Reading the Classics: The Wedding by Dorothy West

Join us at Kindred Thoughts Bookstore for our flagship book club, Reading the Classics, now in its fifth year! Join us at Kindred Thoughts Bookstore for our flagship book club, Reading the Classics! 📚 We’re kicking off our fifth year with The Wedding by Dorothy West! Join us on Saturday, November 21 at 5 PM as Cultural Historian Michelle Black Smith leads us in a thoughtful and engaging discussion of this literary classic. Reading the Classics is an opportunity to explore, revisit, and celebrate the rich canon of African American literature while connecting with fellow readers and sharing perspectives. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with a timeless work and a community that loves good literature. About the Book: In her final novel, The Wedding, Dorothy West offers a beautiful and devastating examination of family, society, race, and class. Set in the 1950s on Martha’s Vineyard, the novel takes us into the Oval, an exclusive community of the East Coast’s Black bourgeoisie. At the center is the prominent Coles family, whose beautiful daughter Shelby is preparing to marry Meade Wyler, a white jazz musician from New York. Her choice sends shockwaves through this tightly knit community, forcing its members to confront changing attitudes about race, class, identity, and belonging. With elegant, luminous prose, Dorothy West delivers a powerful exploration of love, tradition, and the boundaries society creates. 📖 Read with us. Reflect with us. Let’s celebrate the classics together! Purchase the book here.