embers of the Globe Book Club by and large loved ''The Wedding'' by Dorothy West. Although some quibbled with our decision to stray from the classics, most found West's writing lovely and her depiction of Martha's Vineyard vivid. Some comments:

I have read this book. I think it's fabulous. For those readers who are familiar with Martha's Vineyard, it shows us a completely different world very unlike the WASP-y, wealthy, old fishing town money that escapes to the Vineyard to summer. Anyone who sees Martha's Vineyard in a ''white light'' should read this book, preferably while vacationing on the island. I found the detailing and descriptions of the island to be near perfect to what they are today.
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The writing in ''The Wedding'' is exquisite! The reader becomes so enraptured by Dorothy West's words that the story becomes almost incidental. A bit of serendipity if you will, but nevertheless a wonderfully told narrative of a multigenerational family that rose from slavery to become part of America's middle class. A lesson for everyone - it matters little what shade of skin one has, it is determination and hard work that elevates to great heights.
Selma Miller
Lexington, Mass.

This is a collection of short stories forced upon a romance novel boilerplate. The stories by themselves are good and the unifying theme of ambiguous racial mixture is compelling, but the assembled whole doesn't make much of its parts. The dedication notwithstanding, this books needs an editor.
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This book is a special jewel that's sure to become an American classic. The universal themes are presented in a tale with characters that live in our collective story as a nation struggling to live peacefully in a diverse society.

Seldom do I read a book slowly enough to savor and enjoy every word and phrase. But you can't read ''The Wedding'' quickly. Each phrase swirls about in a lazy sea of foam on a hot summer day, then catches you off guard to come crashing down in pounding waves upon the treacherous rocks of class and color prejudices. When the storm is over you walk along the shore, where you see fresh, clean glimpses of humanity you've never seen before,the hidden beauty of people whose lives you have walked over, never having seen the precious pearls that have long been buried in the sands of time and misunderstanding.

The gut-wrenching scene where Preacher sends Isaac off with Miss Amy on the train tore at the fabric of my soul and reminded me of the day I said goodbye to my own father (also a minister) 30 years ago in Farmington, N.M. There was no money for college, but his dreams for me were every bit as strong as Preacher's were for Isaac. Hope transcended the harshness of reality and I, too, was able to rise above my circumstances to a better life. As well, I had a Miss Amy in the form of a maternal grandmother who sacrificed to make sure I attended college and did not have to work as a common cement finisher like my grandfather.

Oprah's movie version of the book was interesting, but you will want to read the book to completely and thoroughly enjoy what Dorothy West intended for us to see in ourselves and in others.
Michael D. Edwards
Dallas, Texas

I thoroughly enjoyed ''The Wedding.'' Dorothy West writes beautifully, the characters are strong, the plot line held up very well until the very end. It's almost as if Miss West took the easy way out by having the little girl killed. It quickly negated any other possible (and perhaps more complicated) twist to the dynamics of the book as a whole.
Anita E. Cohen

I thought that the idea of the Boston Globe Book Club was great: Get a lot of people to submit their opinions on books that everyone should read and then center a book club around it. I liked the idea of a book club that read the classics and not just the latest cool thing.

I am puzzled as to your latest selection ''The Wedding'' by Dorothy West. I have not read this book, so I do not know anything about it except for what I have read in your link to a Boston Globe article. This book seems like it might be interesting, but it is not a classic and you specifically write that you are moving away from the original list of titles readers felt all ''educated citizens'' should read, to a novel which was just published in 1995. If I wanted to be in a book club that read modern novels, there are many book clubs which do just that. This book looks like it might well be on the Oprah Book Club list, which is a very popular book club. However, I liked the more unique idea that the Boston Globe had, and I encourage them to stick with it.

The Boston Globe already has a forum with which to present newer books and authors, but books which are classics often get passed by because there are no articles about them. Indeed, most classics get revitalized only when a movie is being made about them. Please return to the original ideas of the book club.
Vivian Norwood
A daily reader of the Boston Globe and a member of the Boston Globe Book Club.