I don’t have friends who have been married. I don’t have any attachment to the religious or cultural aspects of it. I don’t have the kind of money to throw a wedding. Although I’ve read all of Knisley’s travelogues and her terrific culinary memoir Relish (check it out, it’s got recipes!), I put off reading Something New because I knew it was about Knisley’s wedding and weddings in general, and I didn’t think it would hold my interest. Here are a few we own at the library worth taking a look at: Relish, Kid Gloves, and Displacement.Something New is a graphic novel memoir by graphic novel memoirist Lucy Knisley. Her other graphic novels follow this style as well. I enjoyed her honest and confessional writing style. This was my first graphic novel by Knisley.

It made me feel a little less anxious about my own planning endeavors.

Alongside Knisley illustrations, she added photographs from her year of wedding planning.Īt the end of the day, Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride lets the reader into her own private world of wedding planning. She did the traditional things like shopping for the perfect dress with her friends and family, arguing with her mother about the type of music for the reception, and staying up late to finish guest lists with her fiancé. Knisley also created her own decorations and table settings to express her creative side. She emphasizes to the reader that a traditional wedding isn’t for everybody (and if you like traditional, that’s okay!) For example, Knisley’s mother lives in a rural area and built a barn for their ceremony and reception. Throughout her memoir, Knisley goes into detail about her wedding planning process. After being apart for a few years with meeting each other in between, John randomly popped the question and Knisley said yes. They met while Knisley was completing art school and as their relationship developed, they realized they wanted different things in life. Knisley begins her novel with some background of how she and her husband, John met and ended up engaged.

Knisley uses her graphic novel skills to lay it all out for all of those who may be entering the whirlwind of wedding planning. Planning a wedding can feel stressful, exciting, nerve racking, and sometimes impossible to do. As a bride to be myself, I was intrigued to see how Knisley described the year leading up to her wedding. Lucy Knisley gives an honest take on the wedding planning process with her graphic novel, Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride.

Something new lucy knisley