An American Marriage

Tayari is one of the best writers in America—no qualifiers!—and she also has the advantage of a razor-sharp, accessible style.

This heartbreaking book about a couple torn apart and remade by the husband’s incarceration is gripping and sharply observed, and the characters, Celestial and Roy, are unforgettable. But don’t take my word for it—ask Oprah!

An American Marriage is a story about Roy and Celestial, a recently married couple, planning for their future after graduating from college, hoping to have children, and live the American Dream.

But Roy is accused of raping an older woman, a crime he did not commit, and sentenced to twelve years in prison. He returns to his marriage years later hoping to capture what was lost but finds they are no longer the same people and that it’s difficult to be loyal to a memory.

I read this book in February of 2023 as I was getting my novel, Let… show more.

I cried like a baby over this book.

I bought An American Marriage by mistake when my book club was reading American Dirt (I loved that, too). Purchasing this was the BEST book mistake I ever made.

Roy is a smart black man with a college degree from Morehouse, the world at his fingertips. He marries Celestial, born to wealthy parents. Roy fears he can’t live up to her family’s standards.

Enter an author with a knack for creating great storylines. Their lives turn tragic when Roy is arrested for a crime he did not commit. Tayari Jones brings her… show more.

I listened to this novel while gardening during the pandemic and found it utterly absorbing and heartbreaking. It surprised me with its twists and turns, humor, and pathos. Roy and his wife Celestial are newlyweds in Atlanta living a life of ordinary young marriage challenges, planning to have children, and what career moves to make. After Roy is falsely accused of a crime, found guilty, and sentenced to twelve years in prison, the two must find a way to move forward after the American Dream for them is shattered. The sophisticated, stirring novel asks the question, what does one spouse… show more.

I feel the ethos of this book in my very marrow. It’s basically like, “La la-la, I’m a Black person just living my life, trying to enjoy my marriage, start a family, generally be human, but then BAM! Some seriously unjust and disruptive shit totally blindsides me, derails my entire existence, and I just have to figure out how to get back to feeling human again.” After this pandemic, I think everyone can probably relate to this to some degree. (Huh. Covid: The Great Equalizer.)