A heart-aching comedy about three generations of mother-daughter love
Nora Fawn’s daughter, Hope, disappeared four years ago. Nora has never known why. Refusing to answer her mother’s calls, emails or texts, Hope maintained contact only with her big sister, Joy. Having once considered her mothering to be the greatest achievement of her life, Nora’s spent these Hope-less years searching, aching, mother-guilting, working for a famous yet talentless artist and avoiding her own emotionally repressed mother, Daphne.
But … last night Hope rang out of the blue to say, ‘I’m coming home, I’m getting married, the wedding is in three weeks and it’s your job to organise it.’ Desperate to prove her worth as a mother and regain her daughter’s love, Nora commits to the task – assisted by her own increasingly dementia’d mother and her two best friends, Soula (an amateur bikini-line waxer) and Thilma (whom they found in a cab in the 1980s).
My Daughter’s Wedding is both hilarious and profound as it explores the confounding complexity, wild terrain, mountains, valleys and quicksand found in three generations of mother-daughter love.
Read some great reviews from our Preview readers here:
“My Daughter’s wedding” is a darling story of 3 generations of women and their lives as they find Hope and Joy (both literally and figuratively) overcome tragedy and come together through love and friendships to understand that we’re all just making it up as we go and doing the best we can. This book is light-hearted, funny and surprisingly relatable and a must-read for mums of daughters and daughters. Gretel captures both audience like only a mother and daughter could and I look forward to more of her work. – Mercury, NSW, 5 Stars
“A Daughter’s Wedding” by Gretel Killeen. What a beautiful story. Interwoven between the Generations of Grandmother’s, Mother’s, Daughter’s and Friends was a mixture of emotions that took the reader along for the ride. At times I was sad, angry, then laughing out loud as I could relate to them. Along the way, there are lessons to be learnt for everyone. What a wonderful read. Gretel Killeen brings to life all the characters describing each and everyone so they seemed like a long lost friend. A great page-turning story. – Christine, QLD, 5 Stars
I found this book hilarious. It had me laughing out loud many times which I rarely do when reading. Here is one line “He has moustachehe that looks like a ferret is trying to burrow sideways up his nostrils” I actually didn’t know Gretel Killeen wrote books but I am so glad I got to enjoy this one of hers. I didn’t want it to finish. This book follows Nora and her relationship with her two daughters as well as her mother. Her daughter disappears from her life for 4 years then calls to say Nora must arrange her entire wedding in a week. Chaos, arrests and drama follow. Great funny read I would recommend. – Renee, QLD, 5 Stars
The blurb tells you this book is about the hilarious complexities of mother-daughter love. What it doesn’t tell you is that you will be taken on a riotous roller coaster ride with Nora, her daughters, Nora’s mother and a cast of well, misfits. You will laugh tears of joy and might even see a little of yourself in this book. Enjoy!! – Tracey, WA, 5 Stars
I found this to be a really great, emotional book. It really highlights the complexity of family relationships. I found myself wanting to phone my Mum and apologise for the angst I’ve caused her in the past/ overlooking her feelings in favour of whims. – Sacha, SA, 5 Stars
The wonderfully wicked humour the fabulous Gretel Killeen exudes suggested her new novel, My Daughter’s Wedding would be a riotous, rollicking adventure – and wow, it sure does pack a serious punch of side-splitting hilarity. The story centres around Nora Fawn and her daughters, Joy and Hope. After not hearing from Hope for four years, a relieved Nora finally gets the long-awaited call she’s been pining for. Armed with her increasing dementia mother and best friends, Thilma and Soula, Nora sets about planning Hope’s wedding in an attempt to regain her daughter’s good graces. The eccentric but loveable characters are deliciously drawn, including many smaller ones making up Nora’s extended family. These characters are no wallflowers, but rather unruly, outspoken and just plain naughty. The snowballing crises they must navigate makes this race-against-time story incredibly entertaining. And just when things couldn’t possibly get any worse, the future In-Laws arrive… I didn’t expect the huge heart this story would have, nor how much it would resonate with me personally. The plot may be delightfully far-fetched, but the exploration of the complex mother-daughter relationship is genuinely heartfelt, familiar, and often left me wiping away a tear. – Linda, QLD, 5 Stars
