Seating Arrangements

By: Maggie Shipstead

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Maggie Shipstead's stunning debut novel, Seating Arrangements is an irresistible social satire that is also an unforgettable meditation on the persistence of hope, the yearning for connection, and the promise of enduring love.

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, love and its obligations, and the dangers of leading an inauthentic life, heralding the debut of an exciting new literary voice.

©2012 Maggie Shipstead (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Maggie Shipstead is an outrageously gifted writer, and her assured first novel, Seating Arrangements, is by turns hilarious and deeply moving." (Richard Russo, author of That Old Cape Magic )

" Seating Arrangements is bursting with perfectly observed characters and unforgettable scenes. This gorgeous, wise, funny, sprawling novel about family, fidelity, and social class, is the best book I've read in ages." (Courtney Sullivan, author of Maine)

"A pitch-perfect debut from a master storyteller, Seating Arrangements is a rich and deep work: a smart, consuming novel that manages also to be delightfully funny. A romp of a book, with whales and weddings and wealth, it is, at its heart, a warning against the empty seductions of status and exclusivity." (Justin Torres, author of We the Animals)

Best seller? Really?

Very disappointed. Why choose a man to read this story? Why choose a man with no emotion to read this story? Never got "into" the characters -- didn't really care what happened to them.

Thumbs down

Boring, with a pompous ass lead character. Not one likable thing about this story. No other relatable characters. Very disappointing, I loved another book of hers. Annoying voices.

Boring book, awful characters

I wanted to love this book because I think Maggie Shipstead is a great writer. But the characters were awful: narcissistic, self absorbed, boring.

Boring

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

No

What was most disappointing about Maggie Shipstead’s story?

This was the most boring, slow moving book I have purchased. I have two hours left and honestly don't feel like I can get through it. The characters are unlikable-I could care less what happens to any of them.

Any additional comments?

Purchase if you need something to put you to sleep. If you are looking for a book with a good story line and great characters-pass it by.

Slow and painful

I chose this book for a road trip with my wife based primarily on a positive review from Richard Russo. I was hoping for something Russo-like but this didn't come close. The main characters are really unlikeable and the story moves slowly. The narrator does a fair job given the source material. Making it to the end of this book was a chore.

Deadly dull

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

I am so bored by this book, the reading, and the plot that I will avoid anything from the author and the reader. This is a huge waste of time. If my book club wasn't reviewing the book, I'd stop in the middle and abandon it.

Has Seating Arrangements turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not the genre--this is the fault of the author

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was probably well suited for such an unlikeable, monotonous story

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Boredom

Just Great!

Any additional comments?

Witty and insightful satire, characters I enjoyed following, wonderful writing. The narration fit the book well. Overall, a delightful, entertaining book!

Awful

I am reminded why I don’t like WASPs. There are no redeeming characters. I finished it but wish I didn’t. The narrator sounded exactly what I imagined the main character to be. It had a few funny moments-which allowed for the one and only star.

most boring story ever!

What would have made Seating Arrangements better?

If the story actually headed somewhere instead of just focusing on how lame the main character was.

What was most disappointing about Maggie Shipstead???s story?

that it was boring.

What three words best describe Arthur Morey???s voice?

appropriate for story

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Seating Arrangements?

all of them! Especially the part of him climbing on the neighbor's roof and falling off!

Great characters all unlikable

The structure and the story itself is fabulous. You get a real feel for these people and their upper class east coast culture; its hard to sympathize with any one of them which is part of the joy of it.