Reviews tagging 'Violence'

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

79 reviews

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Abortion

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Minor: Infidelity and Rape

elliotabegunde's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

I kept reading the epilogue over and over. It's not a lighthearted read, but wouldn't have you crying. I'd describe it as a story that showcases the whole truth of each of its characters. It reflects on survival and whether any one person can ever truly be blamed.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual content, Violence, and Pregnancy

chloelawrence127's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Abortion

ehknits's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

anniesher23's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

This was heartbreaking and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. It was truly devastating to see how

incarceration broke so many lives. I think my favorite part of this book was how close Roy’s experience came to turning him into the kind of person his wrongful conviction made him out to be, but how he recognized that and chose not to be that person in the end. That was incredibly powerful and well done. 

I’m not sure how I feel about Celestial’s character - I felt like she had so little agency in the end, but maybe the point is that what she went through changed her that deeply. I will prob have more to say about this book so TALK SOON! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Abortion

catobeyts's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Hated the ending, and then I didn’t

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

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

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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

jordyfrombookclub's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This is a beautifully written book about the damage years in prison can do to a person, their loved ones, and the rest of their life. It’s a story about the equally impossible and necessary task of moving forward. Throughout the book, I felt myself empathizing and feeling frustrated by each of the characters in equal measure as they worked through their uprooted lives. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Abortion

phoenix115's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, and Grief