This book is hilarious, do not try and read in public!! The cast: Nora, single mother to Joy and Hope, both now adults. Joy, firstborn, perfect in every way. Hope, born early, in the supermarket aisle, the sickly child, total opposite of Joy. Leonard, Nora’s ex-husband, now married to Booby. Nora’s best friends, both more than a little unusual, Thilma and Soula. Eduardo, Nora’s boss, famous (?) artiste, who speaks some variant of Italian. Daphne, Nora’s mother, lives at the Happy Tales nursing home just down the road from Nora, may be in the early stages of dementia, regularly drops into Nora’s place for a Whine and Wine. Jack Whittle, the town’s senior police officer, may or may not have had a relationship with Nora in the past. After fours years of refusing any contact with Nora, Hope suddenly re-appears, announces she’s getting married in three weeks and requires Nora to plan the wedding. As Nora documents the events that follow in Dear Diary, we are treated to a series of happenings that belie the underlying tensions between mothers and daughter across the generations, and leaves you wondering what sort of warped mind could have conceived this tale! Absolutely brilliant. – Marcia, SA, 5 Stars
I recently received a copy of My daughter’s wedding, by Gretel Killeen thanks to Better Reading #BRReview ARC copy. This book is hilarious at times, heartbreaking at others, it touches on the subjects of dysfunctional families coming together in times of crisis even if they’re a mishmash not necessarily of blood relations to help each other get through trauma and come out the other side stronger and closer, with a better understanding of what makes each other tick. Nora is suddenly thrust into the spotlight of arranging daughter Hope’s wedding after having been estranged for years, Nora not knowing what she has done to disappoint Hope so much. It broaches the fears of all parents and their children of not being good enough and trying too hard to compensate for their shortcomings.
I really enjoyed this book immensely as I’ve seen these issues in many families and found it very relatable. Thanks for the opportunity to review this great book. – Janet, NSW, 5 Stars
Having read many of Gretel’s books, I can confirm this one is just as funny, witty and heartwarming as the rest, if not better! The light I needed to start 2021 with. – Emmah, VIC, 5 Stars
If you are looking for a holiday read, either on a plane or by the pool, this is the book for you! One minute I was shaking my head in disbelief and the next I was laughing out loud. The characters are both crazy and intriguing, sometimes even profound, especially Nora’s insights. Through her diary this desperate mother tries to find the love of her mother and her daughters. In a series of bizarre events, she examines her life, faults and fears. Nora’s family will make yours look extremely boring and normal. Enjoy! – Debra, VIC, 4 Stars
I was pleasantly surprised with Gretel’s book. I laughed, I cried, I had an unexpected range of emotions. I could relate to the way she has written this book and the characters and I kept thinking, I would think like that. I did think in some parts, is that what people do or dress when they meet the in-laws, but I guess that is Gretel’s style of writing. Overall, I enjoyed reading My Daughter’s wedding. – Robyn, VIC, 4 Stars
My Daughter’s Wedding reminds me more than a little of Absolutely Fabulous, so if you’re not a fan (what’s wrong with you??) you may struggle with the (ever-increasingly) ridiculousness of Nora Fawn’s life. Imagine Edina Monsoon without self-obsession. BUT-beneath the insanity, there are so many relatable moments for anyone who has ever been a mother, daughter or sister. So, hilarious? Yes. Completely over the top bonkers? Yes (okay, maybe a bit too much in places) Worth the read? Yes, though you may want to pace yourself for when it gets a little overwhelming. I reread it a couple of weeks later and enjoyed it more the second time when I could filter out some of the more OTT and pick up on the more relatable (and often funnier) observations and anecdotes on love, life and mother-daughter relationships. – Juanita, NSW, 4 Stars
Thank you Better Reading for this ARC of My Daughter’s wedding by Gretel Killeen. A fast-paced, easy read. Loved it! With the natural mother-daughter relationships and the ups and downs the bring. This book in the end was quite heartfelt and humorous all in one, the ups the downs and the in-between! Highly recommend this to anyone that wants a quick read with the occasional serious moment but a laugh as well! Amy, ACT, 4 Stars
It was a great read. The characters were endearing and relatable. Noras Mum is every single older mum/grandma out there. She was my favourite. A great twist at the end, which was definitely unexpected. It was just a good lighthearted book that almost everyone can relate to in some way! – Connie, VIC, 4 Stars
