Dana and Chaurisse are sisters growing up in Atlanta of the 1980s. Chaurisse is the plain, flute-playing one. Dana’s the beautiful scientific-minded one. Oh, and she’s also a secret. The sisters’ father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist.

Dana knows she’s the secret sister. She knows that Chaurisse and her mother, Laverne, get to enjoy all the benefits of being the acknowledged family, the real family. And this knowledge eats at her and the corners of her life.

Usually when you read a novel there’s a definite protagonist and an antagonist. This isn’t the case in Tayari Jones’ engaging and wonderful Silver Sparrow.

“Writers make choices,” it’s one of those workshop cliches. It ranks right up there with your story starts on page nine, and what does the character want.

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