THE WEDDING

In Basran’s novel, emotions run high as families prepare for an extravagant wedding.

An ornately bordered, two-page-spread invitation opens this novel about the impact of a lavish wedding on two extended Punjabi immigrant families in British Columbia, Canada. The bride, Devi Dosanjh, is a high-strung perfectionist who has helped to rebrand her parents’ produce business; her fiancé, Nanak “Baby” Atwal, the namesake of his family’s candy shop, is an easygoing people-pleaser who has just finished medical school. The wedding plans are extravagant—there is a week-long series of events leading up to the big day, a thousand expected guests, a DJ flown in from Mumbai, a signature cocktail, and Swarovski crystals and gold decorating the bride’s garments. The exhaustive preparations have consumed the participants, straining emotions and finances (both families have recently overextended their businesses); almost everyone is putting up a good front while harboring secret misgivings. As the wedding date approaches, Devi flirts by text with her brother’s bad-boy friend Jessie, and Baby has a hard time recalling exactly what it is he loves about Devi. Are these warning signs, or just normal prenuptial jitters? Basran writes with vivid eloquence: One man’s “entire demeanour was a mouse-like apology,” another is “a hand talker, conducting and directing the conversation.” The leads are both flawed and endearing, and their relationship feels realistic. The interplay of multiple perspectives creates depth as chapters move between multiple points of view, including those of the young couple, their friends and relatives, and the wedding stylist and photographer. The author’s skillful interweaving of themes and connected backstories makes for a compelling narrative. Basran deftly highlights the ways in which each generation affects the others and how all are concerned about keeping up appearances, from guests engineering Instagram-ready moments to a woman “acting disappointed when all she felt was relief.” The novel also offers astute social observations (people “[heart] posts as if it meant something”; “People had put love on a checklist; it was a task, something to execute”) and keen insights into traditional gender roles.

A warmhearted, entertaining, and recognizable family saga.