The Wedding Party

Written by Liu Xinwu

Narrated by Caroline McLaughlin

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Translator: Jeremy Tiang
• Release date: Nov 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781713620150

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 for The Wedding Party

[Colleen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What I like about it:
- shows a microcosm of society
- reader sees the idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of the different neighborhood people
-gives a greater understanding of life in a hutong (culturally, socio-politically, etc)
What I didn't like about it:
- it was too didactic at times
- it was difficult to keep abreast with all the characters in the neighborhood (my fault, due to my unfamiliarity with Chinese names)