Always a Bridesmaid ...

The Prairie Bridesmaid

Daria Salomon

Key Porter Books

Okay -- so I now have a new rule when going to the bookstore. Do not buy books based on the on-air musings of your favourite radio host. It doesn't matter that you have a slight crush on him, that you totally dig the groovy music that he plays, or that he actually smells fantastic (I know this for a fact -- he once sat next to me in the Atrium and I was sure that I was in olfactory heaven.) Matt "Slivertongue" Galloway cannot be trusted -- he can make anything sound good. Even a poorly-written, angst-filled piece of crap.

The Prairie Bridesmaid is a novel about Anna -- an unhappy, almost thirty-something who decides that she's got a lot of bad in her life -- her job as a high-school English teacher is completely unrewarding, she's in a soul-sucking relationship, and she smokes and drinks far more than is good for her. While she is trying to sort out these woes, she's also dealing with a bunch of other dramas -- namely, an ailing grandma, a flighty-sister, and a wedding-from-hell.

Is this ringing any bells with you? Yup ... substitute New York for Winterpeg and you have every other chick-lit novel that you ever read. Sure, Salomon was witty, sardonic and more than just a little bit cynical. She just wasn't as good as the hype. One tattered crinoline out of five.