The Wedding Party

Name: The Wedding Party
Brand: Brilliance Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Liu Xinwu
ISBN: 9781713620150

Author: Liu Xinwu, Jeremy Tiang

Narrator: Caroline McLaughlin

Unabridged: 15 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Published: 11/16/2021

Categories: Fiction, City Life, Nonfiction, Literary Collections

Synopsis

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.

About Liu Xinwu

Liu Xinwu was born on June 4, 1942, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, and has lived in Beijing since 1950. His short story “The Class Teacher” appeared in People’s Literature magazine in November 1977 and is regarded as the first instance of China’s “scar literature” genre. Liu’s other stories include “I Love Every Green Leaf,” “Black Walls,” “White Teeth,” and “The Wish.” His novellas include Overpass and Little Dunzi. He is also the author of the novel The Wedding Party, winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize. He has also written many essays and has been an architectural critic. His research into the classical Chinese novels The Golden Lotus and Dream of the Red Chamber has been very influential. From 1987 to 1989, he was the editor in chief of People’s Literature.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Phu on November 25, 2023

Keep in mind that at the northernmost point of central Beijing stand the ancient Bell and Drum Towers. The Drum Tower in front, red walls and gray tiles. The Bell Tower behind, gray walls and green tiles. The Drum Tower is squat, the Bell Tower slender. They no longer chime and boom at dawn and du......more

Goodreads review by Nursebookie on November 17, 2021

Set in 1982 Beijing during the cultural revolution, The Wedding Party is as an immersive read like no other about a lively and bustling day as Jiyue is set to marry, and the melange of characters - from meddling families and neighbors, to the anxious bride to be and all sorts imaginable like wedding......more

Goodreads review by Mandy on July 19, 2022

I thought this was simply marvellous. I was hooked from the first page. Set on a single day, 12th December 1982, it centres around a wedding party arranged by Auntie Xue for her son Jiyue. In spite of her meticulous planning, things soon begin to spiral out of her control. Although the wedding is th......more

Goodreads review by Elvina Zafril on June 28, 2022

I didn’t like this book. I thought it would be a great book with a chaotic wedding but somehow I felt disappointed. Don’t get me wrong. I liked that some parts were funny and chaotic but I just couldn’t bring myself to like this book as a whole. Mostly because of the followings 1. Too many characters 2......more

Goodreads review by Elena on January 08, 2022

[2.5/5 stars] December, 1982 - Aunt Xue's younger son Jiyue is getting married and this is the event which THE WEDDING PARTY revolves around. WHAT I LIKED: - the whole book is laden with social commentary on Beijing society regarding classism and poverty. The decent characterization smartly portrays th......more

Quotes

“Caroline McLaughlin makes the most of this romp through a wedding day, told through the eyes of Auntie Xue, an ambitious, exasperated mother who is also the matriarch of her neighborhood. Fans of Chinese fiction will find much to admire as McLaughlin sets an energetic pace for a story filled with colorful characters and their slightly manic antics. She moves us from Auntie Xue to her clueless son--the reluctant bridegroom--and a slew of guests who span a wide age range.… Told with gusto, this is a fun listening experience.” —AudioFile Magazine“This novel introduces readers to the boisterous milieu of a siheyuan, one of Beijing’s traditional multifamily courtyard residences, via the story of the Xue family’s wedding banquet…A lovingly rendered portrait of a city and its inhabitants, the novel is also an act of preservation.” —The New Yorker“The novel’s heart lies with quiet, passionately competent chef Xichun, whose cooking never falters and who never loses sight of his and others’ humanity. A deep immersion in everyday life in Beijing after the Cultural Revolution.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)