An American Marriage (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

From my blog I am glad I went into this story without any knowledge. A friend tagged me on Oprah's post where she recommended friends to read together. A day later another friend reaches out and starts a Whatsapp group to discuss the book. I am in a book club but this was a new way to read a book and it added to the enjoyment of reading The American Marriage. There are no spoilers. The story is told in 3 Chapters through the main characters Roy, Celestial and Andre. How you think about marriage will come into question, make you sit back and say what is right or wrong, traditional or not and if generations look at marriage differently. "Sometimes when you like where you end up, you don't care how you got there." Kindle 11% We get to see how young marriage unfolds, deciding on becoming parents, in-laws, career building and what no one should have to deal with, being locked up for a crime you didn't commit. How the incarceration affects all involved is an intense, emotional, love affair you will not forget. Tarai Jones has wrote a winner, I am positive this book will be in my Top Ten for the year. The older men in the book are the true MVP's, old school wisdom. I laughed and cried, the story is very touching. As a black Bermudian it is hard for me to understand the African American life and Tarai Jones does an amazing job on showing us how unfair life can be for an African American man without the feel of racism being uncomfortable. "I have one thing to say to you, as a black man: Roy is a hostage of the state. He is a victim of America. The least you could do........ Kindle 40% I did not enjoy the character of Celestial, I just couldn't relate to her thoughts, her decisions, she wasn't a strong or weak female, spoiled yes, but that is still no excuse, I really am stumped by how much I disliked her in the story. She has strong opinions on not belonging to anyone, this is a continuous topic. It came to a point every time we came to her chapters, I had to take a breath to tolerate her. My favourite characters are the fathers in the story and Roy, a true romantic. There is so much to love about this incredible story. We get history and heartbreaking moment to moment. A huge part of the story are told through letters which gave it a beautiful, genuine feel. You can also feel the journey of love change over the years. Is it love or is it convenience? Kindle 69% The situation was a lot of things - tragic, absurd, unlikely, and maybe even unethical - but it was not convenient. Kindle 69% I also enjoyed how as the reader you are unsure who to root for, how the story will end and who really is the underdog. I loved the ending but I think it will be different for each reader. I am very intrigued by the author now and will read more by her. There is so much to this story, I have had to be as general as possible in order for you to enjoy the story as it unfolds. I highly recommend.

I added this book to my book club's reading list after it was mentioned on President Barack Obama's reading list in 2018. I read the synopsis and said, yup I think I'll like this book. Fast-forward to August 2019, I read and thoroughly enjoyed it (for the most part....I'll explain later). Brief Synopsis: Tayari Jones relates how one day drastically changed the dynamics of Roy and Celestial's young marriage. As a sorta newly wed (3 years in), I was deeply attached to this story. Marriage isn't easy. It takes excellent communication, compromise, and growth while keeping your own individuality. Like I said, it's not easy but wonderful when both put forth reasonable effort. Early on you start to sense something life-altering was going to happen to shatter the foundation of Roy and Celestial's marriage. Jones takes time to develop each character, to help you see their flaws along with their strengths. Then she throws in the other, that one friend who could be the death of your marriage if you're not careful. That friend is Andre in this story. You are left trying to figure out if Roy and Celestial's marriage is strong enough to survive his incarceration and what outside factors will help or hurt that cause. In the end, most probably are satisfied with the ending. Me, not so much. I almost was, but one thing just didn't fit for me. Since Jones tells this story from the pov's of Roy, Celestial, and Andre, I'll relate what spoke to my soul from each one's perspective. I'm pausing as I'm typing this because I don't want reveal too much and I don't know who I want to start with..... I'll start with Celestial. Her character stresses the importance of remaining true to yourself. As her character develops, I think she begins to live more for herself. Yes, she's a wife but she's also Celestial. My husband tells me frequently not to lose just being me. We put our various roles ahead of self as men, women, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and children. Don't forget to be you and make yourself happy, only YOU can do that. This is only possible when you know what happiness means to you, individually. In the end, I don't know if Celestial fully realizes this. Moving on to Roy, growth was his means to freedom. Ego, wants versus needs, and honest self-evaluation all come to mind with Roy. He is by far my favorite character in this book. He had to grow in so many areas to be completely free. Sometimes we fight and hold on to the "idea" of something that is far from reality. It's ok to let go and it's ok to have faith in the unknown. Finally, I'll speak on Andre. This is where my for the most part comes into play. Compromise is one thing, but NEVER EVER SETTLE. I believe this is what he did. He settled for the next best thing after being presented with evidence suggesting he should do something different. Am I alone on this thought? I don't know. You tell me. Overall, Tayari Jones brings a realistic telling of how injustices can either tear a family apart or bring them closer together. My favorite aspect of this book were the letters written between Celestial and Roy. It gave me time to truly reflect on each's pov at a slower than normal pace. Reminds me of how early on in our dating/courtship, my husband and I used an app to write our thoughts versus a rapid fire text message. Sometimes there was an immediate reply. Other times it may take a few hours or even days. This strengthened our relationship because communication occurred with calmness, respectfulness, and love. Find what works for you and yours. As Always, #HappyReading Tracey Robinson Words For The Soul Book Club

WOW!!!!! This story was pheromonal! I appreciated how the story was told through the letters and the perspective of three main characters. The story has numerous story lines, love, romance, relationships, fairness, justice, the tree, the dolls that looked like Roy. It was heartwarming, heartbreaking and sad to see the relationships between all the parents/step parents/biological parents, relationships with in-laws, form and evolve. The unjust incarceration of Black men was a powerful theme, and One of the most powerful quotes for me from the book: "That’s your fate as a black man. Carried by six or judged by twelve.” as a mother of a Black son growing up in the south, I made sure my son understood the gravity of those two options. I believe Roy's character was extremely self aware, and I believe Celestial's character was sheltered, privileged and maybe slightly naive which greatly contributed to her choices. This book made me cry, especially the last few letters between Roy and Celestial. As a note my name is Celeste and my daughter's name is Celestial, we are from a place called Amelia Island (Fernandina Beach). It took me a while to read this book, but I'm so glad I did...this book was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! Tayari you did an amazing job with this story. Thank you so much for including us.

Really enjoyed the plot and how it was written. Easy to read, took me 4 days to finish the boo.

As much as I appreciated Silver Sparrow, I disliked this new book by Ms. Jones. In many ways it was predictable and too similar to her other book, which probably explains why the end came as no surprise. The original twist in my mind would have been a happy ending for the three major characters of this novel, a broader kind of love so to speak, but of course we're miles away from it here. In fact, this book just presents a whole bunch of sterotypical relationships and tries to justify them all, even those at opposite ends from one another. And having Atlanta as the setting doesn't help either, however much I love the city and appreciated it in Ms. Jones's previous novels. That's why I consider this book a missed opportunity.

This book surprised me. I bought it because I am part of a book club but I didn't know much about it. The book is written in a unique manner and I am totally enjoying it. I highly recommend it!

Tendre et émouvant.

Liked the concept and writing style but the characters annoyed me too...but enjoyable enough and easy ...I’m sure most will enjoy it..