Title: An American Marriage
Author: Tayari Jones
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
First published: January 29th 2018
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Finished reading: February 7th 2019
Pages: 320
“There are too many loose ends in the world in need of knots. You can’t attend to all of them, but you have to try.”
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Oneworld Publications in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
There has been a lot of hype around An American Marriage ever since it first came out last year, so much that I decided I wanted to see how I would react to this story myself. I was definitely excited when I was approved for an ARC of this version with a new cover! Nothing can beat that other gorgeous blue cover for me, but I do love how well this new cover fits the story. The two main characters back to back, the handwritten letters as a background, the use of contrasting colors… Truly eyecatching. Now that I have finally had the chance to read An American Marriage, I can understand why it has been praised this much. Powerful, raw, moving, emotionally draining… This story will most definitely leave its mark. Let’s start with the fact that sadly having an innocent man going to prison is something that still happens even to this date. Prejudice and racial discrimination are two phenomenons we cannot seem to get rid of in society, and Southern US does have its history. The way this story is told and the different elements are introduced and incorporated into the plot is brilliant. An American Marriage proves to be an eye-opener as well as an emotional and heartbreaking story about two persons being ripped apart by a wrong conviction. The story is told from three different POVs, all three characters being key to this story. Celestial, Roy and Andre each have their own role in An American Marriage, each has their flaws and each is developed realistically and evolves during this story. Unfortunately for me, I was never able to fully warm up to them though, which is one of the things that prevented me connecting to the story fully. The pace was also considerably slow at points, which might be a turn off for some. These are only minor complaints compared to the wonderful writing style and the way this story is constructed though. I really like how we go from different POVs to letters written between Celestial and Roy during his stay in prison and back to regular prose afterwards. It’s a representation of how the characters were limited in their communication during this difficult time and it adds a little something extra to the story. The representation of the failed justice system and how screwed up things were this close to the present days is both shocking and a revelation. I’ve read stories about innocent men in prison before, and Tayari Jones’ voice is a welcome addition to the group. Could I have done without the love triangle? Yes. But I guess it does help showcasing just how far the consequences of that wrong conviction will go. It’s without doubt a powerful read I’m glad I finally had the chance to read.
Celestial and Roy come from different backgrounds, but are both well on their way to success. Roy is a young executive and Celestial an artist with a promising career, and when they marry they see themselves with a wonderful future. They settle down in a routine that seems to work for both and everything seems to be right on track… Only for everything to be ripped away one fated night. Will they be able to overcome the obstacles put in their away and prove for once and for all they locked an innocent man behind bars?
I already had some ideas about An American Marriage when I first started reading it, but I didn’t realize the full extent of this powerful and emotionally draining story until I was already in way too deep. While it is true that I failed to connect to the characters completely, I wasn’t happy with the love triangle and the pace was a bit slow at points, it was the story itself that made me forget about those minor complaints. An innocent man behind bars just because someone pointed their finger (basically), the struggle to prove the truth, the strain the situation has on a relationship and those close to Roy in general, the racial discrimination, the failed justice system, the family history… Powerful elements that have been excellently developed and executed and which turn this story into one well worth your time.
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Fantastic review!
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Thanks!
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Your review has helped me set my expectations perfectly for this book, haha, I don’t think I’d like the love triangle either 🙈
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I do get why the author introduced the love triangle, but I still wish it wouldn’t have been there… The rest of the story is wonderful though; definitely worth your time. I hope you will enjoy it when you pick it up!
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Great review! I have seen this book around and all the hype it got. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it or not. Honestly, I didn’t know anything about it until your review. It sounds like one that should be read. Although, I’m not a love triangle fan.
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Yeah, the love triangle was a slight turn off for me, but overall the story is definitely worth reading. Especially since it has such an important underlying message…
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Well said! This book cut deeper than I thought because of unfortunate circumstances and time.
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Very true!
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Ooooo I’ve been trying to get my book club to pick this one up! It is available on Hoopla (library digital database) and I’ve been considering picking it up without them… Sounds like this would be a great addition to my list of books to read during Black History Month too!
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An American Marriage would be such a great book club pick and is definitely perfect for Black History Month as well. 🙂
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I have this on audio and keep putting it off. Thanks for your excellent review, Yvo! I think I’ll put this back in rotation.
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It’s without doubt worth the hype around it! I hope you will enjoy it when you get to it. 🙂
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