Recommended by the likes of Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey, An American Marriage isn’t afraid to dig deep into sensitive topics. It is a heart-wrenching love story that throws a marriage in disarray, and through Jones’s eloquent characters we read a deeply moving tale of a couple broken by the wrath of racial injustice, and their struggle as they attempt to piece themselves back together in the aftermath.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Pages: 308
Genres: Romance, Literary Fiction
RATING: ★★★★★
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Newlyweds, Celestial and Roy, are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she is artist on the brink of an exciting career. They are settling into the routine of their life together, when they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.
This stirring love story is a deeply insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward- with hope and pain- into the future.
No one is perfect. Each character is self-aware of his or her flaws, and through each character’s point of view, you can read their internal struggle as they wrestle with their emotions. Throughout the book Roy and Celestial recall how they met and fell in love, a tale made even more tragic as they are continuously ripped out of their nostalgia and reminded of the harsh truth of their reality. In the love triangle between Roy, Celestial and Andre, each character struggles with their flaws – Roy resents his wife despite understanding her predicament, Celestial is torn between her loyalty to her husband and her feelings for another man, and Andre grapples with justifying his relationship with Celestial in the face of his best man’s imprisonment. I was conflicted over who’s side I should take, and realized that in these painful circumstances no one could truly be faulted for their shortcomings.
Exploring the idea of marriage. You see how much Roy’s wrongful conviction has ripped this couple apart. It’s easy to claim that Celestial has a duty to her husband as his wife during the most difficult time of his life, but Jones calls this into question. In a marriage that lasted barely a year before thrown into disarray, what do these two really owe each other? The marriage vows “till death do us part” seem so simple to say, yet so difficult to fulfil.
Profound, well written characters. Jones creates authentic characters with diverse backgrounds yet united by the victimization of racism in America. You see how the color of their skin has permeated their lives, but Jones writes it in a way that seems natural instead of overbearing and preachy. Race is only one aspect of these characters – at their heart they are strong-willed individuals with intense personalities and powerful emotions that form the core of what makes this story so personal and impactful.
An American Marriage is a thought-provoking, insightful look into the impact of a heartbreaking blow to a fragile marriage. Jones writes a powerful novel on the consquences of the country’s injustices, writing a solemn but powerful love story that is sure to resonate for years to come.
The Booking Child 
Great review! But who names their kid Celestial?
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