My Daughter’s Wedding is the perfect book to read if you need something light and funny with a little bit of heart. It is a story that shows the complexity and messiness of mother and daughter relationships. It tries to show the good the bad and the ugly of Nora Fawn and her daughters Hope and Joy, these are not perfect characters living in a perfect world. So whilst this is a funny and light-hearted story the issues and characters are highly relatable. The book deals with heartbreaking topics such as estrangement and dementia with humour and often outlandish situations The diary format makes for an easy and entertaining read and gives you a bird’s eye view of Nora’s mind as she navigates the return of her daughter Hope and struggles with her own perceived expectations of her mothering skills. The theme of this book is family, with all its trials and tribulations. It also touches on the notion that not all family is blood as side characters make important contributions to this tale. If you are looking for a fun, heartbreaking, and hilarious story then this is for you. I highly enjoyed it. – Belinda, QLD, 4 Stars
An entirely relatable cascade of reactions portrayed in a comedic yet somewhat sad way, the story follows Nora and her struggle to please everyone especially her daughter Hope who has re-entered her life after disappearing from it four years earlier. Hope sets Nora the impossible task of organising her wedding with one week’s notice. This begins a wild, often funny, attempt to make that happen and in doing so prove to Hope that Nora is a good mother who is worthy of her love, therefore, making up to Hope whatever wrong she unknowingly did that caused her to leave in the first place. Nora’s other child Joy (the perfect one) is along for the ride, also trying to prove her worth, but this time to her mother. Nora’s mother Daphne, perhaps the beginning of these feelings of inadequacy, second-guessing and need to prove oneself often throws hilarious often abrupt vocal spanners into the mix while she herself struggles with her slide into dementia. The story highlights the crazy, complex, circuitous, thought processes of three generations of mother/daughters who love each other and will do anything but be direct about their motives for what they do. At the beginning of all this Nora finds a long forgotten ‘diary’ and writes her thoughts and wild conclusions to happenings throughout the long crazy week. These entries become the format for the telling of their story. – S, NSW, 4 Stars
My Daughter’s Wedding is a diary that holds a mirror up to the complex, messy and always evolving family relationships we encounter in our lives. It is about the stories we tell others, the stories we are told by our family members and friends and importantly, the stories we tell ourselves. Beneath the comedic situations in which the characters find themselves, the novel deals with universal issues such as grief, the ageing process and family relationships, in particular the often fraught mother-daughter relationships. Nora’s insatiable need to be approved by her daughter Hope, along with her own complex relationship with her mother, Daphne is well explored and will no doubt will resonate with many readers. In an age of the Instagram filter over family life, Gretel Killeen has created a snapshot into the realities of the perfectly imperfect families that we are born into and that we create for ourselves. It is ultimately a hopeful novel and was an enjoyable read. – Holly, WA, 4 Stars
My Daughter’s Wedding was a hilarious read that I thoroughly enjoyed. This was the first of Gretel Killeen’s books that I had read, but this story was definitely an encouragement to read more. This story follows Nora and her daughter’s Joy, and Hope who Nora hasn’t seen for over 4 years, we also meet some other hilarious family and friends along the way. I recommend this story to anyone looking for a funny book that shows you not everything needs to be taken so seriously in life! It is also a great introduction to fiction books if you are usually a non-fiction reader. – Tamara, QLD, 4 Stars
A funny tale of the anxieties we all face when we are not honest with our feelings and with others. Some truly laugh out loud moments in this unique perspective of a mother-daughter relationship. With very relatable characters and interesting family dynamics through a number of generations, this was a great easy read! – Kristen, NSW, 4 Stars
Gretel Killeen’s voice, her sense of fun and joy of life shines through her novel ‘My Daughter’s Wedding’. The style is very deliberate and quirky with repetition for a fun effect. As the action in the story becomes more outrageous the underlying theme of a mother’s love for her child becomes clearer and more undeniable. – Susan, ACT, 4 Stars
