Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride

Sweet and funny and dear gods it made me glad I'm not married and never intend to be. It also made me want to go have beers with Lucy and John and their kitty. (Um, actually, I just want to kidnap Linney because KITTY!) I recommend this to anyone who is married, who is thinking about getting married, or who wants to be able to justify to all their "smug marrieds" why they aren't married.

graphic memoir / comic artist Lucy Knisley (thoughtful, creative, not an "expert" on anything, incidentally bisexual) plans her wedding and documents her ideas and experiences.

At 300 pages, this is a longer, somewhat text-heavy volume that can't be quickly read through in one sitting, but I am a fan of Knisley's writing and artwork and can also appreciate her skill in eye-catching and readable layouts. She also provides some alternative traditions that are less patriarchy-centric, in case you are planning your own ceremony but maybe don't particularly love sexism.

If you'd told Lucy Knisley a few years ago she'd be getting married, she'd probably have looked at you like you had two heads. In this graphic novel memoir, she talks about the surprising way in which she and her husband ended up together, the whole crazy process of the wedding, and her own mixed feelings about traditions and history and social expectations all bound up in marriage.

I like Lucy's style in all her graphic novels and the way she lets you into her life. In a way, this one is the most personal of them all, because you see her relationship with friends and family as they come out in the wackiness that is planning a wedding. Even as a single person, I've reached a certain age where many of my friends are married or marrying, show more and I can see the ways in which the day that is "all about you" is really about much more than that. Lucy's relatable, almost bemused attempt at navigating that minefield while making the wedding her own make you smile in recognition. show less

Lucy Knisley is my spirit animal. I will read anything and everything that she publishes. And when in the midst of the hellish ordeal that most people refer to as wedding planning, it was the most welcome breath of fresh air. I was that weird kind of bride that instead of firing her mom, said "Here Mom, take it - you plan it and I'll do whatever you want." and for Lucy's somewhat similar mentality, I was extremely thankful to find someone I could relate to in that stressful time.

A week before my wedding, my grandfather passed away and it was Lucy's writings, both Something New and Displacement, that helped me realize that he would want me to be happy and to celebrate instead of being sad. It was Lucy's words that reminded me that a show more wedding is a special occasion, not just because you're getting married, but because it is an amazing chance to get to spend time with the people you truly care the most about and who care the most about you. show less

Knisley humorously addresses all the Wedding-Industrial Complex challenges my friends have discussed as they plan their weddings: the assumption that you'll diet; pressures from families, wedding planners, and others to care about things you don't care about; societal expectations about what being married means, including what marrying a man means for a bisexual woman... She does a good job, I think, of acknowledging her privileges -- she uses the word "lucky" on almost every other page -- while also acknowledging that planning a wedding is damn hard amid the unrealistic expectations our society sets for women. Every friend who got married in the last decade or so may be getting this for the next gift holiday.

A most uncommon graphic novel - much more about the couple than the actual wedding, with valuable back histories of the couple's relationship. Lucy Knisley previously penned "Relish", a remarkable story of food, catering, and a tighter-than-tight mother-daughter team. This recounting is so chock full of hilarity, potential disasters, and love-will-find-a-way. Ingenious and merry!

This is a fantastic memoir about getting married and analyzing the institutions of both marriage and wedding. Knisley's story is compelling, and her art is a feast. I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially if you're getting married but hate the idea of the stereotypical wedding. I wish this book had existed for mine--I was an unconventional bride who *hated* wedding culture and wanted a simple but fulfilling day, which I think we largely achieved. I related a lot to what Knisley had to say, even if her spiritual beliefs and mine differed quite a bit.