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The Wedding

Written by: Dorothy West
Narrated by: Regina Taylor
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Publisher's Summary

In her first novel in 47 years, Dorothy West, the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance, offers an intimate glimpse into the African American upper middle class. Set on bucolic Martha's Vineyard in the 1950s, The Wedding tells the story of life in the Oval, a proud, insular community made up of the best and brightest of the East Coast's black bourgeoisie.

Within this inner circle of "blue-vein society", we witness the prominent Coles family as they gather for the wedding of their loveliest daughter, Shelby, who could have chosen from "a whole area of eligible men of the right colors and the right professions." Instead, she has fallen in love with and is about to be married to Meade Wyler, a white jazz musician from New York. A shock wave breaks over the Oval as its longtime members grapple with the changing face of its community.

With elegant, luminous prose, Dorothy West crowns her literary career by illustrating one family's struggle to break the shackles of race and class.

©2012 Simon & Schuster Audio (P)2012 Simon & Schuster Audio

What the critics say

"West is a wonderful storyteller, painting vivid and memorable scenes of the life and plight of African Americans from slavery to the fifties. The Wedding is an engrossing tale." ( USA Today)
"In The Wedding, West brilliantly portrays the ferocity of class, race, and gender distinctions within family, groups, and generations." ( Entertainment Weekly)
"A fascinating and unforgettable tale." ( People)

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