My Daughter’s Wedding is a truly emotional ride, I found myself laughing from the first page and then sliding into tears as the story progressed. Connecting with Nora from the very first page I found myself enveloped in the truly relatable story of dysfunctional families coming together through times of crisis. This book fully explores the complexity of mother-daughter relationships when Nora suddenly finds herself organising her estranged daughter Hope’s wedding. Having not spoken to Hope for years, Nora seeks the assistance of her mother and two best friends to bridge the divide and prove her worth as a Mother. A truly relatable novel the story not only touches on every parent and child’s fear of not being good enough, it also explores the sisterhood of female friendship. This book is the comical light read we all need right now. – Nicole , VIC, 4 Stars
This book has many funny and light-hearted moments as it examines the complicated relationship between mother and daughters. I can sympathise with the main character of the story, Nora as she yearns for the love and acceptance of her daughter, Hope who abruptly left home and disappeared without contact. Years later, Nora suddenly received a phone call from Hope wanting to return home and plan her wedding. What follows after are hilarious moments with supporting characters making the book a fun read. I didn’t necessarily enjoy how the book is written in a diary format as I feel it tends to break the flow of the story but it’s just personal preference. Overall the book will make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift! Thank you Better Reading for the opportunity to review this book. – Sandy, WA, 4 Stars
Thanks for the opportunity to review My Daughter’s Wedding by Gretel Killeen. Before reading (For reasons entirely unknown to myself) I genuinely thought/expected this to be an autobiographical book. I was happily proven wrong! If anyone had this sort of relationship with their child, I would be very very surprised. This is the story of Nora, whose daughter disappeared 4 years ago. Only to resurface and demand/ request that Nora organise her wedding, which just happens to be in 3 weeks time. Sure plenty of time! The antics, scenarios and general chaos that ensues is sure to provide a giggle to those seeking some escapism in a book. Having said that, there are deeper moments for those seeking them. A plotline that is entirely improbably but super funny, Gretel writes with the assurance of someone who knows exactly what she is doing. Nora the main character is captivating and funny. I was drawn to her and laughed with her. The pace is great and I found myself with a book hangover. It was easy to read and made me remember why this style of fiction is a real favourite of mine. A great story about the dynamics of female relationships..not believable but still enjoyable. – Nicole, NSW, 4 Stars
As a mother of two sons, I love to read about relationships between mothers and daughters, and who doesn’t love a good wedding tale? This book covers all of that and more. I found it a little slow to start with, but once the wedding preparations began, so too did the main part of this story. Really enjoyable and quick read. – Julie, VIC, 3 Stars
A cast of zany characters, all told from the perspective of a mothers diary. This book has plenty of laughs but underneath it all tells the sad reality that the difficult needy child gets the consideration and attention, the ‘good’ one does not, which I admit I found really frustrating at times. Well written, fast-paced and great for those who enjoy eccentric characters. – Leesy, NSW, 3 Stars
Thank you to Better Reading and Hachette Australia for an ARC of this book by Aussie author, Gretel Killeen. This is a humorous story that explores the complex mother-daughter relationship in 3 generations of a family. Hope is estranged from her mother Nora and there has been no contact for 4 years – until Hope phones out of the blue to say she is getting married and she wants her mum to organise the wedding, planned for only 3 short weeks away. Of course, things don’t run smoothly and there are plenty of laughs as the characters encounter mishaps and setbacks. Misunderstandings also occur and family tensions and secrets surface. The author writes with plenty of humour, and there is some quite funny dialogue and laugh out loud moments. The book also has it serious moments and is quite heart-wrenching at times which made me want to keep on reading to find out how things would end up. I liked that the story was told from Nora’s perspective using a diary format. This kept it light-hearted and funny, and I was able to read it over a couple of days. I feel the book would make a lovely mothers day gift and happily recommend it to those wanting an entertaining, relaxing read that will give them plenty to laugh about. I gave the book 3.5 stars. – Ruth, WA, 3 Stars
