An American Marriage
by Tayari Jones 
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Description
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, 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 show more 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. show lessTags
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anonymous user Both are stories of family and love involving people of color and their experiences
Member Reviews
A stunning and beautifully told story about a young black married couple who are split apart when the man is falsely accused of rape. What happens to a marriage when one is behind bars and the other is free to live her life outside? Although incredibly painful to read at times, this work was so honest about human feelings and failings, as well as the possibility of second chances. I would recommend it to everyone, but you need to be able to handle the emotional pain. Realizing that in the real world people (especially people of color) are wrongfully incarcerated makes this work less fictional. I took off half a star for the way it raced to the ending, but that shouldn't prevent anyone from reading it.
Looking back on it, it's like watching a horror flick and wondering why the characters are so determined to ignore the danger signs. When a spectral voice says, GET OUT, you should do it. But in real life, you don't know that you're in a scary movie. You think your wife is being overly emotional. You quietly hope that it's because she's pregnant, because a baby is what you need to lock this thing in and throw away the key. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
“How did we end up here? My key works, but you won’t let me in.”
Celestial and Roy are made for each other, even though their relationship is not without fights. But they always manage to get together again. Some issues are hot topics - their different backgrounds, their families, having a child - so they try to avoid them. But sometimes these things come up nevertheless and one evening, their quarrel escalates. Fifteen minutes should be enough to cool down. But these fifteen minutes will change their lives, their fates and all the dreams they had for their future together. Nothing will be anymore as it was the next morning.
Tayari Jones’ novel hits you like a hammer. You cannot read it without getting involved deeply and asking show more yourself the question: how would I react in their place? What I loved utterly was the author’s way of foreshadowing: telling you that a meteor was to crash their lives or that this was their last happy evening for a long time; this creates an almost unbearable suspense, you absolutely want to know what is going to happen and thus, you surely cannot put down the book.
All in all, the story is a quite unique ménage à trois. On the one hand, Celestial and Roy, wed for some months and still somehow at the beginning of their common life. On the other hand, there is Andre who has been a friend of Celestial since their days in kindergarten, who befriended Roy in college and who actually made them acquainted with each other. Long hidden feelings for Celestial can no longer kept buried when she is in need of a shoulder to lie on. Reading the story as it is, you cannot really blame anyone for what they do. It just happens, but it doesn’t make you really happy either. Especially when compared to their parents’ marriages: a deep affection that lasts over decades and that survives even the biggest crises.
Apart from this, the novel is also highly critical in several respects: the American legal system, the way blacks are still treated today and have to fight harder than others and also the question of what makes a man a man and a father a father. A lot of food for thought written in a light style which is full of splendid metaphors that I absolutely adored. show less
Celestial and Roy are made for each other, even though their relationship is not without fights. But they always manage to get together again. Some issues are hot topics - their different backgrounds, their families, having a child - so they try to avoid them. But sometimes these things come up nevertheless and one evening, their quarrel escalates. Fifteen minutes should be enough to cool down. But these fifteen minutes will change their lives, their fates and all the dreams they had for their future together. Nothing will be anymore as it was the next morning.
Tayari Jones’ novel hits you like a hammer. You cannot read it without getting involved deeply and asking show more yourself the question: how would I react in their place? What I loved utterly was the author’s way of foreshadowing: telling you that a meteor was to crash their lives or that this was their last happy evening for a long time; this creates an almost unbearable suspense, you absolutely want to know what is going to happen and thus, you surely cannot put down the book.
All in all, the story is a quite unique ménage à trois. On the one hand, Celestial and Roy, wed for some months and still somehow at the beginning of their common life. On the other hand, there is Andre who has been a friend of Celestial since their days in kindergarten, who befriended Roy in college and who actually made them acquainted with each other. Long hidden feelings for Celestial can no longer kept buried when she is in need of a shoulder to lie on. Reading the story as it is, you cannot really blame anyone for what they do. It just happens, but it doesn’t make you really happy either. Especially when compared to their parents’ marriages: a deep affection that lasts over decades and that survives even the biggest crises.
