SILVER SPARROW by Tayari Jones

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones is the story of two teenage girls who become friends in 1980’s Atlanta.

The story is told through each girl’s eyes - first, Dana, who is the daughter of Gwendolyn and James. James is a part time father, as Gwen and Dana know he has another family - his wife Laverne and daughter Chaurisse.

The arrangement works for Gwen and Dana, until it doesn’t work so well for Dana. She becomes frustrated when James prevents her from doing things such as taking a job at a theme park and, then, possibly attending her college of choice, because Chaurisse was also working at the theme park or considering the same college.

Laverne and Chaurisse know nothing of James’ double life, accepting his absences due to his work as a limo driver, a business he runs with his best friend and adopted brother, Raleigh. But when the girls become friends, things are destined to unravel.

James is called a bigamist, but really he is not, because his second marriage (to Gwendolyn) is not legal and she knows it. Bigamy usually means the wives (however many there are) are aware of each other. Laverne knows nothing about Gwendolyn and Dana. I guess, though, they went through the ceremony, and that might be enough to qualify as bigamy, but for me it’s not quite the same.

The characters in this novel are the story, rather than the inevitable discovery of the second family by the first. Dana is, for me, the more interesting character - maybe because she is the illegitimate daughter and the one who knows about the first family. I think her reactions and responses, particularly to James as the story unfolds, are very understandable, particularly through the lens of a 17 year old girl who feels like she is second best to her father.

I flew through this book and, like An American Marriage, I felt Jones’ writing was compelling. Jones tells stories of black families in the United States - quite ordinary stories of regular people in extraordinary circumstances. She sits alongside Honoree Fanone Jeffers as one of the best female African American writers of her generation.

A great read during this holiday period and it wont be the last novel of Tayari Jones I pick up.