The Wedding (Abridged) Audiobook

" This short novel covered an immense amount of ground without every feeling overstuffed or superficial. The Wedding is also absolutely American in subject matter and feel. It is a portrait of the Coles, a wealthy African-American family in the 1950s, as they vacation at their Martha's Vineyard summer home and prepare for the upcoming wedding of their younger daughter Shelby. West perfectly captures the warm, languid feel of a New England late summer of leisure as well as the loving comforts and frictions of familial bonds. West also does a lovely job of weaving together the present day with vignettes from the characters' pasts and the longer saga of the family's history. These stories provide a probing illustration of issues of race, complexion, class, and social status. "

" In addition to treating the complexities of race and class quite well, West use of language painted the most vivid images that I have ever experienced in reading a book. "

" Taut, precise prose...renders characters brilliantly, laying them bare with language that thrums, sings, singes--like lightning passed through the room. "

" One of my favorite books EVER!! Ms. West certainly outdid herself with this one. The story of Shelby's family sounded like mine, so I really connected with that character. "

" West is a masterful writer. This is a compelling read of the upper middle class African American families who summer on Martha's Vineyard (Ms. West lives there), and what happens when a young woman of one of the prominent families there is getting ready for her marriage to a white jazz musician. Great depiction of issues of race, intermarriage and class. "

" Beautifully written by one of the lesser known Harlem Renaissance writers. "

" Read this before Oprah had Halle Berry star in her make of the movie...worth a read if you can get over trying to avoid books recommended by Oprah ;) "

" Such a fantastic book up until the last couple pages. West writes with ease that gently moves the reader along. The familial histories and stories were strong and I ate it up. The end was disappointing, but it doesn't detract too greatly from an otherwise good book and model writing. "

" For some reason I really didn't like this book. "

" This one is for the book group and I'm struggling with it... "

" A remarkably interesting read, especially since the author totally reverses the "show don't tell" maxim. The ending doesn't quite deliver what the lead-up promises -- but this quick read is well worth it. "

" LOVED THIS BOOK!! read it 2x. ( very rare for me) "

" Lovely book that had race, class and skin tone as underlying themes in the book. "

" I truly enjoy the writings of Dorothy West. I discovered her when I was vacationing in Martha's Vineyard. I gained an appreciation for the black elite in the 1950's through reading her writings. "

" truly interesting book. excellent character development "

" Another wedding on Nantucket . . . but this time the family is an upper middle class black family, descendants of slavery. Beautifully written (I know I say this a lot), but sad at times. interesting commentary on race, skin color and love. "

" I read this book many years ago and it took me a couple of tries before falling in love with this book. "

" I thought this book was hard to follow, but I have to also admit that I read it over the course of a year with books in the middle. I got lost with all the characters though. Maybe if I had read it start to finish, it would have been more impressive. "

" This book started out slow for me. It took me some time to really get into the book and then the ending sent an important message. However; I did not see that type of ending coming so I was disappointed when the book just simply ended the way it did. "

" Really liked this family saga. "

" I really loved reading this book even though it is a bit dated. It was a good summer read. Hated the end. What was the point of that? "

" I enjoy the book. The detail she gave to each family like you were right there in Martha Vinyard. I plan on reading more of Dorothy West. "