The Wedding Party

In this sprawling, award-winning novel, celebrated Chinese writer Liu Xinwu cordially invites you to an epic, riotous, and moving neighborhood feast. On a December morning in 1982, the courtyard of a Beijing siheyuan"”a lively quadrangle of homes"”begins to stir. Auntie Xue"™s son Jiyue is getting married today, and she is determined to make the day a triumph. Despite Jiyue"™s woeful ignorance in matters of the heart"”and the body. Despite a chef in training tasked with the onerous responsibility of preparing the banquet. With a cross-generational multitude of guests, from anxious family members to a fretful bridal party"”not to mention exasperating friends, interfering neighbors, and wedding crashers"”what will the day ahead bring?Set at a pivotal point after the turmoil of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Liu Xinwu"™s tale weaves together a rich tapestry of characters, intertwined lives, and stories within stories. The Wedding Party is a touching, hilarious portrait of life in this singular city, all packed into a Beijing courtyard on a single day that manages to be both perfectly normal and utterly extraordinary at the same time.