The Weddings

Very Interesting & Character-Driven

I didn't know what this book was about, but Amazon recommended it and WOW has the algorithm ever figured me out! I'm not a fan of weddings, and I think maybe I figured this was a random murder mystery thing based on the cover and title, but what I got instead was so much better than what I suspected.

The Weddings is by and large a character study which dives into emotions and motivations and covers the experiences of a 40-somethintg Korean-American gay man. As these are unique perspectives outside my own scope, I can't be certain, but I will say that there's this air of authenticity to the way Jack (the main character) handles matters of casual racism and overt homophobia through the course of his life. It felt almost like reading about a real person and a real set of events, which is exactly what I crave in character-driven works.

Honestly, I believe this book is best entered with no expectations. I had no clue or guess to how it would end and no idea what to expect, and as such I was able to just enjoy the story as it played out. There were moments where my heart broke and moments where I smiled... and even several which gave me food for thought in terms of the real world and the way humans treat each other.

I loved this book. That's really all I want to say, because I don't want to spoil anything.