Reviews tagging 'Grief'

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

37 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

carlytenille's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Abandonment

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

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. 

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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

klfipps's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual content

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

moriahleigh's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, and Abortion

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

lay_kone's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent

sar_willow's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense slow-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

3.5

Rounding up to a four. I should’ve slept, but I needed to finish this book more than I needed to dream. The circumstances probably happen over and over again across the US, mostly to Black men, but the outcome of being released felt less realistic. But that’s where the story pivots, and without it, there wouldn’t be a story to tell.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Infidelity, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail