Songs for Other People’s Weddings
By David Levithan, with songs by Jens Lekman
Overlook Press, August 5, 2025
From award-winning, bestselling author David Levithan and beloved, acclaimed singer-songwriter Jens Lekman comes a charming, tender novel about an unlucky-in-love wedding singer trying to find the right words to save his relationship
J is an accidental wedding singer. Unlike most wedding singers, he writes an original song for every couple—his way of finding out about the small, strange things that brought them together and the hopeful, vulnerable feelings they’re experiencing.
J’s own love life is in a state of flux. His girlfriend is off to New York for work, and as her life grows bigger and busier without him in it, he finds it harder to stick to a happy tune. He doesn’t know whether to encourage the soon-to-be-wed couples or warn them. When complications hit and love is tested, is there any way to sing through all the noise?
Combining David Levithan’s deeply observant storytelling and Jens Lekman’s inventive and touching original songs, Songs for Other People’s Weddings is a tender, honest novel that tracks love through all its chord changes, never forgetting that the best songs contain the bitter and the sweet, the despair of losing it all and the euphoria of being found.
Praise for The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan
“Levithan brings ingenuity and a wry edge to his first adult novel… Among the novel’s pleasures are micro-stories that speak volumes, reminiscent of Lydia Davis’s work…There's plenty of reflection, not just on the relationship but on the attempt to distill and describe such complex feeling, including this: ‘Trying to write about love is ultimately like trying to have a dictionary represent life. No matter how many words there are, there will never be enough.’” ―NPR
“The Lover's Dictionary is clever and poetic and, sigh, sad… The brief entries are like poetry; poetry with a gravitational pull back to the central narrative, which is two people falling in love. The fact that the pieces hold together so well is testament not only to Levithan’s light hand and gracious writing but also to the power of this universal story.” ―Newsday
“Young-adult novelist David Levithan doesn’t list this entry under the V in the alphabetically headed (and arranged) chapters of The Lover's Dictionary, his charming short novel about a love affair and its bittersweet evolution from first flirt to shaky domesticity, for lovers of all gender persuasions… Surrounded by large amounts of white space—which may be useful for readers as we walk through these dictionary-like entries for musing on our own loves and losses—the spare number of words in Levithan’s novel may be just enough… But allow me to exclaim. Without ellipsis (and some white space) Here is a lovely Valentine's Day gift for lovers!”
―Alan Cheuse, San Francisco Chronicle
“Levithan crafts a love affair as sharp, funny, and sad as any you’d find in an epic novel… The Lover’s Dictionary isn’t about how lessons were learned, and in what order—it’s a documentation of facts, memories, war wounds. And anyone who has been in a romantic relationship will recognize themselves in Levithan’s lovers, from the tiniest details of merging bookshelves and quiet afternoons to the largest anxieties of sexual inadequacy and romantic reciprocity.” ―The Rumpus
“David Levithan makes every word count… Levithan gives readers the kind of love story that Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse-Five would have appreciated: unstuck in time, reliving moments in unpredictable order and in varying emotional colors… [A]n equal opportunity romance with wit and rue, kisses and tears, that anyone can enjoy.” ―Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“From ‘aberrant' to ‘zenith,' David Levithan’s latest creates a relationship in short scenes, packed with lyrical language. Entries slip back and forth in time as they unfold through an alphabet of romance, anger, forgiveness, and tenderness to make up one particular relationship… The entries manage to be both intently focused and hinting at the larger picture.” ―Star-Ledger
“Interestingly, each definition is told from the point of view and in the first-person voice of only one of the partners. The other partner’s voice remains silent throughout except as quoted by the narrator. Nevertheless, both come wonderfully alive, emerging as complex, multidimensional human beings, happy and unhappy, ebullient and angry, sweet and sour, and so—delightfully—forth.” ―Booklist, starred review
“Levithan attains some heartbreaking moments as well as pitches of hilarity with his concise, polished writing. Inherent in such an endeavor is an adorableness thankfully grounded by Levithan’s wit.” ―Publishers Weekly
About the Author
David Levithan is the author of numerous acclaimed novels, including The Lover’s Dictionary, Every Day, Boy Meets Boy, and Two Boys Kissing. His other collaborations include Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist with Rachel Cohn and Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green. He can often be found with headphones on, a devoted music listener…but it’s safe to say that nobody will ever ask him to sing at a wedding.
Jens Lekman is a singer and songwriter from Sweden with several beloved albums such as Life Will See You Now, Night Falls Over Kortedala, and Oh You’re So Silent Jens. He was once voted the fifteenth-sexiest man in Sweden by ELLE. Then he dropped down to number thirty-three, and since then he hasn’t been included in their list. He works part-time as a wedding singer.
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