Welcome to Litsy!

Fun fact: The book is dedicated to the editor - Jackie O.

I love Harlem Renaissance fiction, especially that written by female authors. This story takes place on Martha‘s Vineyard in August 1953 and explores the complex dynamics of Black upper class families during that time period. The writing was sharp and, at times, raw, and the characters very well drawn. If you enjoy Nella Larsen and Zora Neale Hurston, you‘ll likely enjoy Dorothy West.

First of all, massive kudos to Dorothy West for her career - and what inspiration to continue your art through your eighties 🙌 (screen shot from The Paris Review)
This novel was heading for 5 stars but ended quite abruptly. I do wonder if West‘s age or health put some pressure to tie things up. Aside from that this was a unique look at an upper class black family in their holiday home organising a wedding in the 50s. It looks primarily at ⬇️

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 170
#BooksToRead #TBRPile #TBRMountain

This week: we read and discuss THE WEDDING by Dorothy West. It‘s a remarkably complete history of several generations of a family up to their daughter‘s impending wedding in 1950. It tackles race and class in really thoughtful and interesting ways and you should definitely check it out.

You can find the podcast wherever you download your podcasts!

My friend got married in a bookstore last night. She had to scold me to stop shopping while dancing a couple of times. But if she didn't want me to shop why would she put the dance floor right next to the fiction section??

#HappilyEverStewardson

Hahaha! That‘s all the wedding posts I‘ll spam tonight, but let me know if you want to see more ♥️

#HappilyEverStewardson

#happilyeverStewardson

#HappilyEverStewardson

#happilyeverStewardson

One for the books! #HappilyEverStewardson

#HappilyEverStewardson

#HappilyEverStewardson

As requested by the lovely @CouronneDhiver

#HappilyEverStewardson

It's almost time! Ahhhhhh! 👰❤🤵

Day 17 #wedding #readingresolutions @Jess7 #may

@Kaye Giant fake book to hold cards.

Didn‘t get much reading done yesterday because of my wedding and everything went off without a problem except for me standing in a fire ant bed and getting stung lol ! The red velvet cake was delish ! Near the end I was getting tired and just wanted to go sit in my chair and read my book ! Back to normal today :)

Making more Kleenex boxes for the wedding. #ForYourHappyTears #cricutcrafts #diywedding #literarywedding #Sept15th2018

I'm loving how these books look all stacked up with the paper art and the flower on top. I'll definitely be using nicer flowers on the wedding day, but I'm having so much fun playing around with stacking this morning. 😍 #librarywedding #literarywedding #Sept15th2018

So many beautiful aisles and corners to take pictures in. 😍😍😍 #bibliophileswedding #aliterarywedding #fortheloveofbooks #weddingplanning

I'll be saying my vows under A stained glass picture of Shakespeare 😍 #bibliophileswedding #aliterarywedding #fortheloveofbooks #weddingplanning

The Library is booked for our venue. I couldn't take too many pictures because there were ppl reading, but I'll post what I have! I'm so excited!!!! 💗💗👰🏼💗💗 #bibliophileswedding #aliterarywedding #fortheloveofbooks #weddingplanning

Dollar Tree find! #cheapbooks #dorothywest

This book had a lot of flaws, but it's still a pick for me. I wish it was longer- the ending felt a bit rushed. The story was strongest when focusing on the ancestor of the '50s characters. Overall, an interesting story dealing with the intersection of class and race.

#BlackHistoryMonth

I'm enjoying this book so far. At first, some of the descriptions took me a bit out of the story, but the characters and plot pulled me back in. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to finish this before the end of this month, so I'll have read at least one book for #BlackHistoryMonth.

The book was excellent. Lots of insight about race and class in the1950s. And you get back story of generations of the family and how the past decisions about career, love, color, and education shape the characters of the bride's family. And it sucks you in the usually wedding drama.

@bookriot thanks for the recommendation. I'd never heard of Dorothy West until this morning.