REVIEW for The Prairie Bridesmaid

A big thank you to the author Daria Salamon who kindly sent me a copy of her wonderful book. Thank you Daria.

TITLE: The Prairie Bridesmaid

AUTHOR: Daria Salamon

DATE: 2008

GENRE: Fiction

RATING: 4 Stars

I discovered this book through my friend Melanie over at http://indextrious.blogspot.com/. She mentioned that she thought this was more of a chick lit type of book and my ears immediately perked up!!!

I just finished reading The Prairie Bridesmaid and I have to say that I sort of disagree with the assessment that this is chick lit. It is definitely fiction geared towards women - but it does not really have all the chick lit elements.

Having said that, I have to say that I LOVED this book. Everything from the cover - to our main character Anna who is, to say the least, going through a life crisis (which is mostly in her head - but then again, aren't they all?).

Anna is stuck in an endless loop - with a job she no longer cares about and a boyfriend she no longer wants - but for some reason can't seem to disengage herself from either. She is stuck in a dark void and while her conscious brain is yelling out to her to find a better way - her body and her heart seem incapable of following.

This storyline is riveting. I felt very strongly for Anna, who frankly, is not the warm and funny lovable character who will set the happy, happy tone of certain novels. She is dark, broody, at times annoying and always completely messed up. No matter - this made her all the more human to me - I have been where she is and I felt for her. Knowing something and actually doing something about it are two completely different things.

The author does a wonderful job of showing us that Anna's personality and traits were not created entirely by her own screwed up views - as we read on, we discover a little bit more about Anna's background - her family, her sister and her grandmother - and it becomes a little clearer to me how Anna could have turned out the way that she has.

Although one might believe that the focal point of this book is Anna and her problems with love - its really not - the focal point of this great read is a woman trying to find her way back after taking quite a few wrong detours - its really about finding her own center and being able to just 'be' with her own thoughts.

I thought this book was very well written - rich in hidden messages (and some not so hidden ones!) - there is a message here for all of us. Its tough being a woman today! and I felt supported and understood as I was reading this book.

I also really liked Anna's sessions with her doctor - these were always interesting and I thought a great opportunity to see Anna's inner thoughts (I also loved the description of the Dr's clothing). What did not really work for me was the relationship between Anna and her Grandmother. I just did not like the grandmother character very much.

Otherwise, this book is a gem. Yeah for this wonderful female Canadian writer.