DIGITAL DOMAIN
The Wedding Speech - Isabelle Broom (2014)
Ed and Billy have been best friends since school, so it's only natural and right that Billy has asked Ed to be his best man. And Ed couldn't be more honoured. But then there's the small matter of the best man speech, which everyone knows can be hit or miss. But Ed wants to get it right for Billy and his fiancee Amelia. This is his gift to them and it's more than a simple best man speech. For a very (very) short story, a mere 2500 words, I didn't think it would be possible for a story to be so powerful and complete, but Isabelle Broom's The Wedding Speech proved me wrong. I was happily reading along, enjoying Broom's writing style - she certainly knows how to write a wedding speech and a male lead - when she completely sideswiped me. With such limited space, she does a wonderful job with plotting and manages a twist of epic proportions. A really disarming short story, well-written and emotive. It will be interesting to see Broom in full swing with a debut novel potentially on the horizon. (JC)
