One of the best books I've read in quite some time. This was actually the audio version of the book, which was also fantastic. The performers were more vocal thespians than merely word-readers. Fantastic job, with real emotive power behind their reading.

As for the story itself, I will admit that at first I feared it would not be my cup of tea, that I could not relate to the characters or their situations, or that it would devolve into a cheesy Lifetime movie script.
I am happy to say that none of these things were true.

The characters' struggles with the complications of love, family, and what is "right" vs "wrong" are universal. The author is adept at descriptions and dialogue (I grew up in Georgia for a number of years, and many passages ring true), so the characters were realistic to me. They have depth; so much more than merely words on a page.

I'm not going to provide a detailed plot summary, as I'm sure much better versions than I could provide are already out there. Suffice to say -- this is a very well-written book with the power to connect emotionally on a universal level. ( )

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 12 years in,prison for a crime he did not commit. After five years, Roy’s conviction is overturned, and he returns to Atlanta to resume their life together. Told in chapters spoken by Roy, Celestial and Andre, it’s a love story of peop,e who are at once bou d and separated by forces beyond their control. ( )

Celestial and Roy are married just for little more than a year when Roy is imprisoned for a rape he didn't commit. What impact would this have on their young marriage?

My opinion: When I read the blurb, I thought the book might contain who actually committed the crime, Roy's name being cleared, the judicial process, and other such factors that are common in crime books. But the book stays true to its purpose. The entire focus is on the marriage of Roy and Celestial. The story is told from three perspectives, the two people above and Andre, Celestial's childhood friend. The book was absolutely fabulous till about 75%, when it suddenly turns into a cliche. The ending redeems it somewhat but not much. Go for it if you don't mind the Bollywoodish end.

Rating: 3.75/5


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Celestial and Roy, married for 18 months, are visiting his parents in Louisiana when Roy is accused of rape. He did not commit it but is sent to prison for 12 years. Released early, he tries to determine if he is still married and if he and Celestial can make it work. Can they? Have they moved beyond their marriage?

I liked this story, but it is sad. I liked that it is told from three points-of-view--Roy, Celestial, and Andre, Celestial's best friend since childhood. Each provides a full view of the marriage and the prison term. I felt for Roy. He got the worse. He did nothing wrong but because of his skin color, he is convicted. I found it interesting who his cellmate was. I liked the wisdom of Walter. He was spot on in so much that Roy would go through. Not sure what I feel towards Celestial and Andre. I do not like their betrayal of Roy. Nor did I like how clinical they tried to be with Roy.

I think the ending was what it was going to be, what it had to be. The three characters had grown in different ways and directions. Roy was hardened from prison. Celestial was more independent than she initially believed. Andre was always there for Celestial and, to an extent, Roy.

I was glad I read this. I will read more of her books. ( )

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones was a fine book. Sweeping in its scope, the book tells the story of Celestial and Roy. They are southern, black, well-educated, hard-working, and prosperous. They have risen above their ancestry of sharecropping and poverty and are proud of where they are going, or would be if it were not for their marriage problems. Roy is what he likes to call "a ladies man", which is a polite way of saying he cheats on Celestial. Their arguments have begun to include talk of divorce, but Roy knows exactly how to charm his way back into his scorned wife's affections.

Then it happens. An elderly woman is raped, and she points the finger at Roy. The eye of the court looks discriminately at black defendants, and packs him off to prison for twelve years. Roy's life and his marriage dissolve like salt in a glass of Roy's mama's iced tea.

An American Marriage was a gripping read. It was - to my delight - epistolary for part of the book. Roy and Celestial and Andre, the other side of this triangle, are so keenly drawn that you can see their faces, hear their voices, know their hearts.

And yet.

I didn't like the way the book ended, and that's all I'm going to say about that for fear of spoilers. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't understand all the imagery. There was something important about a pear Roy once ate in prison, but I could never figure it out, although the image recurred throughout the novel. And this part pains me - I don't think I could ever comprehend the book fully because the book is about black American families and black American lives, and I fit in neither of those categories. Because of that, some parts of the book that might be plain to others are lost to this WASP-y lady in Canada.

However much I did and didn't understand, this was a masterful novel, and I am really glad to have read it and been privileged to meet the people within its pages. ( )