Love is a strange creature; it can make you blind, and it can make you see.
Excerpt from Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.
Dana, Gwen, Chaurisse, Laverne, James, and Riley are caught up in a triangulation that leaves each character damaged. James, the centerpiece of this triangulation, is forced to marry Laverne after getting her pregnant. Later, he finds himself in a mix with Gwen, to whom he also has a daughter.
He carefully plays both ladies and their children with the help of his pawn and brother, Riley, until the secret comes to light. Dana, who assumes the place of the ‘secret’ weaves her way into the lives of her half-sister and mother in a desperate attempt at figuring out why her father does not claim her and her mother as his main family.
Tayari Jones deftly addresses the themes of promiscuity, child parenting, and family dynamics in this masterpiece. Using multiple points of view, Tayari plunges the reader deep into each narrator’s perspective and thought process, which provides the needed context to understand narratives from different characters’ interactions.
It was interesting to see how both Dana and Chaurisse, 13-year-old girls, are forced to take care of their mothers amidst the crisis caused by their father. Dana is also in a precarity to be in a monogamous relationship while in high school, and she enters into numerous relationships, which all end in the same way. Chaurisse is also faced with the same dilemma in her relationships.
This book will definitely trigger a lot of empathy towards the victims of the actions of the adults, Dana and Charisse, whose life decisions and perspectives have been shaped by the strife between their parents and the absence of their father.
I love that Tayari’s books always plunge the reader into contemplation of some heavy themes that are rarely addressed in mainstream media and literature. It was a heavy book, but in case you are interested in exploring the themes, I would recommend the book.
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Cheers!