Book Review: The Untelling by Tayari Jones

Okay.  So I've had some time to let the effects of having read The Untelling wear off a bit. I feel that I'm ready to talk about it without revealing my soul here. Excuse me if I'm long-winded. This book connected some life-dots for me, so y'all bear with me.

I've never read a novel that caused me to do so much self-reflection that I actually had a breakthrough...like a real life breakthrough...like the kind you could get from therapy or something. Actually, I might feel less weird about this whole thing if I could attribute such a huge life-altering enlightenment to therapy of some kind, but I've never done the therapy thing. Turns out all I needed was a little free time and about 336 pages of awesome fiction.

Everybody experiences things differently, so some of you might read, or have already read the book and be like, "what the hhyyell was HomeGirl smokin?'" I believe that every life experience is there to teach us something...every wack azz job, every wack azz family situation, every wack azz male of female who might disturb your peace, even your own wack azz ways...all there to bring lessons. Whether you get the lesson instantly, or 17 years after the fact, as in my case, hopefully you get it some way, at some point and you grow from it. But enough about me...

The Untelling is the story of Ariadne (not Adrian, that's not a typo), a southern black girl, born, raised and living in Atlanta. At first she's a little girl, brimming with the typical mind-wonderings and innocence of little girls (those are the best years), then she's a college student at Spellman and a post-graduate working girl dealing with life-long family issues, interesting and emotionally taxing job situations  and a relationship with a good man (whom she seems to feel undeserving of) among other, way more serious things. I'm trying not to spoil the experience for any would-be readers, but if y'all want more details about what happens in the story, you can find it <<here>>.

Up to the very end of the book, the layers of each character are still being pulled back revealing more and explaining more about why they are the way they are. The character the reader might be inclined to hate, becomes sympathetic and quite impossible to have anything other than pity and hope for.

Digression: I think there's a quote or something that says, "hate cannot exist where there is knowledge and understanding" or something like that. I totally get that--it's so easy to see someone as a bitch or a bastard or a creep until you learn and understand what unfortunate background or unlucky choices or experiences made them that way. Bitch, bastard or creep they may be, but at least if you understand the root of the wackness, it'd be pretty difficult to have ill feelings towards them. I've always felt that way.

The meaning behind the title, The Untelling, is explained in a narrative by Ariadne at the end. I always look forward to mentions of the title in books I read. "The Untelling" is such an interesting phrase. Before Ariadne's narrative at the end, I felt like maybe Tayari titled the novel The Untelling because the whole back story is not told up front. By the end of the novel when every character has been fully revealed, it's like 'Oooh! Ok. That's what happened, now it all makes sense.' It's like the full story was told backwards. That's a huge part of what made this read so enjoyable.

Tayari Jone's first novel, Leaving Atlanta, is SO on my list. 

 

Comments

[is it worth it]

Hum...I might have to pick that book up. But first, I have to read the other 30 or so waiting for me to crack open. *sigh*

[Dionne]

The Untelling was such a beautifully written book. Like you said, it made me do a lot of self-reflection. I loved Leaving Atlanta as well. But as a woman in her 20s, The Untelling truly spoke to me.

[Honest]

Sold! I'm off to buy the book for an upcoming trip. I think I've like every book I've read that you recommended and interestingly enough I haven't finished "white teeth" either and I've had it for a while. I think it may be the story that just never ends. It just goes on and on.

[Mwabi]

Hmmm. I guess I feel like you said a lot but didn't say it. Whatever it was. And I get that you said you didn't want to reveal your soul so that is respected.
And I get what you mean about getting your lesson in your own way. I walked out of Monster's Ball thinking WOW about the redemption message and everyone around was mad as hell about the sex scene.

[tayari]

Dear Quel,
Thank you so much for this! I am working on my third book.. struggling, really. Thank you, thank you, for this really warm post.

[Adriane]

Baby Sistah I was moved when we spoke about this over the phone. But I have to tell you every time you take the time to be reflective like this it convinces me even more that you have a great piece of writing--at least one if not a dozen--in you. I am very much looking forward to it. And I'm ordering the book. I think there may be something there for me too.

[Quel]

Thanks Sis! You're awesome.

[Ja'n Gurl]

The Untelling was truely an absolutely wonderful, beautiful book... I think what is so captivating about it is that it is extremely personal... I can see how each person who reads it would be touched in their own way.
I actually bought it becuz I saw ur recommend and then I could not put it down. At the end of it I had the urge to start over and go through again because I was so touched and I could relate on so many levels.
After this read, self-reflection and self-examination is the natural response

U know i'm going to be checking in on ur book recommends from now on chile :)

[Candace]

well, i havent read any of the other books that ya'll spoke about, but i just finished The Darkest Child, and i loved it. it was a difficult read--with the abuse and all, but i really and truly enjoyed it. i found myself wanting the book not to end because i wanted to make sure all the characters got their lives together and were doing well. i was sad when it ended.

[Adriane]

I never wrote back to tell you that I bought the book. I was floored. I couldn't put it down. I passed it along to someone else. Thanks so much for recommending this one. The next book on my list is something else you've recommended. Looking forward to that too. This summer of course--or maybe in Mexico next month. Yep. On the beach.

[Monika]

I write short stories and am wikrong on a novel. I plan to be one of the Black novelists who make it and I always will owe a debt to the many Black novelists who came before me those whose works did not make it onto the required-reading lists from grammar school to college. Reading Alice Walker's The Color Purple in college in 1984 gave me my first important epiphany as well as a well deserved A on my term paper.

[Shekhar]

Yea real talk this Article sound like dude took her statement a lltite personal can somebody say exa O Riley The writer is on his or her cycle chill out a bit. It's not that serious. The original interviewers Ryan Cameron and Rashanda Ali did a great job!