An American marriage - Tayari Jones

  https://rhbooks.com.ng?ap_id=Jannaonyemaobi

You can purchase An American marriage from Rovingheights with the link above.


An American marriage tells the story of a middle class African-American couple, Roy and Celestial whose lives are torn apart when Roy is wrongfully convicted for a crime he did not commit. His wife believes he is innocent but the question remains this; is this believe enough to keep the fire burning in  their marriage?


This story is also wrapped by racial injustice.

This book is captivating, I love how the author captures each emotions, both relationship and personal emotions, how the characters deal with situations and how they react to each other.

An American Marriage is a good book but reading it, I already figured out the end half way through. There is not much suspense. From the beginning, I knew this was not a relationship that could withstand anything. Roy’s attitude before the incarceration gave that away.

Once thing I really liked about this book is the fact that there is no right or wrong. I also love how no character is completely blameless. They all contributed to the problem and at the same time, it's no ones fault. The way Tayari Jones conveyed this is really amazing. It gives the readers a chance to form their own opinions and their own thoughts on it.

At first the story is told by Celestial and Roy, as we process, the narrative changes to letter writing which I found really cool. Andre is also introduced into the picture at some point. Andre is Celestial’s childhood friend and he was Roy’s best man at their wedding.

One Lesson I learned from this book is that the beginning of a marriage does not determine the end. This book touches different relationship struggles.

While watching an interview of the author, I found out that she got the inspiration for this book in a mall. According to her, she over heard a couple arguing, their words were..

Wife: Roy you know you wouldn’t have waited on me for seven years.

Roy: What are you talking about, this wouldn’t have happened to you in the first place.

These lines inspired the book and these exact lines were said in the book. It is funny because this is one of my favorite lines in the book.

My favorite line is ‘if he hadn’t caught off my breath with a kiss that tasted like desire striped through with anger........’. This line really got to me.

This book was an Oprah’s book club selection in 2018.

In conclusion, Marriage is more than your heart, it is your life and these couple spent more time apart than they spent together. I gave this book four our of five stars because despite the strong message in it, I wish the suspense was intense. It was a good read and I recommend it for everyone.

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