Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

15 reviews

ashareads's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Hate crime, Misogyny, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Racism, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Confinement, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization

jg34's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This felt very real and emotional and brings up very important questions. I felt a bit unsatisfied by the ending but thats just my opinion because I was hoping it would go another way.

I was rooting for Roy, Andre and celestial just didn’t do it for me either because the story didn’t sell it or because my early bias. Though I suppose the author did not need to sell it, that’s not really what the story is about. Either way JUSTICE FOR ROY

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Cancer, Blood, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and Sexual content

Minor: Death, Self harm, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

Sex scenes are not detailed or graphic. A long portion of this book has a character set in prison. One pretty violent scene otherwise some other topics mentioned a bit but not in detail

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This is a perfect example of an over-hyped book that didn't deserve have of the enthusiasm around it. The idea was interesting; if the author had focused on that and not the "romantic" side, it would have been great. A black man, wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for rape, spends five years in prison. Do we read about that? A few pages. Five years covered in a few pages. But HIS dream of having kids? Of having HIS wife? GIS home? Of controlling everything because HE is the man? Of how everyone owes HIM because they haven't been through what HE has been through? Of having sex without protection because HE doesn't want a piece of rubber between him and HIS "cure"? Of unbelievable sexism (by every single character in this book)? Pages upon pages upon pages. 
I liked the narration trick, the three different points of view, but nothing was deep. It could and should have been over after a hundred pages, there was just nothing there. Flat characters, no story. And I am so disappointed and frustrated because the story could have been so much more. 
Ii makes me wonder... did Obama really read this and thought that this book portrayes the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple? Seriously? 
I have no idea why I read all of it, when I knew from the first few pages that it would frustrate, disappoint, and bore me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cancer, Death of parent, Sexism, Racism, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Rape, Abortion, Confinement, and Toxic relationship

natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Grief, Confinement, and Racism

Moderate: Abortion, Infidelity, Classism, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape

agameofbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

Not as overwhelmingly impressive as I'd expected, but still very beautifully sad. I did keep wondering in which time this was set.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racism, and Infidelity

Moderate: Hate crime

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Abortion

nene2517's review against another edition

reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Confinement, and Abortion

Minor: Toxic relationship and Death of parent

mandi4886's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Cancer

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Classism, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Slavery

kayesomething's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Infidelity, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Cancer, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexual violence, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Homophobia

busyblackbookworm's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book...I am not okay.

I loved An American Marriage but I didn’t *enjoy* it. Do you ever get that feeling after finishing a book? Tayari Jones is such a talented writer, and it shines through in this novel; it is Black through and through, and while it has plenty of pain, it also has a generous heaping of Black love (I also don’t say this often but I wouldn’t mind seeing a film adaptation of this book).

This book stood out to me for how it underscores the ways in which the US prison industrial complex harms even the most intimate of relationships in the Black community. Throughout the novel, the question is asked, in various forms: “what are Black men and women in this country owed?”

An American Marriage is a challenging, provocative read that I thoroughly recommend. Not gonna lie—it’s also EXTREMELY messy. None of the characters are particularly likable, so I would recommend getting into the appropriate headspace before reading...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abortion

becksreadsbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Abortion and Suicide