5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Swedish Wedding Singer Makes a Literary Match
One wedding is fake, ending in a three-way kiss. Another unfolds in the shadow of a secret cancer diagnosis, and one ends with a sung ode 'to whatever fate may bring.'
In all there are 10 ceremonies in the new novel 'Songs for Other People's Weddings,' about a wedding singer named J who composes original songs for celebrating couples. J is also negotiating a complication-strewn relationship with his girlfriend V, who moves to New York from their home city of Gothenburg, Sweden, to pursue her career. As J agonizes over their future, he also interrogates the true — and healthiest — meanings of love.
What makes the book unique is signaled by a QR code at its beginning, which gives the reader access to the 10 songs that J sings. They were composed by the acclaimed Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman, who, while releasing five wry, melancholy albums and many EPs, has had a longtime side gig as a wedding singer. His co-author, the award-winning Y.A. novelist David Levithan, has written the book's main narrative.
Lekman dedicates the novel to 'the 132 couples whose weddings I've played at over the years,' adding, 'I hope my presence turned out to be a blessing and not a curse.'
The pair first communicated in 2005 when Levithan — who co-wrote 'Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist,' which was adapted into a 2008 movie — was writing his novel 'Wide Awake.'
'I was listening to a lot of Jens's music — there is a certain bookish quality to his songs,' he said. Though largely a cult figure in the United States, Lekman has his devotees; in 2019 The Guardian named his album 'Night Falls Over Kortedala' one of the best of the 21st century, sandwiched between music by Kanye West and Janelle Monáe.
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