I assumed this novella would be “cheerful,” as its title implies, but I was wrong. It’s actually a rather dark portrayal of Dolly Thatcham’s wedding day. All of the “action” takes place in the bride’s house, even during the ceremony, because this book is not about the wedding, it’s about reactions to the wedding. As Dolly gets dressed, and her extended family and friends sit down to a wedding luncheon, it becomes clear that no one is very happy about this wedding, not even the bride.
This state of affairs is revealed slowly, through a quirky cast of characters. Mrs Thatcham books multiple guests in the same bedroom, confuses the staff with conflicting direction about meal service, and flaps about in a scatterbrained fashion. Two boys fight over wearing appropriate socks. Dolly steels herself for the afternoon ceremony by slowly draining a bottle of rum. And Joseph, a former suitor, mopes about downstairs waiting for Dolly to emerge so he can have the last word before she becomes a married woman.
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding is supposed to be funny, I think. Yes, there were moments of wit, and characters like Mrs Thatcham who were so over the top that I had to laugh. But I expected a continuous chuckle, and maybe a laugh-out-loud moment or two, and this was not that sort of book. The cover blurb compared this book to Cold Comfort Farm, another “hilarious” book that failed to resonate with me. Perhaps I just can’t appreciate this type of quirky humor.
I haven’t heard of this one, but I do like quirky weirdness so I’ll keep my eyes open for it
We each have our own tastes, etc. Have you read The 100 Year Old Man? It’s a definite quirky/weird read but I loved it to bits 
relentlessreader, I haven’t read that book — might have to check it out. I like some kinds of quirky, and don’t like others.
I always meant to finish listening to this audiobook. I downloaded this from Persephone, started it, then stopped for some reason. Can’t remember why? I’d like to pick it back up again because I do enjoy Persephone selections, but I wonder if the humor is more apparent in the audio version? We shall see!
CoffeeBookChick, I’ll be interested to see what you think of the audio version. Good luck with it.
This book was *so* miserable but, oddly, I thought it was an excellent piece of writing – the slow, inevitability of disaster being played out with all that symbolic stuff going on in the descriptions. I was glad it was short though!
skiourophile, I absolutely agree about the writing and I probably should have given the author more credit for that in my review.
I haven’t read this for about 30 years – have an old Penguin copy lurking somewhere, so maybe it’s time for a re-read…!
kaggsy, would love to hear your thoughts on it!
I had the same reaction to this book. I couldn’t figure out if it was funny or serious.
Chris, I wonder if the humor is quintessentially British?
This is one of my favourite Persephones – certainly the one that has made me laugh the most! There is something about its bleak humour that I love.
Claire, perhaps it’s an acquired taste? I dunno …
Most people seem not to warm to this one, but (like Claire) I thought it was absolutely hilarious! I loved the quirky, dark, surreal humour.
Well Simon, I’ve always known you were one of a kind!
Hmmm. . . I’m not sure if this makes me want to read it or skip it. I enjoy a humorous book, but I don’t always like books where I feel like I don’t get the jokes. Was it like that or was it just not that funny when you thought it was trying to be?
Rebecca, I’d say it was more not funny but trying to be. At least for my sense of humor, that’s how it came across!
Ok, that’s not as much my thing because I either think it’s dumb humor or that maybe I’m just not smart enough to understand it. Which is totally not how I should feel!
Gosh, even the cover image isn’t very “cheerful” is it? Sorry it didn’t work for you! -Sarah