Reviews

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

skinneam's review

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

evaribaker's review against another edition

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4.0

Really liked this book, though I found the first chapter a tad confusing. Great characters, timely plot developments, and fabulous writing. Great read.

barbaraalfond's review

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5.0

I can’t see this book going anywhere—meaning that this book will stay right here. As the last line says, “this is home”.

It’s going to stay on my bookshelf, in my heart, and I’m not sharing it with anyone, except to recommend it to everyone. I’m going to share that recommendation because it is free from cliché (at least to me), and because of its truth; because of its humor; because of its heartache; because it has currency, history, sorrow, and redemption. And may I just say this? Algonquin Books, please keep doing what you do. I’ve loved you since, well, since Ellen Foster.

booksxnaps's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow. What a book! I went through all kinds of emotions. I was happy, sad, angry, disappointed. I really like Roy and i was rooting for him. My love for him may have made me dislike Andre and Celestial for what they did. I rolled my eyes a lot when i read about their love. Ugh I'm glad the book ended the way it did though. I felt like Roy deserves better. It was a sad story but i read the last page with a smile on my face. Great book. Definitely highly recommended!

shellballenger's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-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? Yes

3.5

Type of read: Lunch/Weekend Read

What made me pick it up: One of the TN R.E.A.D.s prompts for August was to read an epistolary novel or collection of letters. The description for 'An American Marriage' seemed like something I would enjoy.

Overall rating: I enjoyed 'An American Marriage.' It was real and raw, as someone married for over 15 years, I could feel the emotions and almost transport myself into the conversations Roy and Celeste had about love, being together, and the future. Some of the book moved a bit slowly for me, but it all worked into the story in the end. Overall, I'm glad I came across this one!

Reader's Note:
 'An American Marriage' includes themes of sex, violence, death, rape, and racism.

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hallamahamster's review

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3.0

An enjoyable read, realistic story. What a hard relationship to navigate. The letter format worked so well for this story!

lnocita's review against another edition

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3.0

This is a well written novel. Jones has a definite narrative flair that I appreciated. I appreciated the alternating points of view and the epistolary format. So, for literary merit, I’d award more stars.

As for plot, I’m not sure where I stand. This is and is not a contemporary issues book. Is it about racial injustice? Lack of opportunity? Is it about the state of marriage in the modern world? Is it about shades of love? or is it simply about the choices we make and the unintended consequences?

I think perhaps I’m not qualified to speak about the premise of wrongful incarceration. White privilege blinds my perception in all likelihood. My experience in moving through the world is different simply because of the color of my skin. Does my experience of the world color my indignation? The story hinges on Roy’s wrongful conviction which drives an irreversible wedge into his marriage. The incident seems so refutable and the evidence so flimsy that it feels hard to believe that Roy would be convicted. I don’t want this to be truth. How prevalent is this? I know this is the plot device. Accept it and move on, reader. But I wanted the story to be more about this injustice. But maybe it isn’t because that’s just an accepted truth? If so, why isn’t there more outrage? Is the norm to acquiesce to institutional racism? More than the unraveling of the marriage, which seemed like a foregone conclusion, I wanted explore this aspect further. That’s the backdrop for the novel, but I wanted it to be more of a heralding call for systemic change. Asking too much, perhaps.

Roy’s eventual exoneration seems like an inevitable conclusion. And that wedge? Already in place but the incarceration cleaves the marriage in two more quickly. I think at its heart, the novel is an examination of what constitutes love. There are many levels of love that range from caring, affectionate, to deeply abiding. And then there are all the different kinds of relationships and roles we play. It’s complex and dynamic with the definitions changing and adjusting throughout the course of every relationship, ebbing and flowing, waxing and waning. Our unconscious mind often directing behind the scenes before the conscious brain has a chance to catch up. I don’t think Celestial and Roy were headed for happily ever after from the start but the unraveling spools much faster with his conviction.

I’d love to hear some thoughts about the title. The “American” is what gives me pause. Is this a uniquely American situation? Is the concept of marriage presented here so distinct so as to set it apart from other places? Or other times? Does it imply that marriage is a luxury of choice rather than circumstance? Does it equally imply that it’s dissolution is a luxury of choice and/or a casualty of American modernity? Or, in the end, is it simply two wrongs will never make a right, no matter how good the intention or best effort and the modern world allows you to recognize and rectify that with little censure? Food for thought.

donnawr1's review

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5.0

As soon as I started this book, I enjoyed it, but I passed into loving it when I hit the letters between Celesial (living her life) and Roy (in prison). After having facilitated writing groups in a women's jail for years, I can say that she hit them spot on. It is such a stress on a relationship to be separated that way, and it does pass through different phases as exemplified in the letters and the story. I appreciate this novel as a vehicle to show the human cost of even just a few years of being incarcerated on not only that person, but everyone in the circle around them. Add onto that the excessive rate of incarceration of black men and the considerable barriers that confront them on their way out and you have American tragedy. Novels like this are an important addition to the education of Americans about what we have done and are doing in our society.

Although some reviewers didn't especially like the main characters, I found them to be real people with talents and flaws. Celestial was a little spoiled, but able to be true to herself and her art, yet able to make huge sacrifices at times. Roy was arrogant and overly assured as he was sure he was on a trajectory toward the image of success he had, but he was also willing to play the field a little bit while married. This was a young marriage that might not have made it, but his imprisonment changed the whole dynamics. He was entirely dependent on her kindness and loyalty, stripped of his manhood. The story delves deep into what makes a marriage that works and what kinds of sacrifices people are willing to make. I enjoyed having their parent's marriages and opinions thrown into the mix as we better understood Celestial's and Roy's backgrounds, but also marriage from an earlier generation.

The book is well written and I'll definitely be looking up further novels from Tayari Jones. A few quotes that don't spoil the story:

"A man who is a father to a daughter is different from one who is a father to a son. One is the left shoe an the other is the right. They are the same but not interchangeable."

"Gloria once told me that your best quality is also your worst. ... She told me that since I was very small, I have embraced my appetites. 'You always run toward what you want. Your father always tries to beak you of this, but you are just like him, brilliant but impulsive and a tiny bit selfish. But more women should be selfish,' she said. 'Or else the world will trample you.'"

moonmoonbarneymcgrew's review

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3.75

Very interesting novel with slightly too many similes and metaphors
and a slightly undercooked ending.

pinguprincess's review

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emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75