This is a story involving the complexities of relationships within families and friends. There were some funny laughs within the story mixed with serious thoughts about how people treat others. I always love a book where all the situations come together in the end. – Heather, SA, 3 Stars
I spent most of the book really not enjoying the characters and finding the humour to be annoying. BUT by the very end of the book the characters, all kind of redeemed themselves and I found myself wanting to read more. It was a light and easy read, but I’m still not sure if I liked it or hated it. – Candice, WA, 3 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book It brought back memories of my own wedding. – Julie, NSW, 3 Stars
I was really looking forward to reading “My Daughter’s Wedding” the media release had me expecting pages filled with funny storylines. While mountains, valleys and quicksand are indeed part of life, I found reading this book like quicksand without any funny bits. This is not a book a would have picked off a shelf but I gave it a good go right till the end. I’m sorry I didn’t enjoy it more. – Gai, NSW, 3 Stars
I wanted to love this book. I was looking to read something light-hearted and not too deep, and My Daughters Wedding did provide that. It did have some funny moments but veered into ‘silly’ territory a little too much for me. I struggled to find the relationships believable, and some of the action is questionable at best. However, if you want to suspend your belief in reality, and go for an easy book with a bit of escapism, this could be just the ticket. – Karen, VIC, 3 Stars
My Daughter’s Wedding is a humorous and light-hearted novel and a great light, summer read. Written as a diary, it documents the week before the daughter’s wedding and exams the mother/daughter relationships of three generations. Set in Australia by an Australian author, this book had many laugh out loud moments with some poignant messages interwoven in between. An enjoyable and frivolous read. – Margie, QLD, 3 Stars
I thought this book was “nice”. Probably best suited for mother’s – great Mother’s Day gift!! The characters were funny and likeable! – Amy, VIC, 3 Stars
Gretel Killeen has a unique way of telling a story of mothers and daughters. This book will take you on a journey which over the generations of mothers and daughters it reveals that as daughters we realize as we grow older that our mothers aren’t as perfect and wise as we thought they were. However, we will probably always need them. – Jodie, NSW, 3 Stars
Thanks to Better Reading for my advance copy of My Daughter’s Wedding by Gretel Killeen. This novel looks at the relationships of three generations of women. Set in an unidentified city of Australia, Nora diarizes the week before her daughter, Hope, is married. We get an inside view of her interactions with her daughters, Hope and Joy, and her mother, Daphne, as well as her fears and desperation. Also, we meet her madcap friends, boss and ex and his new partner. There are humorous moments but these are often too drawn out and far too outrageous to sustain the humour. This is escapism to the nth degree. If you want a light read with humour and a touch of outrageousness then this is the book for you. – Annette, ACT, 2 Stars
Thank you to Better Reading for allowing me to review this book. This book touched on the mother-daughter relationship for the most part and based itself on the storyline line of Hope who was estranged from her mother and then suddenly reappears and wants her mother Nora to organise her wedding. We follow Nora as she keeps her ‘Dear Diary’ document of events and adventures that unfold throughout the novel with family and friends. The start of the book I found quite good and humorous however the middle part got a bit too wild and wacky and over the top with the dialogue and characters despite it all being rather dysfunctional. The ending came together surprisingly well. I do give credit to Gretel though for keeping the novel amusing throughout, something that’s not always easy. I must say I did find the character Booby funny with her backwards dialogue and I felt for Nora whose heart was in the right place but never seemed to be able to get a break. Overall a fair read. – Danielle, VIC, 2 Stars
