A different kind of wedding singer, in a new novel by a writer and a songwriter
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Naturally, having written the songs for the ten weddings that take place in the book, Lekman decided to record them — partially because the audiobook would need them — but then, as Levithan points out, 'it would've made for a very strange album for the general public because they wouldn't have understood the stories that were going on without the context of the novel, so he decided to record another album,' this one telling the story of the novel through a new set of songs.
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So what can a collaboration between a wedding singer and a novelist tell us about what makes for a good wedding? 'I think all weddings should have original songs composed by a singer,' Levithan says. 'Not every wedding couple can, of course, but I think the notion is to put yourself in the wedding, put yourself in the ceremony, ask yourself, 'what did lead us here, and where do we want to go from here?''
David Levithan will read at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 6, at
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Following his National Book Award-winning 'Hell of a Book,' Jason Mott's '
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Kate Tuttle edits the Globe's Books section.
Kate Tuttle, a freelance writer and critic, can be reached at
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