An American Marriage

Title: An American Marriage

Author: Tayari Jones

Published: February 6th, 2018

Pages: 320

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Cultural- African American

Publisher: Algonquin Books 

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Goodreads Description: 

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.

 

Things I enjoyed about this book: 

You know you’re reading a good book when you feel like your there with the characters experiencing the same events they are. This was one of the strengths Tayari Jones showed in her novel. I loved the format of the story and how it allowed us to build relationships with the characters. The characters were raw and by the end felt real to me.

Things I Didn’t Enjoy: 

An American Marriage did feel slow at some points, but I think perhaps it was meant to be? It did allow me to create the scene and characters in my mind, but did make it hard to stay focused at some points.

MRS BIRDS WORDS REVIEW

  

I am a basic white girl. I will never experience prejudice because of my skin color. I didn’t do anything to earn this right except for being born to two white parents. It’s not fair. An American Marriage pulls at some of the cultural stereotypes against the African American Culture and shows the impact it can have. Although this was Contemporary Fiction, it is a very real story. I love when stories can spark conversation, changes thoughts, and leaves you wanting to break down stereotypes. An American Marriage was a great listen! I loved hearing the voices, in some ways it made it even more real to me. While is wasn’t an upbeat book, it did leave me with a satisfying feeling.

Tayari Jones deserves 4 out of 5 bird feathers for this one. I loved the book and felt overall it was well written. I will continue to think about it the next couple of weeks, which makes it a great read, I recommend it!

Parent’s Guide:

This is considered Adult Fiction, but aren’t we all considered kids at heart? This book had a lot of found language and did talk about sex and masturbation.

(C)LVB2017