Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead. “This debut novel by a young writer is a barbed, sometimes hilarious, jab at a the monied class of America. Focusing on the Van Meter family over a summer weekend, when one daughter is getting married at the family’s summer home, the book quickly peels away the well dressed, seemingly tranquil layers of life in this family where at least two of the members are looking for more than they have.They feel cheated and are full of longing for something, if only they knew what. The patriarch’s missteps are baffling to the point of sad, but there is enough ridiculousness to keep you going, and the writing is fine.”