An easy read about Nora Fawn and her strained relationship with her two daughters, Joy and Hope, and her aged mother, Daphne. Nora has not heard from Hope in four years but gets a call asking to help organise her wedding in three weeks. Seeing it as a chance to rebuild her relationship with her daughter, she takes on the challenge. Nora’s other daughter, Joy, has been the easy one and this colours how they interact with each other, as well as the sisterly relationship between Joy and Hope. Nora is not aware of her mum’s declining health and her daughters are blaming her for not seeing what they see. Daphne’s dementia is having Nora look at her relationship with her mum. Throw in a couple of crazy friends, Soula and Thelma as well as her employer and neighbour Eduardo. Written in diarised form, it tells of misadventures and crazy moments as they try to re-establish connections in the whirlwind of wedding planning. I found the characters hard to like and a bit unbelievable, their interactions with each other I found unrealistic. – Deborah, VIC, 2 Stars
This is a lighthearted and, at times, entertaining read but not a memorable book. Although good for a laugh, Gretel Killeen’s writing is an acquired taste as her exaggerated humour is at times silly and irritating, masking the explorations of family relationships and friendships which are at the core of the story. The novel reads like a stand-up comic’s gig, with constant one-liners and puns in both the dialogue and the first person musings which are presented as diary entries. The diary style works quite well, allowing the perspectives of the protagonist to be established but the reader needs a break from the humour at times in order to ponder the significance of the messages the author intends. I had not read any Gretel Killeen books before and nothing about this one encourages me to seek out more. – Diane, NSW, 2 Stars
There are quite a few laugh out loud moments in this book, but overall I found the humour a bit ‘relentless’ – the author trying too hard to make every exchange funny. A quirky, fun crowd of characters/caricatures, with enough endearing, familiar traits to make them believable and engaging. The unexpected (improbable) ending felt completely out of sync with the rest of the novel. Comedy but with such complex, serious underlying issues – this book really did not work for me. – Victoria, NSW, 2 Stars
I was excited to receive a preview copy of Gretel Killeen’s new book, My Daughter’s Wedding and was set to love this story. Unfortunately, this book didn’t hit the love mark for me. This is a story of complicated mother/daughter relationships. Hope (daughter) has been estranged from her mother (Nora) for four years but returns home when she needs help from her mother to arrange her wedding in three weeks time. Nora starts to diarise the events that unfold during the planning process. What follows is a series of dysfunctional family mishaps; outrageous and flamboyant best friends and sticky situations with a few brushes with the law. Throughout the story, I disliked the treatment of Nora from her daughters and the constant dialogue between them left me thinking that the daughters had no respect, that they thought Nora was an idiot and that her whole existence was to be their verbal punching bag. The story does have an underlining message of love and coming together through difficult times but for me, with inconceivable relationships and unbelievable situations, I struggled with this book and was left feeling that the story was too much in the silly factor for me. – Ally, TAS, 1 Star
My experience collaborating with Jacob Mercari https://jacobmercari.com to create an engagement ring for my fiancé surpassed all expectations. The certification of diamonds by reputable organizations was of utmost importance to me, ensuring the quality and authenticity of the chosen stones. The custom design services offered by Jacob Mercari stood out to me, allowing me to create a one-of-a-kind piece that beautifully reflected my bride’s unique personality. I would like to express my gratitude to Gregory for his exceptional professionalism and transparency. His guidance and expertise were invaluable in selecting the perfect jewelry design that met all my requirements while remaining within budget.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a potent tool that can significantly enhance your online visibility and recognition. In today’s digital age, where the internet is a primary source for information and services, having a strong SEO strategy is crucial. It ensures that your website ranks higher in search engine results, making it more accessible to potential clients or audiences. For those seeking to become well-known or increase their digital footprint, SEO is indispensable. To get started, consider ordering an SEO audit from https://sfseocompany.com/seo-audit/. An audit can provide valuable insights into your website’s current performance and offer tailored recommendations for improvement, setting the foundation for a successful and impactful online presence.