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alice666's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.5
A mostly incisive commentary on the trauma enacted on black families due to prejudice and discrimination within the criminal justice system.
There were a lot of things I felt, especially from Roy, like this quote: ‘we aren’t all PC in prison, we say what’s on our mind,’ which absolutely nails the incremental effects of that experience and how you can never get who you were before back.
It should be heartbreaking, however the novel quickly just devolves into a soap opera about a fraught relationship that never should have lasted in the first place because he never respected her.
It made it hard to care and invest in the narrative and future of their marriage or relationship, which should’ve been the main purpose of this novel. But this is how he thinks about her, ‘I wanted her to wait for me, like women have been waiting before Jesus.’
It’s only slightly recovered at the end, but I was left to struggle with my frustrating lack of care throughout reading it. And since I couldn’t properly reckon with the inclusion of his casual misogyny, it almost ruined the book for me.
There were a lot of things I felt, especially from Roy, like this quote: ‘we aren’t all PC in prison, we say what’s on our mind,’ which absolutely nails the incremental effects of that experience and how you can never get who you were before back.
It should be heartbreaking, however the novel quickly just devolves into a soap opera about a fraught relationship that never should have lasted in the first place because he never respected her.
It made it hard to care and invest in the narrative and future of their marriage or relationship, which should’ve been the main purpose of this novel. But this is how he thinks about her, ‘I wanted her to wait for me, like women have been waiting before Jesus.’
It’s only slightly recovered at the end, but I was left to struggle with my frustrating lack of care throughout reading it. And since I couldn’t properly reckon with the inclusion of his casual misogyny, it almost ruined the book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Minor: Infidelity and Rape
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
michaelion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Presents itself as a book about the inner turmoil of being the center of a love triangle, but really it's about the horrors of the American "justice" system and what American prison does to not just a person but the people they love.
I got emotional twice. Twice!!! That's a great feat. That really doesn't happen often. What beautiful writing too. There were several moments I had to gasp, pause the audiobook, pull back the book, and reread the line. My goodness. Wow. The ending lost me a little bit that's why it's not a 4.75 rating but still. Wow!
I got emotional twice. Twice!!! That's a great feat. That really doesn't happen often. What beautiful writing too. There were several moments I had to gasp, pause the audiobook, pull back the book, and reread the line. My goodness. Wow. The ending lost me a little bit that's why it's not a 4.75 rating but still. Wow!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia
ashareads's review
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
brisha's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
marena02's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
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
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Heartbreaking novel of a marriage. It was a very slow story that I couldn’t get into when reading a physical copy so I switched to audio. I enjoyed the switching POVs and the storytelling via letters in the first half.
I didn’t like Celestial or Roy, they both have good points but also both make awful decisions. By the end I hated them both especially after Roy kept begging Celestial for sex after getting out, making excuses to not use protection. THEN HE WANTS CREDIT FOR NOT RAPING HER?! They’re both awful people. . I understand it’s difficult circumstances and it may be more realistic but it made the book less enjoyable for me personally when I don’t like either person. Plus neither of them had much development it seemed.
The book started out well but the second half was boring and with some of the actions of Roy and Celestial, I kind of wished I DNFd. It was an okay book with a good premise but didn’t enjoy the execution as much as I expected to.
TW/CW: rape, abortion, cancer (brief mention), death of parent, grief, incarceration, sexual content, infidelity, dubious consent/coercion, racism, violence, misogyny
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent
kcarney86's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Abortion
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Death of parent