The Wedding by Dorothy West is a modern classic that deserves far more love and notoriety. The short but powerful novel is about several generations of a colored family that summers on Martha’s Vineyard in an affluent colored community known as the Oval. Ovalites are a group all their own, but the family we focus on has many secrets and hidden feelings about what it means to be light skinned in a racist world and the Black community. 

Told in the third person, we get insight into many different characters and what has led to the big wedding this summer on the island, Shelby who is colored is engaged to a white jazz musician. Each character is complex and relatable in their own ways; West is adept at quickly establishing and then continuing to build messy people and relationships. 

If you are a fan of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, Memphis, or The Vanishing Half, I’m almost certain you will love this book. It is not plot heavy but I don’t want to give anything away. This book made me laugh and cry and I’m certain I’ll revisit it in the future. Even if you think classics aren’t for you, this very accessible emotional story is well worth a try.