Review: Finding the Magic Dress does not lead to a Magic Marriage. Now what?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 2, 2013
"Sex and the City" step aside - here comes a hilarious Australian story of a wedding and early "marital bliss", which will have readers rolling in laughter.It all starts out like a dream: "The dress was magic. I still think so. It had some supernatural quality that defied analysis..."Unfortunately for the heroine Fiona, things don't stay magic. Early trouble indicates that not everything may go smoothly: "I looked like Elizabeth the First. My hair rose vertically up from my head into what appeared to be a solid mass about eight inches high."Tabitha Ormiston-Smith's book Gift of Continence is hilarious for obvious reasons. While we hate when even the tiniest thing goes wrong at our own wedding, we have a tendency to enjoy laughing about others' mishaps, especially if they are fictitious.Fiona's bold conclusions regarding her wedding also ring true to our own (secret) thoughts: "Actually, I had a wonderful time. After all, when do you get to invite all your friends to a party that's paid for by someone else, and you're guaranteed to have the most stunning dress there?"While nave Fiona does not want to work (earlier experiences had not gone well) she wants to be the perfect wife.  Her reflections about her attempts are priceless: "People in books always seem to take a deep breath and then be able to do whatever it was they were trying to do. It doesn't work in real life though."Things really take off when now married Fiona finds a black lace garter belt in her husband's coat pocket. It is an intolerable situation. However, divorce is not a good option for Fiona. It might make her look less than the perfect wife. Even with the people closest to her (brother Patrick, best friend Gloria, and Gran) weighing in and trying to help with advice, Fiona has a hard time coming up with the very best plan.This reviewer is not a spoiler, thus I will not tell how the situation gets resolved. One thing though - the way how Fiona gets rid of her philandering husband took me by surprise.Great many female readers will appreciate the many references to how important wearing the right attire is to all matters of life: "When you're in your dressing gown, with your hair tangled and a temperature probably coming on, and the other person is all freshly showered and suited and dripping with cologne, well you're just putty in their hands, aren't you?" and:"It's always a mistake to get into any kind of difficult conversation when one's not dressed." Which is exactly what happens to Fiona - quite frequently.