MIDNIGHT CHAMPAGNE

by A.Manette Ansay

Paperback, 2001

Status

Available

Call number

813

Genres

Collection

Fiction

Publication

ORION MASS MARKET PAPERBACK (2001), Edition: paperback / softback

Description

April Liesgang and Caleb Shannon have known each other for just three short months, so their Valentine's Day wedding at a chapel near the shores of Lake Michigan has both families in an uproar. As the festivities unfold (and the cash bar opens), everyone has an opinion and a lively prediction about April and Caleb's union, each the reflection of a different marital experience. Meanwhile, at the nearby Hideaway Lodge, a domestic quarrel ends in tragedy. As April and Caleb's life together begins, death parts another man and woman in angry violence--and as the two stories gradually intersect, their juxtaposition explores the tangled roots of vulnerability and desire. By the time the last polka has been danced and the bouquet tossed, Midnight Champagne has cast an extraordinary spell. From the novel's opening epigraph from Chekhov--"If you fear loneliness, then marriage is not for you"--to its final moments in the honeymoon suite, A. Manette Ansay weaves tenderness and fury, passion and wonder into a startling tapestry of love in all its paradox and power.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member tgsalter
Strangely delightful account of a wedding and a murder in a North Woods lodge. Lots of kids sleeping on coats -- vivid writing ... Room 33.
6 more
LibraryThing member MarianV
In a 12 hour period, in a midwest motel that's seen better days, a couple are married & they & the wedding guests (both invited & just passing thru) are trapped by a blizzard. As the electricity flickers on & off they try to make merry but old passions & regrets linger in the shadows. A short but
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 intense story of a wedding night that will haunt all the participants.
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LibraryThing member kiwifortyniner
The story of April and Caleb's wedding. The couple have only known each other for a very short time so everyone there has their thoughts about it all and how long it will last. The couple get married at a chapel near the shores of Lake Michigan attached to the nearby Hideaway Lodge. Add to that a
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 domestic quarrel between a couple staying at Hideaway Lodge that ends in tragedy, and a snowstorm that knocks out the lights and threatens to isolate all the guests for the night and you have the elements of the story. As the reader progresses through the wedding day the two stories intersect.
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LibraryThing member echaika
Hardly great literature and I suspect most men wouldn't like it, but I may be wrong on that. It's a good read for a night when you just can't fall asleep or a lazy do-nothing day if you're like me and can't stand daytime TV, sitcoms or cop shows.
LibraryThing member berylweidenbach
The author A Manette Ansay writes beautiful prose, there is no question. Most of her stories take place in small towns in Wisconsin. This particular story happens entirely during the course of one day. The wedding of April and Caleb on Valentine's Day at the "Hideaway Lodge" during a furious winter
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 storm takes place simutaniously as a violent.domestic arguement in room 33 ends in tragedy. How are these two events tied together? Are they? The young couple has only known each other for three months and both families, from Wisconsin and Tennesee, are prone to speculate privately on why they are in such hurry. Eveyone from Wisconsin knows that April had been in love with Barney since high school. Both of their families were anticipating their wedding with great anticipation, when April suddenly broke it off with no explaination. Even Barney claims not to know, but decides to attend the wedding himself as an extension of his parents invitation. Also, a mystery guest attends that many observe, but none recognize. The storm has them all captive as the snow deepens, and when the power goes out, many secrets are revealed. Love in all it's many forms interwoven in a story that is hard to put down!
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LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
This whole book takes place during one afternoon and evening - the wedding and reception of April and Caleb, a young American couple. There are vignettes of their family - rather disapproving, since the bride and groom have only known each other for three months - and friends, ncluding April's
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 ex-fiancé. Meanwhile, at the connected lodge, a different couple are having a serious argument which has rather drastic results.

Surprisingly, I quite liked this book - there was mild humour and some clever observation, and the supposed suspense wasn't really chilling in the slightest. But it was rather an odd sort of book. It was actually billed as a horror story but I didn't find anything horrific in it, and I'm no fan of horror in general.
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LibraryThing member anglophile65
wonderfully written...all takes place in an evening during a wedding and a snowstorm. loved the story, fast read all about love and it's many meanings.

Awards

National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — Fiction — 1999)
Great Lakes Book Award (Winner — Fiction — 2000)

Language

English

Original language

English

Original publication date

1999

Physical description

5 inches

ISBN

0732266157 / 9780732266158

Barcode

91100000176509

Other editions

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