Lit Lawvers discussion

Hi folks! Sorry I have been absent the past couple of days, but I am ready to start discussion on the book.

I really don't know how to do this so I am going to start by sharing this segment from All Things Considered on Silver Sparrows. http://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/1364660...

This is typically not my type of book, but so far I am enjoying it. The book is in two parts: Part I is from Dana's view, part two is from Chaurisse's view. I guess I shall split the discussion based on these two parts and the epilogue.

I'll come up with a few good questions to get the discussion started by tomorrow or Friday.

But I will start off with this very simple question: out of all the books that everyone selected, what interests you about this one?

For me it started in the interview from NPR: how two siblings see their father differently, and it struck close to home for me. I have two step brothers who are in their late forty's, I have a younger brother who is 21 and then there is myself at 26. My dad, technically my step-dad, is 74. The way that my step-brothers, my younger brother and myself see my dad are completely different and I have issues about how my dad treats my brother and myself with preferential treatment compared to his two real sons.

So I guess that can be a second question: if you happen to have a sibling, do you and that sibling view your father differently? You don't have to answer if its too personal :)

Anyways, I am just rambling at the moment so I will just say this: enjoy and I hope you like the book.

I finished the book last night. I chose it because it was kind of a toss up between this and the non-fiction, and I generally enjoy fiction more. Although I enjoyed the book overall, I did feel I made the wrong choice about 2-3 chapters in. I think I just misjudged the book and was surprised when the plot took a different direction.

The juxtaposition of the girls' narrative voice is interesting. At the end, I found myself wondering if I wouldn't have been more sympathetic to Chaurisse's experience (and happier with the ending) if the novel had started from her point of view. I may need to re-read part 2 before we get into in-depth discussions.

In response to Carlos's prompt, I know my brother and I see my father very differently, even though we are only 2 years apart. I have always been an overachiever, and my brother struggled academically and socially beginning around age 10. I was the "golden child" and could do no wrong, as long as I kept my grades up (even though I raised all kinds of hell as a teenager), while my brother was always in trouble. It doesn't help matters that I graduated HS and left home at 17, whereas my brother still lives at home at 28. My brother sees my dad as an oppressor, instigator of fights, and adversary. I talk to my dad daily on Gchat and Facebook and still refer to my father as "Daddy." Clearly, in this scenario, my brother and I are bound to have different views of him.

I suppose that means I am Chaurisse and my brother is Dana; that's part of why is surprises me that I relate so closely to Dana.

I can't wait for the discussion questions!

Just started this last night and can't wait to finish it so we can discuss :)

YOU GUYS: Tayari Jones is following me on Twitter. I'm freaking out.

That is awesome!

Yeah, I purchased my copy for the Kindle...but this is so awesome of her!

You guys, I just hit the second half of the book where we switch to Chaurisse's narration and I miss Dana already :(

Ok, I finished this last night Who is ready to discuss?

Yeah, I'm definitely a fan of Dana. I also have mixed feelings about the end...I felt like it was very real and honest but it still left me unsatisfied. I loved the book though, and the fact that the author follows her fans on Twitter and talks with them.

What are your thoughts on the desire both girls have to be closer to each other, but for different reasons; Dana wants to get close to Chaurisse, I think so she can determine what is so special about her and why her father puts Chaurisse first. Chaurisse wants to get closer to Dana because she's a "Silver" girl, pretty and slim with good hair. What do you guys think about that? They both go beyond just wanting to get close to each other to longing for that closeness. Have you ever wanted to be friends with someone so badly that it became kind of obsessive? (I have, I call it having a friend-crush).

Another thing I LOVED is that the girls led parallel lives. Both had issues with their moms, were hung up on boys that didn't return their feelings, and were jealous of each other, all with different circumstances. I think the message is that we all share feelings, even if our experiences are different.

Just for funsies, here's a link to discussion questions the author suggests: http://www.tayarijones.com/reader/Sil...