Apart from this, the novel is also highly critical in several respects: the American legal system, the way blacks are still treated today and have to fight harder than others and also the question of what makes a man a man and a father a father. A lot of food for thought written in a light style which is full of splendid metaphors that I absolutely adored. show less
A beautifully written book, An American Marriage is a nuanced story about complicated people and complicated issues.
Roy and Celestial are complex people who for me, end up just barely on the wrong side of likable. I felt like I needed a bit more lead up to the letter writing portion of the story so that I could’ve read through a different lens. There’s this automatic empathy built in for Roy because of what he went through, but he’s a complicated guy who did and said plenty of bad things too. I think I was expecting both of them to fit more into the traditional mold of a protagonist so my expectations may have tainted my perception of them here.
The way this story tackles parenthood felt so nuanced and powerful, each relationship show more different in its own way. The familial relationships drove this book for me, and the Roy/Celestial/Andre triangle took a back seat. The epilogue felt authentic but in the end I felt like there was something missing. I want to root for someone when I read and outside of Big Roy, there was no one I liked enough or knew enough to root for, so I was left with all my feelings about the systemic issues but felt a bit hollow towards the characters which is why it’s not a 5 star. show less
Roy and Celestial are complex people who for me, end up just barely on the wrong side of likable. I felt like I needed a bit more lead up to the letter writing portion of the story so that I could’ve read through a different lens. There’s this automatic empathy built in for Roy because of what he went through, but he’s a complicated guy who did and said plenty of bad things too. I think I was expecting both of them to fit more into the traditional mold of a protagonist so my expectations may have tainted my perception of them here.
The way this story tackles parenthood felt so nuanced and powerful, each relationship show more different in its own way. The familial relationships drove this book for me, and the Roy/Celestial/Andre triangle took a back seat. The epilogue felt authentic but in the end I felt like there was something missing. I want to root for someone when I read and outside of Big Roy, there was no one I liked enough or knew enough to root for, so I was left with all my feelings about the systemic issues but felt a bit hollow towards the characters which is why it’s not a 5 star. show less
There may be something in the fact that this book is called An American Marriage and that it made me so incredibly angry at times. Part of my anger was directed at the injustices that were on full display throughout the novel. This is a story of a black man, wrongfully convicted of a crime, who loses so much. But most of my anger was directed at the characters at the center of this story—how they could be so despicable and unfair to one another.
Celestial and Roy's marriage is based on passionate love and selfish gain. They want the best their spouse has to offer and when that isn't good enough, they have no qualms with wounding one another. Ultimately, it's all about their individual wants and needs. Both Celestial and Roy have their show more fair share of flaws. Add best friend Andre into the mix and you have three horrible people, each justifying their actions as moral and necessary.
Repeatedly, I found myself taking sides. Roy would do something beyond forgiveness and I'd side with Celestial. Then Celestial would one up Roy. Back and forth, these two characters along with Andre elicited strong emotions from this reader. That's good writing, but it's infuriating. So while I wanted to throw the book in the trash on more than one occasion, I couldn't fault the novel or the author for this intense displeasure.
What's most impressive about An American Marriage is how much happens in such a tight space. The story itself has enough content to fill another couple hundred pages. Jones uses the space most effectively, weaving tight sentences and keeping the story focused. Also, the novel tackles themes of not only injustice, but loyalty and betrayal, love and marriage, dreams and realities, pride and human frailty.
An excellent, balanced depiction of how injustice can harm, An American Marriage is a riveting story that's biggest flaw is that it fizzles at the end. Many readers say “the ending disappoints” about a great many books. I guess we have an idea of how we want a book to end and when it doesn't shape our predetermined mold, we like to express that we could've done better. I try not to raise this complaint often as I do recognize that it is trite. I have no desire to say “I could've done it better,” as I doubt I could have; regardless of the direction Jones decides to go, I felt that she tried to wrap up the story much too quickly. It's all so neatly packaged up to a point, then it feels like a bow is haphazardly thrown on the whole thing so it could meet that magic 300 page limit. It's a great novel overall, but I really hoped for more weight in those concluding chapters.
