The definition of a mother is multilayered. For many of us, our mother is the one who brought us into the world. For some of us, our “mother” is defined differently. We may call her grandmother, godmother, aunt, sister, cousin, or perhaps even a family friend. There are a handful of maternal figures in our lives, including mothers who do not have biological children of their own.
“Kin,” Tayari Jones’ fifth and latest novel, is centered around motherhood, or rather, motherlessness. It is a tale of two “cradle friends” Vernice (affectionately called Niecy) and Annie who reside in Honeysuckle, Louisiana (a fictional Jim Crow-era town) during the 1950s. As they blossom from childhood to young adulthood, the inseparable pair bond over the aching absence of their mothers, spanning to the 1960s.
Raised by her strict, practical aunt, Irene, Vernice grieves the loss of the mother she never knew and finds herself at Spelman College in Atlanta, while Annie, who was raised by her devout grandmother, Irvina, is obsessively searching for her estranged mother who left for Memphis, embarking on a journey of her own.
“Kin” raises the question: How does parental absence shape your life? Moreover, the coming-of-age novel encompasses womanhood and sisterhood. Even though Niecy and Annie are on two separate paths, they have an endearing kinship that unites them.
“Kin” follows an eight-year hiatus after Jones’ last bestseller, “An American Marriage.”
A renowned staple in African American literature, “Kin” is ranked as one of the top books of 2026. Likewise, it was selected as Oprah’s Book Club pick in February and featured on former President Barack Obama’s Summer Reading List in July.
In an author interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, Jones admitted that “Kin” was not the book she originally set out to write. But rather, the story and the characters came to her somewhat telepathically. The seasoned author described the writing process, this time around, like being a vessel.
“I finally just pulled out a piece of paper and just decided to write with the pencil like I did when I was a child,” Jones told NPR. “… And I met Annie and Vernice.”
Jones’ prose cleverly leaps off the page in a tone that’s emotionally familiar. As an Atlanta native, her use of witty Southern vernacular and sassy lingo somewhat cushions the protagonists’ tragic realities.
Frankly, “Kin” is the antithesis of an escapist beach read. Although warmly written, it’s sprinkled with melancholy throughout its pages — and ends sorrowfully. But there is solace in its imperfect conclusion. “Kin” universally evokes a lingering emotion. Readers describe the novel as “heartbreaking,” “bewildering,” and “thought-provoking.”
Tayari Jones’ “Kin” was released in hardcover and largeprint paperback in February. The standard paperback edition is expected to be released in early 2027.
