Then I got to the second part and was hit with sympathy for Chaurisse. She sacrificed so much in order to protect the secret and had to watch as her sister got first pick of everything. Interestingly, I went through part 1 sympathising hugely with Dana. I liked the way that the book was split into two, Part 1 told from Dana’s perspective (secret daughter) and Part 2 told from Chaurisse’s perspective (acknowledged daughter). In some societies this happens all the time and is considered quite normal, however devastating and life destroying it may be. More than I think some of us really appreciate. I think that it is easy to think of scenarios like these where people have secret families, relationships or children as dramas we watch on Netflix or stories we read in books, but they’re real, they happen and people live through them. I didn’t dislike it, I didn’t love it, but I did really really like it.

I didn’t connect with the characters as much.

My expectations were set oh so very high.

I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the right time for this one as I was with An American Marriage.

Now, that could be for a number of reasons I have to be brutally honest and say I didn’t enjoy this book as much as An American Marriage. This story tells the story of each character in the book and lets the reader into the happiness and heart breaks on both sides. One daughter knows that they are sister, the other does not. Until the two daughters, both the same age, meet each other and form a relationship. One wife and one daughter know that the other family exists and remain a secret. It’s the 1980’s in middle class Atlanta and James has managed to lead a double life for nearly two decades. James Witherspoon shares his life with his brother, his mother, his two daughters and his two wives. I actually finished this book last night, but I’ve only just had a chance to sit down and get this written. I loved Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage (see my raving review here) so I was excited to give Silver Sparrow a go. I didn’t manage to get through all of the 2018 ones but there were a couple I knew I definitely wanted to carry over to 2019 this being one of them. I have read Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones as it was a catch up BOTM read. The reviews are coming thick and fast at the moment (by my usual standards anyhow) and I am loving it.

Silver sparrow tayari jones review