Author: Tayari Jones
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: February 2018 (First Published January 2018)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 308
Rating: 3.5/5
Summary:
Newlyweds, Celestial and Roy, are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she is artist on the brink of an exciting career. They are settling into the routine of their life together, when 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 deeply 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 into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward- with hope and pain- into the future.
Review:
So, I got this book after attending a panel with the author at Toronto International Festival of Authors last year and it was honestly such an amazing event to be at! This book is definitely different in the aspect of my normal go to book, but it was good!
First, I'll just say that I felt like there were moments throughout the book that really slowed down the story for me, and it made it harder to move on at times. Other than that...wow!
You dive right into this story without much of an ease, and it doesn't stop. In my opinion, it felt like Celestial almost had one foot out the door from the beginning, at least that's how I saw it. Yet at the same time, you see them writing letters to one another, and you can feel the love and pain between Roy and Celestial.
I really don't want to say anything that will be spoilery because this is just a raw and emotional book. From beginning to end, you get to read all perspectives of what happens starting the night of Roy getting arrested for a crime he didn't commit and the powerful push and pull of Celestial and her life without the man she married by her side every single day.
Personally I couldn't connect to the characters and their story, however this is definitely a book that's raw, emotional, and definitely relatable to many in some way or another. I felt like this opened up something for people to really think about, however I think that Celestial and Roy just weren't that strong of characters to make it a story I LOVED, you know?
Overall, this was a good story. It honestly plays into so many different aspects of life and what happens to people when they are torn apart for years and how the simplest of things can change a person. I definitely recommend checking it out!
That's all for my review, I hope you enjoyed it.
So until the next time, Keep Reading!
Your Graduated Bookworm!! :)
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