Cassandra at the Wedding

The Edwards family ranch in the Sierra Foothills becomes a stage for psychological unraveling when Cassandra returns to witness her identical twin sister Judith's impending marriage. Judith has been engaged to an East Coast doctoral student for months yet refuses to introduce him to her family, creating a suffocating atmosphere of dread and suspicion. The narrative unfolds over a few tense days as Cassandra, a brilliant but miserable graduate student at Berkeley, attempts to sabotage the union while navigating her own deep-seated repulsion toward men and her complicated devotion to her sister.

Baker structures the novel by shifting perspectives between sections titled "Cassandra Speaks" and "Judith Speaks" before returning to Cassandra. This technique exposes the private grievances, fears, and delusions each woman holds about the other. Cassandra presents herself as self-aware, though critics often describe her narcissism as bordering on madness. Her inability to read social cues drives the conflict forward as she interprets every gesture from her sister and her fiancé through a lens of paranoia.

Many readers interpret Cassandra as a lesbian protagonist, a reading supported by her explicit rejection of male intimacy and her intense focus on her bond with Judith. This theme aligns with Baker's earlier novel Trio, which faced censorship attempts for its depiction of lesbian relationships. Although Baker never confirmed the characters' sexuality, the text leaves the door open for such an interpretation. The story serves as a dark comedy and psychological drama that examines the destructive nature of twin bonds and the decay of the American West. [edit]