I like this one:
5. Should Gwen have married Raleigh when she had the chance?

ABSOLUTELY. But, in my mind, Gwen would have married Raliegh, "divorced" James, and everyone would have gone on to lead a happy little life. Unfortunately I think the only way for the relationship between Gwen and James to end was with a confrontation (as it did in the book). If Gwen had married Raliegh, it would have just made Raliegh miserable. Yes, he would have been married to Gwen, whom he loved, but would know that she would always love James and would always play second fiddle... much like Gwen and Dana were always second to Laverne and Chaurisse.

(Sorry for the long post.)

I agree with everything you said! I hoped that Gwen would marry Raleigh but I think if it had happened the ending of the story would not have been as dynamic.

I noticed the same parallelisms with the girls and I found myself in awe at how the author invoked such real emotion out of both of them.

I am definitely guilty of having friend crushes myself (I'm a little intense what can I say) and my heart ached for Chaurisse because she had no idea why/how Dana was toying with her. I don't think Dana meant to hurt her sister but I truly believe she was smart enough to realize what she was doing.

I totally agree that Dana knew what she was doing when she was playing with Chaurisse. (Actually, kind of like Whitney in "Geeks," I think she knew she was being mean, and didn't want to be mean, but couldn't stop herself.)

I also think Dana wanted to get caught, and that's why she was increasingly more daring and reckless. At first it was to hurt Chaurisse, but later when they got to know each other, she was tired of lying and wanted it to be over. Even at the very end, although they are by no means warm, Dana does seem accepting and even comfortable with Chaurisse's presence.

Again, I completely agree...very well said :)

I found it really weird that James seemed to be relatively immune from blame/anger after Chaurisse and Laverne found out about Dana and Gwen. Both mother-daughter sets seem to be so desperate for James that they focus their blame on their counterparts instead of the man who was at the center of all of the deception. I thought that the scene where Gwen told Chaurisse that ignorance didn't mean she was blameless was especially indicative of this. How could Chaurisse possibly be blamed, given the circumstances? James, even though he's the one ultimately responsible for any disparities in his treatment of his wives and daughters, seems to be an unacceptable target, so instead the anger is displaced to Chaurisse.

I think he gets off waaay easy; he even seems to disappear from the action of the novel at that point, letting the enmity between the mother-daughter pairs take up all the narrative space. Instead of an object of blame, he's a prize that is fought for (I think Laverne and Chaurisse are referred to as "winning" at some point). It seems at some point that he even shifts the blame to Dana and Gwen, for "destroying his life" (or something to that effect) by having their existence recognized.

I'm not saying that the anger between Dana/Chaurisse and Gwen/Laverne is unexpected or even unwarranted, but the lack of anger directed at James is conspicuous. Mild-mannered as he is, he has plenty to be blamed for.

I read this late. Oops. But I loved it.

I don't think my siblings and I currently see our father differently. There may have been times when we did - he was always my protector against my mom, while mom protected my brother against him (not in a violent way, just in a my mom had NO patience for me, dad had NONE for my brother sort of way), but now, we all see him the same.

Mom, on the other hand, we see differently. None of us particularly see her in a good light, but we definitely all have different views.

BUT. All 3 of us were raised living with both parents. Sure, there are 6 years between me and my youngest brother, so he lived alone with the folks for 4 years after the other brother and I were gone, but in general we all had the same parents. I think it's much more poignant to look at how kids who have two families view their parents. Dads who didn't have any interest in kids with the first wife who dote on younger half-siblings with the second wife, etc.

Poor Raleigh. I think he loved both Gwen and Laverne, in his own way. He wanted to fix his brother's mistakes in all instances, but was either too weak or too loyal to do much of anything.

What I never understood was, when did Laverne start to love James? Was her interest in keeping him just about pride, about keeping a father for her daughter, or did she actually love him? They didn't get married out of love, they certainly didn't stay together out of love. I could understand them growing some affection for each other, but did they ever actually love each other? And does love have anything to do with it?