - are marriage and fatherhood going to be very different from how Wilfred imagined?

Grace has fled to from Narberth to London, where she is working as a chambermaid at the luxurious Ritz Hotel. But Grace has a secret, one that can't be hidden forever, and binds her to her old life in west Wales.

Despite Wilfred's earnest effort to embrace the future, he is beginning to wonder if the past has too powerful a hold on him.