Take a photo of a barcode or cover
abbie_ 's review for:
An American Marriage
by Tayari Jones
3.75 stars
Thank you @womensprize for sending me An American Marriage along with the rest of the shortlist to review! Some parts of this book I loved, some parts I liked, some parts I didn’t love all that much. It was a rather varying read, with an incredibly strong beginning that then became a bit of an average read for me, sadly! Very much due to the fact that this one particular trope never works in my favour. Complicated relationships? Yes. Frustrating characters who you both root for and want to shake? Yes. Oh it’s a love triangle? Interest wanes.
.
BUT, the good parts of An American Marriage were really really good. As the plot of the book centres around a black American couple whose still-new marriage is put to the test when Roy is wrongfully incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, it’s unfortunately extremely topical for modern day America. I LOVED the first 100 pages of this book, when the story unfolds through a series of letters between Roy and Celestial, as I think it’s such an interesting way to delve into the complexities of their relationship (and its slow degeneration) without relying on an omniscient narrator. I was sad to see the back of the letters as Jones switched back to regular chapters from the three perspectives of the trio involved.
.
From there, I found it quite uneven. Sometimes I would be gripped by a chapter, sometimes I’d find my attention drifting as Celestial and Andre went round in circles about what they’d do when Roy got released. I did find the supporting cast of characters very convincing, sometimes empathising more with them than the main three (Roy Senior especially!)
.
Although the marriage is technically the focus I guess, it was Roy’s arrest and imprisonment and everything that spirals out from it that was the most powerful part. The devastation of the trial, the faith of his parents, his interactions with other inmates, the sheer, unjust reality black men face in America. As @bluestockingbookshelf said in her review, it makes you think without becoming a lecture, which makes it all the more impactful.
Thank you @womensprize for sending me An American Marriage along with the rest of the shortlist to review! Some parts of this book I loved, some parts I liked, some parts I didn’t love all that much. It was a rather varying read, with an incredibly strong beginning that then became a bit of an average read for me, sadly! Very much due to the fact that this one particular trope never works in my favour. Complicated relationships? Yes. Frustrating characters who you both root for and want to shake? Yes. Oh it’s a love triangle? Interest wanes.
.
BUT, the good parts of An American Marriage were really really good. As the plot of the book centres around a black American couple whose still-new marriage is put to the test when Roy is wrongfully incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, it’s unfortunately extremely topical for modern day America. I LOVED the first 100 pages of this book, when the story unfolds through a series of letters between Roy and Celestial, as I think it’s such an interesting way to delve into the complexities of their relationship (and its slow degeneration) without relying on an omniscient narrator. I was sad to see the back of the letters as Jones switched back to regular chapters from the three perspectives of the trio involved.
.
From there, I found it quite uneven. Sometimes I would be gripped by a chapter, sometimes I’d find my attention drifting as Celestial and Andre went round in circles about what they’d do when Roy got released. I did find the supporting cast of characters very convincing, sometimes empathising more with them than the main three (Roy Senior especially!)
.
Although the marriage is technically the focus I guess, it was Roy’s arrest and imprisonment and everything that spirals out from it that was the most powerful part. The devastation of the trial, the faith of his parents, his interactions with other inmates, the sheer, unjust reality black men face in America. As @bluestockingbookshelf said in her review, it makes you think without becoming a lecture, which makes it all the more impactful.