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shellballenger's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Abortion
katreena's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
midnightmarauder's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
4.5
An American Marriage is the fourth novel written by Tayari Jones. It follows the story of newlyweds Roy and Celestial Hamilton, whose marriage is put to the test when Roy is falsely accused of rape.
Roy and Celestial had been staying the night at a motel in the fictional town of Eloe, Louisiana, with plans to visit Roy's parents. Him and Celestial get into a small disagreement aftertelling her that the man who raised him wasn't his biological father , and he leaves their room to clear his head and fill their ice bucket. There, he meets an elderly woman who has her arm in a sling, also getting ice. Roy takes it upon himself to help the woman bring the ice back to her room. While he's there, he also helps out with her leaky toilet. Before leaving, he notices that the doorknob to her room is wonky, and brings the issue to her attention. Later that night, the woman is assaulted, and as Roy was the last man she laid eyes on that knew about the broken doorknob, she accuses him as her assailant.
The book's central theme is how racism and the justice system go hand in hand, and how a false accusation can affect someone in different ways. The race of the woman who was assaulted is never explicitly stated, but it can be assumed that she was white. Being that Roy is a black man in the Deep South at the time, it was his word against that of hers. Despite him and Celestial maintaining their alibi, the prosecutors sentence Roy to 12 years in prison.
The pair try their best to make the marriage work, the effort of which is told through a series of letters. Celestial takes the time to visit Roy as much as possible and put commissary on his books, while Roy tries to maintain his sanity. Early into Roy's sentence, Celestial writes to tell Roy thatshe's pregnant, but being reluctant to bring a child into the world, he quietly asks her to have an abortion. This breaks Celestial and puts a further strain on the relationship. For a while, Celestial stops responding to Roy's letters and absorbs herself into her hobby, dollmaking. Eventually, she grows tired of the distance between the two of them and lets Roy know that she no longer wants to be his wife, subsequently beginning a relationship with her childhood friend, Andre.
In my opinion, a good protagonist is one that is imperfect. I felt that Roy Hamilton fit that bill. He was flawed from the very beginning, from the manner in which he was brought into the world to the day of his release from prison. That doesn't mean that I liked him, however. I felt that he was quite selfish throughout the course of the novel, from the moment he met Celestial to the dissolution of their relationship. Some may interpret him differently, possibly saying that he developed into a selfish being during the time he spent in prison, but I don't agree. One of the biggest things I hated about Roy was his blatant misogyny. He often treated Celestial as if she were his property instead of a separate human being. This shows the most toward the end of the novel when heconfronts Andre about him and Celestial's newfound relationship. He feels as though Andre has "stolen" Celestial away, and that Celestial should have waited all that time for him because he, and I quote, "would've done it for her". Also, there was a part of the novel after Roy is released and sees Celestial that he practically tries to force himself onto her. She isn't interested in having sex with him, but he pushes and pushes. When she does reluctantly give in, she asks that he use protection. Roy is greatly offended by this, feeling as though he was entitled to have sex with his wife whenever he wanted, and it is shown in his monologue that he considers raping her just because he "knows that he can". Thankfully, he doesn't go through with it, but the fact that he contemplated it for even a second grossed me out. Both Celestial and Andre's patience and capacities for forgiveness was absolutely phenomenal, because I would've never given Roy any grace for his behavior. Roy's thoughts and actions were disgusting, regardless of if prison made him that way or not.
Overall, I loved the way this novel was written. It is the second book I've read by Tayari, the first one being her debut novel, Leaving Atlanta. I read that book rather quickly, so I'm not surprised that I was able to finish this one at the same speed.
Roy and Celestial had been staying the night at a motel in the fictional town of Eloe, Louisiana, with plans to visit Roy's parents. Him and Celestial get into a small disagreement after
The book's central theme is how racism and the justice system go hand in hand, and how a false accusation can affect someone in different ways. The race of the woman who was assaulted is never explicitly stated, but it can be assumed that she was white. Being that Roy is a black man in the Deep South at the time, it was his word against that of hers. Despite him and Celestial maintaining their alibi, the prosecutors sentence Roy to 12 years in prison.
The pair try their best to make the marriage work, the effort of which is told through a series of letters. Celestial takes the time to visit Roy as much as possible and put commissary on his books, while Roy tries to maintain his sanity. Early into Roy's sentence, Celestial writes to tell Roy that
In my opinion, a good protagonist is one that is imperfect. I felt that Roy Hamilton fit that bill. He was flawed from the very beginning, from the manner in which he was brought into the world to the day of his release from prison. That doesn't mean that I liked him, however. I felt that he was quite selfish throughout the course of the novel, from the moment he met Celestial to the dissolution of their relationship. Some may interpret him differently, possibly saying that he developed into a selfish being during the time he spent in prison, but I don't agree. One of the biggest things I hated about Roy was his blatant misogyny. He often treated Celestial as if she were his property instead of a separate human being. This shows the most toward the end of the novel when he
Overall, I loved the way this novel was written. It is the second book I've read by Tayari, the first one being her debut novel, Leaving Atlanta. I read that book rather quickly, so I'm not surprised that I was able to finish this one at the same speed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
jlfields925's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Death of parent
lay_kone's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent
jg34's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Death, Rape, Self harm, 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 detaildudette's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Intriguing and interesting outline. Good start but the story couldn't keep up. A serious racist issue got lost into a love triangle. It was hard to connect with any of the characters:
• The author tried so hard to describe Celestial as this independent woman that "doesn't belong to anyone" but she has never acted like one. Not once.
• Andre was plain boring.
• I liked Roy better than the others. He was more raw, however, the author lost me because of all the unnecessary sexual descriptions. All I will remember about him is that he wanted to have sex without a condom...twice, just "to have nothing between them".
• The author tried so hard to describe Celestial as this independent woman that "doesn't belong to anyone" but she has never acted like one. Not once.
• Andre was plain boring.
• I liked Roy better than the others. He was more raw, however, the author lost me because of all the unnecessary sexual descriptions. All I will remember about him is that he wanted to have sex without a condom...twice, just "to have nothing between them".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer and Abortion
ramreadsagain's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This gripped me right from the beginning and I haven’t had a book cause such strong emotions in me for a while.
The writing is phenomenal, the characters have depth, and the plot just never lets up.
The writing is phenomenal, the characters have depth, and the plot just never lets up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Abortion
Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
saskiahill's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Beautifully written and moving. Thoroughly recommend the audiobook version read by Sean Crisden and Eisa Davis
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
machenn's review
emotional
reflective
slow-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol