Reviews with content warning for Sexism - An American Marriage

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

9 reviews

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 after

telling 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 that

she'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 he

confronts 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.

Content Warnings

brisha's review

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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

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

ericageorge91's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective 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

3.0

“That’s your fate as a black man. Carried by six or judged by 12.”

Personal feelings aside, Tayari Jones wrote a story that was equal parts beautiful and ugly. An American Marriage explores the effects of incarceration on a black man and his loved ones on a molecular level.

This was a difficult read for a multitude of reasons. What repeatedly brought me to tears was the thought of how much this man has lost as a result of a fucked up criminal justice system. This story never should have happened, and yet it’s happened to thousands of black men in America.

An American Marriage is a contemporary, character-driven novel. You’re following three characters: Roy, his wife, Celestial, and their friend, Andre. Their stories were painfully flawed and human. More than once, their words gave me visceral reactions. I don’t think I’ve felt this conflicted about a cast since Akwaeke Emezi’s, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. I definitely enjoyed Emezi’s work more.

This book did suffer from outdated thoughts about gender roles that was grating and made me feel how painfully heterosexual this story was: “A man should do this. A man needs a woman to-“ ✋🏾Just stop.

Then, these characters were making the worst choices 🤦🏾‍♀️ I know it was realistic. I know a lot of it was circumstance, but my goodness the amount of times I had to pause to scream to myself was unreal.

The rational, objective part of the review has concluded. If you have no interest in reading this book, you may proceed.

TW: Major - Incarceration, infidelity, death, grief, violence, sexism, self-harm, violence; Minor - Sexual assault, abortion, past age gap relationship, cancer, suicide, police brutality

Rep: Black characters

Spoilers ahead!

Let me break down the things that pissed me off the most about each character:

Celestial: I am super fucking irritated at your hypocrisy. Obviously, you’re not completely at fault for Roy going to jail, but it is so fucking wild to me that you threw the biggest tantrum over Roy not telling you that his dad is actually his stepfather and saying “Secrets! There should be no secrets!” And then what happens?! While he was in prison you start dropping all these bombs—confessing about your parents nasty ass relationship and how you yourself was fucking a married man and got knocked up by him and Oh! This abortion wasn’t your first rodeo. Like…WHAT?!? So what was the point of the fight That Night then?!? WHAT WAS THE REASON?!? I’m—

And then!! You’re like, “Uwu! I couldn’t POSSIBLY send divorce papers while Roy’s in jail! Not more state papers giving him bad news 🥺” BITCH….AS OPPOSED TO THE ALTERNATIVE?! You acted like he was sentenced to life in jail. It was 12 years!! He would have had to find out eventually!! So what? Were you hoping it would be after you and Andre popped some kids and were years “married?” You should have sent them when he was done talking to you and said don’t contact him anymore. THAT was the time.

Roy: If you thought that I didn’t catch that something sexual went down while you were in jail, you’re mistaken. It was noted. So, riddle me this, why THE FUCK did you insist on having sex with Davina without a condom?! That was so fucking foul.

Also foul? Your behavior with Celestial that night you came back. I understand you were eager for your life back but you scratching your head being fake deep, “Yes means yes and no means no, but what is the meaning of silence?” Mmm, assault. That’s…that’s what silence means. That’s what it would have been if her asking for a condom didn’t give you pause. And then, not you making her feel bad for being sensible for asking for one?! And the CHERRY on top, did you want a cookie for stopping?! Bitch, please!

Andre: I don’t even want to waste my breath on you. You were the ultimate “nice guy” who patiently waits at their crush’s side for a chance to pounce 🥴

WHICH 👏🏾 YOU 👏🏾 DID 👏🏾

AND WHAT A TIME IT WAS. Not you and Celestial, choosing the day that she sung at her mother-in-law’s funeral, and the day that you helped carry her body, to fuck each other. I am past the point of DISGUSTED. I was not sad that you got your ass beat and I hope nothing good touches the two of you.

Let me just say that I wish Uncle Banks and Big Roy nothing but the best. Everyone else? They can choke 😌

Content Warnings