An American Marriage
By Tayari Jones
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Released: 2018
Genre: Domestic Fiction
If you want to watch a video review of this book instead click here. I tried a thing… Let me know if you want more of these.
Watch the Breakdown
Roy and Celestial are just out of the honeymoon period. They’ve been married for about 18 months and live together in Atlanta. Roy is new money and on the come up as an executive, whereas Celestial, an artist, is already accustomed to the lifestyle. One weekend the two drive down to Roy’s hometown of Eloe, Louisiana to visit Roy’s parents. The visit always causes tension between the two as Celestial is sure that Roy’s mum doesn’t like her. Mums, is anyone good enough for their boys? Insisting on keeping the peace Roy books a hotel for him and his wife to stay in. As you can imagine Roy’s mum isn’t impressed, but he wants to get the perfect balance.
During a heated argument between Roy and Celestial in their hotel room, Roy shouts a safeword - their first date, and they take a 15 minute break. Roy heads out to fill their ice bucket and bumps into a woman who needs assistance. He helps her out to her room and returns to his wife. That simple gesture costs him his freedom as in the middle of the night the police boot down him and his wife’s hotel room and he is arrested for rape. Except he couldn’t have done it as he was with Celestial during the alleged timeframe.
Denied bail, it’s just the beginning of what turns into a conviction and a 12 year sentence issued to Roy after the law determines that he is guilty.
Suddenly their roles change and heartbreak takes different forms. Celestial has to battle through trying to further her career without the man who has been her rock and has believed in her the most, as well as supporting her husband through his grief. Their marriage becomes prison visits, letter writing and voucher top ups. The one person she has to support her through this time is her best friend Andre who she leans on, they are childhood friends. 2 years into Roy’s sentence Celestial decides this is no longer a marriage. She can be a friend, but she’s had longer away from her husband than with her husband at this point.
5 years into Roy’s sentence, his lawyer gets the conviction overturned and Roy is released from prison. He wants his old life back. And at the very least his wife, who hasn’t divorced him. How true are the vows “for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; until death do us part” in a situation like this?
“It isn’t it is a fiction book but, that is what hit me. You only have to look at the stories of the Exonerated 5/ Central Park 5, who were wrongly convicted of attempted murder, rape, assault and robbery and served 6+ years each before getting their sentences overturned to know it’s not fictional to everyone.”
Is that how you’re feeling yeah
This is one of those books that you’ll easily ignore on the bookshelf. Between the title and the cover it doesn’t stand out and it didn’t gas me up at all. They both came across too simple. But… if you overlook this book you will be missing out majorly. I have my Instagram book community to thank for putting me on to this title. It kept coming up on my timeline so I decided 2 years later to pick it up. I devoured this book within a day. Once you pick up this book, putting it down is a struggle. You want to keep reading, you feel like you must keep going. And just when you think you’re on track with the story, something happens that stresses you out all over again.
On a surface level, An American Marriage’s plot is nothing out of the ordinary, saying that I could just be desensitized to the narrative of families being torn about when black men, in particular, get sent to prison on elongated sentences, pleading their innocence. But when you dig down, it is really deep. The way that the author Tayari carries the story is something really special though. She covered issues with race and the legal system in such an inclusive way. African American’s make up 33% of the prison population, meanwhile only 12% of the United States population. That don’t make sense! Whilst people will have different views on the why to those statistics, I’m going to swerve because I could write a whole post about that sentence alone…
An American Marriage is the sort of the book that I think everyone who reads will be able to relate to on some level. More then, anyone, it makes you really think about what marriage means to you.
At some parts, I was shouting and cussin at the book because I was so enraged and moved and I don’t see myself being the exception in this case. Very much the rule. Exploring the ripple effect of a conviction on the lives of those closest to the person convicted created really intimate moments and unforgettable insight.
I appreciated the book covering the ongoing story, chapter to chapter first hand from the perspectives of three characters: Roy who gets convicted of a crime. Celestial, Roy’s wife. And Andre, Celestial’s childhood friend and Roy’s University homeboy. If it had just been from one perspective it wouldn’t have made the impact it did on me. One perspective would have just created sympathy. The three took it to a different level, and really drove home that despite the love and good intentions time really does not wait for anyone.
Empowering is definitely not a word I would use to describe the book. Reflective would be the best word, afterall A man has had years of his life taken from him, and is dealt with blows on blow when he comes out on the other side. He’s come out of prison a broken man.
“Ours was a love story, the kind that’s not supposed to happen to black girls anymore. This was vintage romance made scarce after Dr. King, along with Negro-owned dress shops, drugstores, and cafeterias.”
Favourite Character
I didn’t have a definite favourite character. As the story played out there were times that I sided with a character’s views or actions, and then there were instances that I side eyed them and then had to pause the book and question how I would respond being in the situation. I will say though that I respected Roy Senior the most. He wasn’t a core character but his heart and values were in the right place, and boy did he love his wife. Grab the tissues… it made me reflect on how I think love like that doesn’t exist anymore. The man refused to let the funeral people fill his wife’s grave. After the funeral he shovelled it all himself, he felt it was his duty as a husband. You know them people who don’t speak too much, but when they do their presence is strong. That is Roy Senior.
Although, I didn’t have a favourite character I had a character that I proper disliked. Andre- I couldn’t take to him at all, and felt from the beginning he had the potential to be an opportunist. In my notes I’ve written “Andre: Nasty. Sneaky as fuck”
It Hit me When
Whilst I was at my cousin’s house shouting at the book, she asked me if the book was non-fiction. And it isn’t it is a fiction book but, that is what hit me. You only have to look at the stories of the Exonerated 5/ Central Park 5, who were wrongly convicted of attempted murder, rape, assault and robbery and served 6+ years each before getting their sentences overturned to know it’s not fictional to everyone. The film on Netflix, When You See Us on is based on the Central Park 5. I’m currently watching a Netflix series looking at the World’s toughest prisons and the host, Raphael Rowe, was sentenced to life with no parole after getting convicted in the UK of murder and robbery. After 12 years his conviction was overturned. WILDDDDD!
Length
310 pages and wait for it…. It includes 15 book club questions. The questions featured are really thought provoking. For example: “You may have noticed that Tayari Jones does not specify the race of the woman who accuses Roy of rape. How did you picture this woman?”
Seasoning Level
CO2 | Salt | Pepper | Mixed Herbs | All Purpose Seasoning
my burning question
My scotch bonnet burning question would be to Celestial. What does marriage mean to you? I’ve read the book, and I soaked up her perspective and journey but I still struggle to truly knoe what marriage means to her. I mean this is a woman who knew that her husband didn’t commit the crime, so she wasn’t fighting the internal question of could he be guilty?