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A review by africanbookaddict
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
4.0
!!! https://africanbookaddict.com/2022/10/16/silver-sparrow-by-tayari-jones/
Wow. There is a special place in hell for this James Witherspoon character, with Raleigh following right after him. Just, wow.
Idk, I enjoyed Dana's chapters waaay more than Chaurisse's. Since the book starts off with Dana's chapters, I really wanted to give this book 5 stars. But as we transitioned into Chaurisse's story, I started to not give a fuck about her and her self-deprecating, under-achieving self. Also, some bits of the story felt overly dramatic and almost unrealistic when we were approaching the climax of the bullshit James orchestrated.
I did love how with each of the girl's chapters we are taken through their parents' past. The way James and Laverne met and settled down was so different from how James and Gwen met and 'settled down'. Raleigh's past had my heart sooooo heavy, whew! Even though we are introduced to Miss Bunny briefly, I really loved her! What a woman. A true, selfless MVP.
If I had read this book when I was in my teens or 20's, I would have judged Gwen and Dana so harshly. But since I read this while I'm in my 30's, I somewhat appreciate Gwen's decisions and understand her. There are no winners and losers in this story... oh wait - James is definitely a loser in this story. There is no way in hell that anyone can make me sympathize with such a wicked, heartless, confused, selfish man, ei! How he treated Dana, especially at the end when she reveals her last encounter with him, was terrible.
Silver Sparrow is a really complicated 1980's story about family, secrets and sisterhood. Social class and privilege add another layer of complexity to the story. The way Tayari Jones writes about her hometown - Atlanta, and the South, shows her immense love for the region. I'm trying to understand why hair played such a large role in the story; there are many scenes in Laverne's hair salon and Chaurisse often compared her (lack thereof) hair to Dana's luscious mane.
Tayari Jones is an author I'm really beginning to love. I gave An American Marriage 5 stars two years ago, and I do see her growth in that book.
Sigh... I'm excited to discuss this at bookclub tomorrow :)
Wow. There is a special place in hell for this James Witherspoon character, with Raleigh following right after him. Just, wow.
Idk, I enjoyed Dana's chapters waaay more than Chaurisse's. Since the book starts off with Dana's chapters, I really wanted to give this book 5 stars. But as we transitioned into Chaurisse's story, I started to not give a fuck about her and her self-deprecating, under-achieving self. Also, some bits of the story felt overly dramatic and almost unrealistic when we were approaching the climax of the bullshit James orchestrated.
I did love how with each of the girl's chapters we are taken through their parents' past. The way James and Laverne met and settled down was so different from how James and Gwen met and 'settled down'. Raleigh's past had my heart sooooo heavy, whew! Even though we are introduced to Miss Bunny briefly, I really loved her! What a woman. A true, selfless MVP.
If I had read this book when I was in my teens or 20's, I would have judged Gwen and Dana so harshly. But since I read this while I'm in my 30's, I somewhat appreciate Gwen's decisions and understand her. There are no winners and losers in this story... oh wait - James is definitely a loser in this story. There is no way in hell that anyone can make me sympathize with such a wicked, heartless, confused, selfish man, ei! How he treated Dana, especially at the end when she reveals her last encounter with him, was terrible.
Silver Sparrow is a really complicated 1980's story about family, secrets and sisterhood. Social class and privilege add another layer of complexity to the story. The way Tayari Jones writes about her hometown - Atlanta, and the South, shows her immense love for the region. I'm trying to understand why hair played such a large role in the story; there are many scenes in Laverne's hair salon and Chaurisse often compared her (lack thereof) hair to Dana's luscious mane.
Tayari Jones is an author I'm really beginning to love. I gave An American Marriage 5 stars two years ago, and I do see her growth in that book.
Sigh... I'm excited to discuss this at bookclub tomorrow :)