An American Marriage is THE book of 2018. This is the best dissection of a marriage to hit the page. Gloriously written - “but home isn’t where you land; home is where you launch”. Tayari Jones masterfully uses metaphors-“The stream beside us was clear; the water gushed over smooth rocks, and twilight outlined the little waves with silver.” I loved every word and was swept away by the story of a husband wrongly arrested, sent away to jail for 12 years and how this impacts the marriage ( )

Well written from a variety of perspectives about racial injustice and the challenge of relationships split with one partner in prison. I found to be quite thought provoking but a slow burn.

3.5 stars rounded up. ( )

Celestial and Roy are a young couple who have been married a little over a year, and discussing whether to have children. When they spend a romantic night at a motel, their lives are torn apart after Roy is falsely accused of raping on old woman in another room. He loses his case and is sentenced to twelve years.

This story looks at the unbearable pressure put on an already tense relationship by enforced separation. Celestial does all she can for Roy, but feels that she needs to live her own life. Roy wants her to wait for him, to be his wife, for better or worse. As the years pass, they begin to drift apart and Celestial seeks solace elsewhere.

The title may refer to the marriage of Roy and Celestial, but other characters also have marriages that are common in America: a marriage between a couple each on their second marriage, a de facto marriage, and marriages where one parent has abandoned the other, one to settle with another wife, and one to forsake marriage altogether. All of these are arguably "an American marriage" and Jones does a nice job of giving us a window into the dynamics of each of these.

The book also has a lot to say about fatherhood. Fathers who abandoned their child, stepfathers who raise children not their own, fathers who steadfastly raise their children, and would-be fathers whose hopes are dashed.

Jones resists the temptation to make any of the main characters to be the wrecker of this American marriage. All of them are given good reasons for their actions, but all of them are flawed individuals who do things that shock and dismay. The same is true of their extended family members; even the most sympathetic of them have their dark moments.

Marriage, fatherhood and the experience of black Americans at the hands of the law are among the subjects this novel addresses, and it does them all justice while still telling a compelling, gripping and emotional story. ( )

Well, this book had a few flaws that glared out of me, but I was happy to overlook them because I really enjoyed Jones' writing. She knows how to keep her reader engaged while also expressing emotion beautifully.

The story is of a young marriage that is tested when the husband, Roy, is arrested on rape charges of which he is innocent, and ultimately sent to prison.

There were two major flaws in my mind. First, the wife, Celeste, takes the husband to task and becomes very angry with him for telling a lie to her about his past. Very, very angry. Meanwhile, we later find out that she has an even bigger secret in her past that she hasn't revealed to him. So, this situation pretty much sets Celeste up as a hypocrite, and makes her a lot less sympathetic in my eyes. If this was purposeful on the part of the author, that's fine, but I don't believe it was. Second, Roy ends up sharing a cell with his biological father whom he has never met. Huh? I'm sorry, but that strikes me as so wholly unbelievable and unlikely that I really couldn't let it go. . But these are failures of plotting that unfortunately, if you pick up on the first one, leads you to feel a whole lot less sympathy for Celeste's situation. Or at least that was the impact it had on me.

Honestly, neither character was entirely sympathetic or likeable, but I don't need my characters to necessarily be those things. I have known people who have had volatile relationships, and I think Jones does a good job of showing the passion that can underlie relationships like these. She also was very good at creating suspense in a story that isn't inherently suspenseful, and she kept me turning the pages. Her use of the language elevated this book above a mere soap opera, and I appreciated that aspect of her writing.

All in all, I just felt very engaged in the story, and that counts for a lot. ( )

3.5 stars. This one leaves you thinking. I don't love a book in which characters are either all good or all bad, and this was NOT one of those books. Painful and yet hopeful at points, too. ( )