2012-28 - The Stag and Hen Weekend, by Mike Gayle

28 - The Stag and Hen Weekend, by Mike Gayle, 402 pages, Hodder and Stoughton, 2012

WHY I PICKED IT: I read everything by Mike Gayle
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Meh

 

Mike Gayle tried to do something interesting... One book, two stories of the same period of time.  Phil and Helen are getting married in a week; one story (201 pages) tells of Helen's Hen Weekend at a fancy hotel and spa; and the other story (201 pages) tells of Phil's Stag Weekend in Amsterdam.  You can read the stories in either order (I read Helen's first).

 

Helen bumps into her ex... the guy who cheated on her, and admitted it a week before their wedding (years earlier), in order to end the relationship.  Now he wants her back.  In Phil's story, he bumps into Helen's ex' ex-wife (small world?  I think so!).

 

Although I typically like Gayle's style of writing "Guy-Lit," I don't really like Chick-Lit (so Helen's story wasn't engaging for me), and I felt like Phil's level of insecurity was a bit of a pain to read. (so Phil's story was a bit of a pain).  Zero-for-two: Do not recommend.