For Jack Cho, a fortysomething gay man, being able to marry someone he loves is so unfamiliar it's terrifying. Then a wedding invitation from a college friend brings about a collision with those fears-and his own secret history.
Jack and his new boyfriend, Caleb, are attending the wedding of Jack's estranged straight friend Scott. No sooner do the guests start to mingle than questions arise about relationships, tradition, Jack's feelings for the groom, and what's at stake as he navigates daunting territory, both new and old. In this wry and surprising short story, award-winning author Alexander Chee extends an invitation to the party-and awakening-of a lifetime.
Alexander Chee's The Weddings is part of Inheritance, a collection of five stories about secrets, unspoken desires, and dangerous revelations between loved ones. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single setting. By yourself, behind closed doors, or shared with someone you trust.
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[The two weddings Jack and Caleb attended in the first year they were together would each become stories they told again and again in the years to come, until the weddings came to seem like visitors at the cradle of their own relationship, conferring gifts and wisdom, and not at all like the awkwardly human social events they had once been]***
(Amazon Original Stories, 19 December 2019, 41 pages, ebook, borrowed from @AmazonKindle #PrimeReading)
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I'd never heard of the author before so had no expectations for this story. This is the stand-out piece from the Inheritance collection. I loved it. I look forward to reading something else by the author and am in for a good time if this story is anything to go by. I got completely absorbed into the story of Jack and Caleb and the two weddings they attend which turn out to be more important than they both expected. I loved the contrasts between both weddings, one of a gay couple they know and the wedding of a straight couple, Jack's best friend and someone he once had a one-night stand with, Scott. The main focus of the story is Scott's wedding and his long history with Jack is revealed. I found this incredibly sad at times. I was so invested in the story and characters I didn't want it to end.
