Book Review: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

This post will be a review of An American Marriage by author, Tayari Jones.

I've been meaning to read this book for a while. It was published back in 2018 and I remember all the hype and publicity it received around that time. I finally came across it last year and picked it up. This past week I chose it as my companion on our most recent trip. I'm so happy I did.

Acclaim and Accolades for An American Marriage

2019 Aspen Words Literary Prize, winner

2019 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Fiction, winner

2019 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, longlist

2019 Women's Prize for Fiction, winner

2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, finalist

2018 National Book Award for Fiction, longlist

Chosen for Oprah's Book Club 2.0 in February 2018

What is An American Marriage about?

This is a story about what it means to be a black man in America, particularly in the American South. It's about systems designed to oppress and otherwise disenfranchise people of color, and how those legacies endure reaching out through time to snatch the dreams of black men who thought the plights of their fathers and grandfathers were finally far enough to miss them.

The epigraph of this novel reads, "What happens to you doesn't belong to you, only half concerns you. It's not yours. Not only yours," and I think in many ways, this is what this book is about; how the events that happen to us don't just affect us.

They entangle immeasurably and irreversibly all those we love and even those we don't, so that, in the end, a single event can reshape multiple destinies.

It's also a story about what is owed and how that is measured. It's a question of what is fair and who decides. In Roy and Celestial's marriage, they promise each other forever, but is that fair to call on as the years of Roy's imprisonment drag on? Given her commitment and Roy's innocence, is it fair for Celestial to want to enjoy her freedom and have a full life not attached to being a prisoner's wife? Is it fair for Roy to demand that they pick up where they left off before he went away because his life has been on hold since that moment?

Storyline (Blurb) of An American Marriage

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 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 profoundly 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 deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward—with hope and pain—into the future.

What I Liked About This Book

The Writing

This is book incredibly well written. It's easy and it's simple and it's full of character. Jones has a clear voice that I would be able to point out from various samples, this is very important because it gives her writing power. It makes the story feel as though it could only be told correctly by her, in her voice.

Her voice is also very authentic, which is perhaps why it's so real and distinct. She sounds like a woman from the South. When I read that she was born and raised in Atlanta, I wasn't a bit surprised. She embodies this and she has somehow managed to not let what is most authentic to her be polished or ironed out of her voice. As a result, I believe what she says and her writing has the weight of truth.

Heavy and Light

This is more a testament to Jones' literary prowess. To be able to write on such a heavy subject matter as being a black man in America, especially the American South, as it pertains to incarceration and its unjust repercussions not just for the person behind bars but also for all the people that they are connected to- to be able to write truthfully on a subject of this weight and magnitude is difficult enough. To do it with such a light hand and gentle strokes is the work of a master.

At no point in the story was the gravity of the plight of the characters lost on me, but as I carried that weight from page to page, it didn't feel burdensome. I'm not sure how she pulled that off, but I am thoroughly impressed by it. I appreciate also that the story didn't disintegrate into facts and statistics about mass incarceration, it remained the story of Roy, Celestial, Andre, and their parents.

The Realness

I think Jones has a gift for connecting to and exposing what is real. For me, sex was a tool she used to do this most obviously. Sex forced on the older woman who swears Roy is the perpetrator is how the central nightmare of the story begins. When Roy is released from prison, it's the sex of Davina's loving body that brings him back to life and to feeling like a man again.

When Roy finally confronts Celestial, it's through sex that she tries to force and jumpstart herself into who she used to be when her love and her loyalty still belonged to him. Jones earths the story this way, always bringing it back to the raw and the real. She does this very well.

The Characters

I loved these characters. They were so complete. They were three-dimensional; loyal and selfish, loving and hateful, stuck in the past and clutching at the future. They were each many things, the most important being real and completely believable. They were also distinct from each other, they felt like different people I could meet out in the world.

I appreciated too the uncertainty that they often experienced, especially in the case of Celestial and Andre as they reasoned through their desires and their actions, it made them real and honest.

What I Disliked About This Book

Sense Of Place/ White Room Syndrome

Not that it was particularly important for the narrative, but I sometimes lacked a sense of place in this story. This will happen with narratives this heavily driven by dialogue and inner thought, so I feel it's a critique that should be taken with that understanding in mind, but I liked it when the author anchored us in space and time and I wished she did it more.

Verdict: 4.5 Stars

This was a powerful book, wonderfully written and deeply engrossing. It was definitely worth the hype, both for its literary merit as well as its cultural relevance. The experience of the author shines through in how she's able to handle such a heavy subject matter with adequate care and depth, but also levity and ease. It was an easy book to pick up and a joy to read, even when what I was reading was tough to take in.

I highly recommend this book and this author. I will be looking for more of her work to dive into because I thoroughly enjoyed her voice and her style.

Let me know if you pick it up and what you think of it.

Other Books by Tayari Jones:

• Silver Sparrow

• The Untelling

• Leaving Atlanta

Happy reading and talk soon,

Nonjabulo