I've been meaning to read more of Tayari Jones' work ever since she first made an impression on me with her contributions to The Secret Miracle. I strongly agreed with several of the answers she provided about her writing practices and beliefs. I'm glad the release of this novel pressured me to return to her work. With the imprint left behind by An American Marriage, I am hopeful that I will get around to her first two novels before she publishes her next. show less
Celestial and Roy's marriage is based on passionate love and selfish gain. They want the best their spouse has to offer and when that isn't good enough, they have no qualms with wounding one another. Ultimately, it's all about their individual wants and needs. Both Celestial and Roy have their show more fair share of flaws. Add best friend Andre into the mix and you have three horrible people, each justifying their actions as moral and necessary.
Repeatedly, I found myself taking sides. Roy would do something beyond forgiveness and I'd side with Celestial. Then Celestial would one up Roy. Back and forth, these two characters along with Andre elicited strong emotions from this reader. That's good writing, but it's infuriating. So while I wanted to throw the book in the trash on more than one occasion, I couldn't fault the novel or the author for this intense displeasure.
What's most impressive about An American Marriage is how much happens in such a tight space. The story itself has enough content to fill another couple hundred pages. Jones uses the space most effectively, weaving tight sentences and keeping the story focused. Also, the novel tackles themes of not only injustice, but loyalty and betrayal, love and marriage, dreams and realities, pride and human frailty.
An excellent, balanced depiction of how injustice can harm, An American Marriage is a riveting story that's biggest flaw is that it fizzles at the end. Many readers say “the ending disappoints” about a great many books. I guess we have an idea of how we want a book to end and when it doesn't shape our predetermined mold, we like to express that we could've done better. I try not to raise this complaint often as I do recognize that it is trite. I have no desire to say “I could've done it better,” as I doubt I could have; regardless of the direction Jones decides to go, I felt that she tried to wrap up the story much too quickly. It's all so neatly packaged up to a point, then it feels like a bow is haphazardly thrown on the whole thing so it could meet that magic 300 page limit. It's a great novel overall, but I really hoped for more weight in those concluding chapters.
I've been meaning to read more of Tayari Jones' work ever since she first made an impression on me with her contributions to The Secret Miracle. I strongly agreed with several of the answers she provided about her writing practices and beliefs. I'm glad the release of this novel pressured me to return to her work. With the imprint left behind by An American Marriage, I am hopeful that I will get around to her first two novels before she publishes her next. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.My Takeaway
"Human emotion is beyond comprehension, smooth and uninterrupted, like an orb made of blown glass."
Tayari Jones, An American Marriage
An American Marriage is worthy and amazing! Jones is a poetic, phenomenal, and captivating writer (the hype is real mi gente). Caution: the novel will weave itself around your soul -- so be prepared. The novel is not only about marriage, it also deals with race, injustice, mass incarceration, parenting, and loyalty. Roy, Celestial, Andre are complicated, flawed, and intense individuals. When Roy goes to prison it shatters and alternates not only his life but those closest to him. As a reader, I was able to get a clear picture of Roy, Celestial, and Andre's emotions and perspectives, which I show more (always) appreciate. We all know life is complicated, but imagine you are living the dream and in a matter of hours BOOM!! Your life completely changes -- and not in a good way. Let that marinate for a few, then pick up a copy of this beauty and I guarantee you will find yourself wanting to share your feelings and thoughts with others. This is why this book is a fantastic choice for book clubs (just ask Oprah).
For more reviews, visit: http://debbiesbooknook.com/ show less
"Human emotion is beyond comprehension, smooth and uninterrupted, like an orb made of blown glass."
