Weddings in Contemporary Literature

Weddings in Contemporary Literature

This article relates to Three Days in June

In Anne Tyler's Three Days in June, main character Gail Baines must deal with the chaos of her daughter's wedding while facing career disappointment and job loss. As weddings are landmark events in many people's lives and may reflect (or challenge) traditional family values, they can make for rich and meaningful story settings, and provide the impetus for juicy drama. Below, we look at just a few contemporary works that feature weddings in a significant way.

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

For those getting married, their wedding may be the happiest day of their lives. But with so much emphasis placed on this being the case, weddings are also often a time when others end up feeling excluded and bitter. In Nnedi Okorafor's Death of the Author, main character Zelu, like Tyler's Gail, hits a low point in the vicinity of a family wedding — in this case, during a vacation to attend her sister's marriage in the Caribbean. While in the company of her more accomplished siblings, she receives a novel rejection from a publisher and is also fired from her teaching job. But after this, she finds unexpected success.

"Pics" from Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte

Speaking of rejection, in what may be the best story in Tony Tulathimutte's National Book Award longlisted collection, a young woman named Alison absorbs and exudes some of the worst and most toxic beliefs of the Instagram age regarding relationships. Hurt over not being loved by a man she doesn't really know, but mostly afraid of being alone and of what being alone says about her, she turns her resentment towards the next woman he becomes involved with. Suffice it to say, there's a wedding in the future that includes an awkward confrontation.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

In a bittersweet moment of Michelle Zauner's memoir Crying in H Mart, she recounts rushing into marriage with her boyfriend so that her mother, dying of cancer, could witness their wedding, a situation portrayed with gravity and subtle humor. She tells him, "If this is something you could see yourself doing in five years and we don't just do it now, I don't think I will be able to forgive you," and he simply replies, "Okay." Planning for the wedding provides a distraction from horrible circumstances and gives her mother something to look forward to. Zauner also recalls working her parents into her vows, saying, "I never thought I was going to get married…But having witnessed for the past six months what it means to keep the promise to be there for someone in sickness and in health, I find myself here, understanding."

The Wedding Party by Liu Xinwu

Originally published in 1985, Liu Xinwu's The Wedding Party was released in Jeremy Tiang's translation in 2021, giving English-reading audiences a chance to glimpse an intricate and moving portrayal of China post-Cultural Revolution and marvel at a stunningly detailed and varied cast of characters. In Liu's novel, a wedding serves as a plot device to bring together family and community, and as the core around which the story revolves.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Sometimes, the bubbling emotions and petty jealousies inspired by someone's special day can turn dangerous. If you'd like an Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery with your marriage drama, this story of a wedding gone wrong on an island off the coast of Ireland may be just the thing. According to the New York Review of Books, "Foley builds her suspense slowly and creepily, deploying an array of narrators bristling with personal secrets…Pay close attention to seemingly throwaway details about the characters' pasts. They are all clues."

Filed under Reading Lists

This article relates to Three Days in June. It first ran in the February 26, 2025 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.