Audiobooks by Tayari Jones

Kin

"A Most Anticipated Book for 2026 according to the New York Times, New Statesman, NPR, Guardian, Independent, Financial Times, Daily Express, Mirror, Scotsman, Vulture, TIME and USA Today 'Smart and funny and deftly profound. This is Tayari Jones's very best work.' Ann Patchett, author of Tom Lake A yearning for their missing mothers pulls Vernice and Annie apart. It will take a devastating tragedy to bring them back together, in the spellbinding new novel from award-winning author, Tayari Jones Vernice and Annie are 'cradle friends', born days apart in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, both destined never to know their mothers. The girls are inseparable, bound by a friendship far deeper than sisterhood. But this is the American south in the 1950s. Black girls like Vernice and Annie have to fight for every opportunity they can, and neither one can build the future they hope for in Honeysuckle. Gradually, inevitably, the girls drift apart. Vernice pursues her education; Annie is lured by the promise of a heady first love affair and a growing obsession with finding her mother. But her search pulls her even further into a world of danger that soon leaves her oldest friend battling to save her. Tayari Jones returns with an exuberant, richly told story about mothers, daughters, and a lifelong friendship that is as dangerous as it is unbreakable."

Tayari Jones (Author), Angel Pean, Ashley J. Hobbs (Narrator)

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[Italian] - Un matrimonio americano

"Roy e Celestial sono sposati da piú di un anno. Sono neri di Atalanta, convinti di avere tutta la vita davanti, regni sconfinati di pagine bianche ancora da scrivere. Roy non è certo un magnate, ma ha un lavoro tale da permettergli di accarezzare l’idea di comprare casa. Celestial è «un’artista da tenere d’occhio», come recita il titolo di un articolo a lei dedicato. Gran cespuglio di capelli neri e un sorriso malizioso, Celestial fabbrica bambole considerate vere e proprie opere d’arte. Il loro matrimonio è come un arazzo finissimo. Spesso lo strappano, soprattutto perché Roy ama piacere alle donne, ma altrettanto spesso lo rammendano, sempre con un filo di seta, bellissimo. Una sera, dopo aver fatto visita ai genitori di lui, a mamma Olive, che ha trascorso una vita intera a riempire vassoi in un self service per permettere al figlio di andare all’università, e a Big Roy, tuttofare per la medesima ragione, Roy e Celestial decidono di trascorrere la notte al Piney Woods, l’unico hotel a Eloe, la città dei genitori. È il week-end del Labor Day e una meteora distruggerà la loro vita. Una volta in camera, Roy si lascia andare a una rivelazione che fa infuriare Celestial. Per ritrovare in qualche modo il filo di seta capace di rammendare quello strappo, prende poi il secchiello di ghiaccio ed esce dalla stanza con l’intenzione di andarlo a riempire. In corridoio incrocia una donna all’incirca dell’età di sua madre, con una faccia simpatica e il braccio stretto dentro una benda appesa al collo. Siccome è un gentiluomo, Roy l’accompagna in camera, l’aiuta ad aprire la finestra e le sistema anche il water che perde come le cascate del Niagara. Infine rientra nella sua stanza, dove Celestial allunga il bellissimo braccio nella sua direzione e gli porge i cocktail che ha preparato. Quella sarà, per Roy, l’ultima serata felice che trascorrerà per molto, molto tempo."

Tayari Jones (Author), Dario Sansalone, Tiziano Bertrand (Narrator)

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Silver Sparrow

"Chaurisse and Dana have a lot in common. They both grew up in Atlanta, they shop at the same stores, visit the same restaurants. But unlike Chaurisse, Dana knows the truth: that the girls share the same father. A father with two families, one of which he is determined to keep secret. When the girls meet and become friends, the unsteady balance of both their lives is threatened. Theirs is a relationship destined to explode."

Tayari Jones (Author), Heather Alicia Simms, Rosalyn Coleman-Williams (Narrator)

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Atlanta Noir

"Atlanta itself is a crime scene. After all, Georgia was founded as a de facto penal colony and in 1864, Sherman burned the city to the ground. We might argue about whether the arson was the crime or the response to the crime, but this is indisputable: Atlanta is a city sewn from the ashes and everything that grows here is at once fertilized and corrupted by the past . . . These stories do not necessarily conform to the traditional expectations of noir . . . However, they all share the quality of exposing the rot underneath the scent of magnolia and pine. Noir, in my opinion, is more a question of tone than content. The moral universe of the story is as significant as the physical space. Noir is a realm where the good guys seldom win; perhaps they hardly exist at all. Few bad deeds go unrewarded, and good intentions are not the road to hell, but are hell itself . . . Welcome to Atlanta Noir. Come sit on the veranda, or the terrace of a high-rise condo. Pour yourself a glass of sweet tea, and fortify it with a slug of bourbon. Put your feet up. Enjoy these stories, and watch your back. Contains mature themes."

Tayari Jones (Author), Bahni Turpin, Ron Butler (Narrator)

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An American Marriage: A Novel

"Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy's time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy's conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together. This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward—with hope and pain—into the future."

Tayari Jones (Author), Eisa Davis, Sean Crisden (Narrator)

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