Same-Sex Marriage, From Both Sides: A Review of V.T. Davy’s A Very Civil Wedding

Like Danika at the Lesbrary, I was quite surprised by British author V.T. Davy’s unusual novel A Very Civil Wedding.  I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like it.  I guess technically A Very Civil Wedding is a novel, but it certainly doesn’t follow any narrative structure that I’ve ever encountered before.  In a way, actually, A Very Civil Wedding is more like a mockumentary than anything else, which makes for quite interesting reading.  It does create a kind of patchwork narrative, but by giving the reader bits and pieces of the story in the form of news articles, blog posts, diary entries, conversation records, speeches, event programs, meeting minutes, and other tidbits.  At some parts of the novel this strategy dragged a bit, especially during the actual marriage ceremony, which is communicated through a very thorough but dry program that outlines absolutely everything that happens…