The Grace Kelly Dress Review

Weddings are supposed to be one of the biggest days of your life and the wedding dress is the centerpiece. But for this family, the Grace Kelly dress insired by the Grace Kelly wedding dress holds differing meanings and expectations for each women on their special day.

Janowitz takes us through an intergenerational story spanning 2020, 1982 and 1958 with Rocky, Joanie, and Rose.

In 2020, Rocky dreads wearing the wedding dress. She’s a tech girl, opting for the new rather than the old and the dress just isn’t her. It’s perfect for her beautiful, girly sister, Amanda whom her mother was always closer to. But she’s the one getting married and she can’t spit out the words that she doesn’t want the dress. She doesn’t want to hurt her mother.

In 1982, Joanie is eager to get married and start her adult life. She thinks. Thing is, she’s more eager about wearing the Grace Kelly dress down the aisle than the husband greeting her at the end of it. When she finds out that her elder sister did not unexpectedly die of a heart attack, her mission to find out the truth leads to a crisis of identity, and fears of disappointing her mother after she spent all the time being the good girl for two.

In 1958, the orphaned Rose loves her job as a semestress for the famously talented Madam Michele but when her employer unexpectedly dies, she’s recruited to be her protege and complete the wedding dresses in Madam’s name. But her ruse may be discovered as she befriends the eager bride and falls in love with the bride’s brother, Robert.

As usual, Janowitz mediates on the importance of meaning we imbue in objects and things. Rocky is initially dismissive of the importance of the dress. It is just a dress that they only wear for one day of their lives, what is the point of passing it down? Their is a point as she learns in all the wedding plan and difficult conversations. Traditions are a way of bonding you to the bigger picture, sharing where your family has been, your place in it, and what it means to you.

For each woman in the family, death, love and familial expectations play a role in their choices. Rose doesn’t want to disappoint the memory of her boss, and uphold her legacy yet her own desires for a family which she can envision with the Laurents threatens that dream.

Joanie is struggling with being the surviving daughter even years after her sister’s death, that expectation of being the good girl causes her to forge ahead with the engagement despite her mild feelings because she thinks it’s the stable route, and expected thing to do. But she comes to discover through the mystery of her sister’s death that there is more to others (like Michele) than she knows and the world is so big, and she wants more time to explore.

Rocky is also in the shadow of an older, more glamourous sister that she feels her mother loves more than her even though this is about her wedding day, it’s still about Amanda. Thus she longs for her father more than ever but through lots of analysis and some harsh words, she and her mom come to an understanding.

Eahc thread can be its oen story but together, they resonate more strongly and you can appreciate the slight continuity between the three women like when Joanie and Rocky enter a new enviroment, they both describe it as walking from sepia to color as in Wizard of Oz. The contrast between Rose’s love at first sight with Robert and Brenda’s hate at first sight with Drew, and Joanie who finds something in the middle after she finds herself.

Now, some parts may have meant to be a mystery like how Rose was related to Joanie and Rocky were actually easy to guess as well as other little cliffhangers but the prevailing mystery of why Rocky can’t communicate with her mom and how Joanie’s sister really died were compelling. Plus the rotating chapters flowed seamlessly as one line would pick up where the previous chapter let off.

This was a pretty great book and while I do have a few nitpicks like what was the end of the Sloane and Amanda situation, and why does Rocky’s dad/Joanie’s future husband does not have a name!? bothered me, it doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

I just wish the book included end notes detailing the Grace Kelly inspiration and allusions like Janowitz did in her other books. I’ve only seen Dial M for Murder and Rear Window, and I didn’t see any refrences to that as there was no vouyerism or murder, but I could be wrong. Just wished it was included as it added to my appreciation of Janowitz’ skill.

5 stars!

I hope she does another one, maybe Marilyn Monroe or Natalie Wood or Greta Garbo, there’s so many Old Hollywood women to follow.