Tayari Jones, An American Marriage
An American Marriage is worthy and amazing! Jones is a poetic, phenomenal, and captivating writer (the hype is real mi gente). Caution: the novel will weave itself around your soul -- so be prepared. The novel is not only about marriage, it also deals with race, injustice, mass incarceration, parenting, and loyalty. Roy, Celestial, Andre are complicated, flawed, and intense individuals. When Roy goes to prison it shatters and alternates not only his life but those closest to him. As a reader, I was able to get a clear picture of Roy, Celestial, and Andre's emotions and perspectives, which I show more (always) appreciate. We all know life is complicated, but imagine you are living the dream and in a matter of hours BOOM!! Your life completely changes -- and not in a good way. Let that marinate for a few, then pick up a copy of this beauty and I guarantee you will find yourself wanting to share your feelings and thoughts with others. This is why this book is a fantastic choice for book clubs (just ask Oprah).
For more reviews, visit: http://debbiesbooknook.com/ show less
I loved An American Marriage. It was what I long for in novels. Nuanced characters, no easy answers, drama that is not contrived, and a message, in this case African Americans and the American prison system, that does not punch you in the stomach but relays a reality we should all be aware of. Telling the story from the 3 main characters perspectives gives the reader insight into each person's thoughts and feelings. In the end I wasn't rooting for any one person but was hoping all would move on to happy and fulfilling lives.
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Author Information
12+ Works 7,806 Members
Tayari Jones was born on November 30, 1970 in Atlanta Georgia. She attended Spelman College, University of Iowa, and the University of Georgia. She later attended Arizonia State University to earn her MFA. She went on to teach creative writing at the University of Illinois and George Washington University. Her first novel, Leaving Atlanta, was show more written in 2002 while she was a graduate student at Arizonia State University. It was about the Atlanta Child Murders of 1979-1981.Her other title's include: The Untelling, Silver Sparrow, and An American Marriage. She has been awarded the Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Debut Fiction, the Lillian Smith Book Award, and the Radcliffe Institute Fellowship. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Tayari Jones is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
The Guardian Book of the Day (2019-07-02)
Oprah's Book Club 2.0 (2018-02 – 2018)
Notable Lists
RUSA CODES Listen List (Listen-Alike – Listen-Alike to “The Vanishing Half: A Novel” by Brit Bennett – 2021)
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- An American Marriage
- Original publication date
- 2018-02-06
- People/Characters
- Roy Othaniel Hamilton; Celestial Gloriana Davenport Hamilton; "Big" Roy McHenry Hamilton; Olive Ann Ingelman Hamilton; Andre "Dre" Maurice Tucker; Franklin Delano Davenport (show all 14); Gloria Celeste Davenport; Othaniel Walter Jenkins; Robert A. Banks; Sylvia Banks; Davina Hardrick; Evie Tucker; Carlos Tucker; Jeanette Tucker
- Important places
- Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Eloe, Louisiana, USA; Parson Cirrectional Center, Jemison, Louisiana, USA
- Epigraph
- What happens to you doesn't belong to you,
only half concerns you. It's not yours. Not yours only.
--- Claudia Rankine - Dedication
- For my mother's sister, Alma Faye,
and for Maxine & Marcia, my own - First words
- There are two kinds of people in the world, those who leave home, and those who don't.
- Quotations
- But home isn't where you land; home is where you launch. You can't pick your home any more than you can choose your family. In poker, you get five cards. Three of them you can swap out, but two are yours to keep: family and n... (show all)ative land.
She pulled away and walked to my bedroom and closed herself in with a little click of the knob. I could have pursued her. A paper clip could best the catch, but when a woman shuts you out, picking the lock won't let you back ... (show all)in.
You don't know what you need until somebody gives it to you exactly the way you need it gave.
It matters that I didn't grow up with my father. It's kind if like having one leg that's a half inch shorter than the other. You can walk, but there will be a dip. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)This is where I am. Sincerely, Roy
- Publisher's editor
- Adams, Chuck
- Blurbers
- Danticat, Edwidge; Perrotta, Tom; Chabon, Michael; Woodson, Jacqueline; Bloom, Amy
- Original language
- English US
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 4,958
- Popularity
- 2,825
- Reviews
- 284
- Rating
- (3.87)
- Languages
- 12 — Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Portuguese (Portugal)
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 54
- ASINs
- 11
