Shelf Life: Tayari Jones
5 min readWelcome to Shelf Life, ELLE’s books column. In this ongoing series, authors share an assortment of their most memorable reads: the books that have shaped their lives as writers and as human beings. Every month, ELLE will feature authors with a new and upcoming release of their own, asking them which stories have impacted their work most—and which stories they recommend you pick up next. Whether you’re on the hunt for a book to move you, calm you, or change you, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.
When she first sat down to craft a follow-up to her acclaimed 2018 hit An American Marriage, Tayari Jones did not expect to write anything resembling Kin. Jones usually writes contemporary fiction; Kin, by contrast, opens in 1950s Louisiana, and follows its two main characters against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South. The project ended up “an entirely different book than the one that I proposed to my publisher,” Jones says. “It’s almost like my pen had a mind of its own.”
Still, she can trace the seeds of the story back to her own relatives. In the midst of brainstorming what would ultimately become her fifth novel, she’d been spending “a lot of time with the older women in my family,” she explains. “Their complicated life stories worked their way into our conversations. I think my imagination may have followed those breadcrumbs and led me to Kin.”
Kin introduces Jones’s readers to two motherless girls (and childhood best friends), Annie and Vernice, whose close-knit lives diverge as they seek belonging outside their hometown of Honeysuckle, Louisiana. (The setting earns an homage in the honeysuckle blooms that adorn Kin’s cover, designed by John Gall.) Vernice heads to Atlanta to attend Spelman College, while Annie embarks on a search for her long-missing mother, whom she believes might be in Memphis. Ultimately, their stories bring them back together—but not without significant change and equally significant loss. Jones describes the novel as “the story of a friendship forged in the fire of race, sexuality, and the universal yearning for family and love,” adding, “also, it is a little bit funny.” She recommends Kin, particularly, for fans of Toni Morrison’s Sula, Kamila Shamsie’s Best of Friends, Ann Patchett’s Truth & Beauty, and Rosa Guy’s The Friends.
Jones, 55, lives in her own hometown of Atlanta; won her first writing contest in high school (thanks to a story she wrote inspired by her crush on a drummer in the marching band); like Vernice, attended Spelman College; earned master’s degrees from both the University of Iowa and Arizona State University; prefers to write in the morning; and has now had two of her books become Oprah Book Club picks: An American Marriage and Kin.
Take a look through her book recommendations below.
The book that:
…first taught me to love reading:
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. What kid wouldn’t be entranced by an articulate guardian angel that happens to be a spider?
…helped me become a better writer:
Blessing the Boats by Lucille Clifton. Dickens was paid by the word, so his books are large and sprawling. The best poets, on the other hand, write as though they are being charged for every word—so each syllable on the page is precious and necessary.
…is my favorite book of the year (so far):
How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley. Two Gen-X sisters conspire to murder their uncle—who totally has it coming. It’s a love letter to the 1980s as a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of young girls.
…I’m most eager to read this year:
American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee. I’ll read anything by the author of Pachinko!
…has the best love story:
Beloved by Toni Morrison. When Paul D tells Sethe, “You are your best thing.” It is the green flag of green flags!
…has the best central mystery:
Faithful Place by Tana French. Detective Frank Mackie has to return to his hometown to figure out who killed his first love, and there is a 100-percent certainly that the murderer is someone he grew up with, and about a 50-percent chance that the culprit is a relative. The conflicts of interest have conflicts of interest!
…helped me through a loss:
Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley. As I was still reeling from the death of a friend, this memoir helped me manage the sadness and survivor’s guilt. Somehow, Crosley helped me understand the inexplicable and even coaxed me into a smile.
…made me weep uncontrollably:
Heavy by Kiese Laymon. This memoir never lets us forget that the personal is political, and the political is so very personal. America really must do better by its people.
…got me out of a reading slump:
Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. The optimistic ending was hard-won, but we got there. Also, the cover is gorgeous.
…stirred me to take action:
Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. This soul-stirring memoir illustrates that immigration isn’t an experience of one person that takes place on one day. Every immigrant leaves home with great hope and great risk. They should be assisted and protected, yet too often, they are villainized and brutalized.
…has the greatest ending:
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. It is a literal cliffhanger. By this, I mean the main characters are on a cliff. And despite the tension and suspense, there is an exquisite satisfaction with how things turn out. Every single time I revisit it, the hairs on my arms stand up and dance.
Bonus questions:
The literary organization I support:
Poets & Writers. The monthly magazine was a lifeline to writers who don’t live in New York, where the action is. When I was just getting started, I would read it until the pages fell out!
My favorite audiobook narrator:
Julia Whalen turns story-reading into storytelling.
My ideal reading experience:
I love reading on international flights. I only look up from my book to tell the flight attendant “yes, please” to whatever they’re offering.
A tip or trick that has made me a better reader:
Unplug your phone. Put it in a different room. Better yet, read away from home and leave the phone behind.