Having been impressed by Silver Sparrow (2011) and An American Marriage (2018), I sought out Jones’s second novel, The Untelling (2005) (her debut novel is Leaving Atlanta, 2002). This novel once again features a young, black woman as protagonist, and once again the plot revolves round family secrets. It is interesting to track a writer’s oeuvre – in this second novel of Jones’, we can see the seeds of her next novels; The Untelling is not as well structured or as compelling as Jones’ next offerings, but her writing voice is developing here, and will go from strength to strength thereafter.
The Untelling’s protagonist is Ariadne (Aria) who teaches literacy in a small organisation with 2 others, her line manager, and her best friend and housemate, Rochelle. Jones will not be the first author to create a hero(ine) nobody will much like; though this is not something Jones declared, unlike Austen of Emma, for instance. Aria is such a non-positive, non-entity really, neither pretty, nor good, nor intelligent, nor charming, nor interesting, nor even well meaning, that she is quite difficult to like or sympathise with. When inconvenient, she does not take the high road, she is an emotional coward, she does not even seem to have ambitions and hopes that could make her a little more interesting:
I don’t think anyone would have guessed that I would grow up to be a teacher. It wasn’t my calling or my dream. As a kid I never cared much for school […] I didn’t admire my teachers, any of them […] I didn’t hate it enough to dedicate my life to changing the system […] In Spelman I had chosen sociology because it seemed like something a regular person could do well in. A subject in which I could earn Bs or As if I just did my homework and went to the library.
p63-64
In similar fashion does Aria seem to lead her life, falling into one thing and another more for assumed strategic reasons than out of passion or interest or even curiosity, keener to manipulate than to contribute.
It is possible the early tragedy in her childhood set her life course to no small extent. Not only do her father and baby sister die in a car accident when Aria is still a child, the impact on her older sister, Hermione and their mother, also in turn adversely impacts Aria. Hermione marries as soon as she can, moving out and getting away from their mother, who certainly behaves in a crazy and often malicious manner – such as when Aria was at college and stayed out all night in a party, her mother waited two weeks before serving Aria cornbread with BBS [steel birdshot] baked into it, as punishment/revenge.
Rochelle is supposed to be Aria’s best friend, but Aria is not genuinely happy for Rochelle’s good fortune (getting engaged, preparing for a grand, expensive wedding), although she tells herself she is. She compares herself to everyone, and as a result is chronically dissatisfied. Aria has a boyfriend, Dwayne, and for awhile, things seem to be going well – when she thinks she is pregnant and tells Dwayne, he agrees to get married, just as she hoped, and her family are happy for them both, just as she also hoped. However, when things go wrong, Aria conceals the truth out of fear she will no longer get all she wanted or hoped for.
Aria takes an interest in one particular student of hers, Keisha, who is the opposite of Rochelle; underprivileged, uneducated, pregnant at 17 for the second time; or more accurately, Keisha takes an interest in Aria, assuming she will be her mentor; Aria is not particularly kind or understanding or even supportive. Keisha is sincere, open, trusting, much as Rochelle is to Aria too; but their friendship is not reciprocated the same way, although Aria mostly pretends to be a good friend.
Keisha said that being around Rochelle made her feel bad. Well, being around the two of them at the same time made me feel worse. I felt rich and poor at the same time. Deprived and wasteful, all at once.
p272
Watching the best parts of her women friends’ lives seems to bring out the worst in Aria. Aria seems to have problems relating to women friends, just as she has problems relating to her mother and sister, and to almost everyone else in her life.
It is hard to like an Aria, who is primarily interested in what she can get out of life, and vaguely seems to feel everyone else’s good fortune is somehow costing her, or at least a reproach to her. Dwayne is a loving, easy-going, kindly and reasonable man whom she knows treats her very well, but she does not treat him particularly fairly in return, mainly because she finds her own desires so much more important than his. He is important to her because of what he can do for her, give her. And because she feels the world is watching and judging her, having a boyfriend/husband like Dwayne makes her look better. She is very happy when Dwayne offers to get a birthday present for her nephew,
The fact that the gift was of Dwayne’s choosing made it clear to everyone involved that he was as committed to the institution of our tiny family as I was. This was just further proof that he and I would stick.
p281
The one thing that can be said about Aria, is her self-awareness – she knows herself to be plain, uninteresting, average, unheroic, unremarkable – and deeply resents everyone else for this. She wants love, a husband, a baby and a family, some security and prosperity, and fears she may not get any of these, which makes her the way she is. The novel is about how Aria develops, and in the end, learns and grows.
Tayari Jones has a good storytelling ability even if this earlier book may not be as well structured or compelling as her later ones where she hits her stride. And there are clear indications even in this second novel, of Jones’ lovely ability to unpack the class differences within the black community, and layer the gradations and nuances of class, respectability and affluence in this minority community.
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