September Book Club Reflection + Animation

In conjunction with New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations, the MFA is proud to introduce Book + Belonging, a four-part book club that encourages participants to ponder the widely held ideas of the anonymous African artist and assumptions that masquerade is an unchanging, static art form solely rooted in the distant past. This month's book club pick, Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones, revolves around James Witherspoon's two families--the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode. Each session will feature a specially paired wine, unlimited popcorn, a carefully facilitated book club discussion, and a gallery talk to bridge the artworks in the exhibition to the relevant and resonant conversations shaping our society today. Held in partnership with Book + Bottle. Books can be purchased at the MFA Shop and Book + Bottle. Thu, Oct 1, 6 PM - 8 PM $25 for Members $35 for Not-Yet-Members Ticket includes program and one glass of wine. Additional wine available for purchase. TICKETS Not yet a member? Become a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers! Enjoy free admission, special access, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine, and more. BECOME A MEMBER More about Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones Paperback - Published in 2012 - 368 pgs From the New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage. With the opening line of Silver Sparrow, My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist, author Tayari Jones unveils a breathtaking story about a man's deception, a family's complicity, and the two teenage girls caught in the middle. Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon's two families--the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode. This is the third stunning novel from an author deemed one of the most important writers of her generation (the Atlanta Journal Constitution). A love story ... Full of perverse wisdom and proud joy ... Jones's skill for wry understatement never wavers. --O: The Oprah Magazine Silver Sparrow will break your heart before you even know it. Tayari Jones has written a novel filled with characters I'll never forget. This is a book I'll read more than once. --Judy Blume About Book + Bottle Book + Bottle is a bottle shop, an independent bookstore, a coffee café, and a wine bar all rolled into one exquisite little package. They have the most passionate, friendly, and helpful team in town to help you choose a book or a bottle or to take care of you and your friends on your night off. They're an independent, woman-owned, values-driven, sustainably run, local-first business that believes little kindnesses can make our community--and the world--a better place. bookandbottlestpete.com Sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts.