Ms. Meltingpot Reviews: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

If you recall, not too long ago, I was down and out with a nasty virus. The only upside to being forced to stay in bed was that I had recently purchased Tayari Jones’ new novel, An American Marriage: A Novel (Oprah’s Book Club 2018 Selection)and it had been sitting on my nightstand just waiting for me to pick it up. I have been a fan of Jones’ writing since forever and have read and enjoyed her three previous novels, Silver Sparrow, The Untelling and Leaving Atlanta. So, even if Oprah Winfrey hadn’t selected An American Marriage as her latest book club pick, I still would have read it. But to be perfectly honest, all the buzz made me a little nervous. What if it didn’t live up to all of the hype? Even though I bought the book, my plan was to wait a bit before reading it so I could enjoy it without all of the Oprah fairy dust clouding my vision.

Dear readers, let me tell you, Oprah or no Oprah, An American Marriage was a marvelous literary experience. Because I was sick, I had the perfect excuse to read all day and night and that’s exactly how I devoured this book. I was incapable of putting it down. Only when I had about 10 pages left before finishing the novel did I slow down because I didn’t want the experience to end. I liken reading this book to eating a delicious cup of Icelandic yogurt. It is so smooth and creamy you feel like you’re eating a sinful dessert, but in reality, you’re actually eating something really healthy that’s full of essential vitamins and minerals.

An American Marriage follows the story of Roy and Celestial (Don’t you just love the name Celestial?), a young African-American couple coming up on the first anniversary of their marriage. They’re both strivers – Roy wants to make his mark in business and Celestial is an artist – and they both see the world as one filled with opportunity. Their marriage isn’t perfect but the love they have for each other is potent. And then tragedy strikes. Roy is arrested and sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. That is essentially the premise of the story. The majority of the book centers then on how Roy and Celestial deal with the circumstances of a life they never planned for – Roy a prisoner and Celestial a prisoner’s wife.

Jones does a masterful job alternating voices in each chapter; we get to hear the story from Roy’s perspective and then Celestial’s, as well as from Celestial and Roy’s best friend, Andre, who adds another dimension to the story. Some chapters take the form of letters written back and forth between Celestial and Roy and there are flashbacks as well, so we get to see how the main characters developed into their current incarnations. But be warned, each character in the book is real. There are no heroes or villains, no perfect angels or wicked demons. Everyone has admirable character traits as well as messy flaws. Sometimes you’ll be cheering for Roy, other times you’ll want to tell him to get his act together. Celestial will make you love her and then you’ll wonder if she really is a good person. Jones has created real people, not stereotypes for this book.

I don’t want to go into too many specifics of the story because I don’t want to give away the plot twists and surprising details that make this novel so good, but I will say “page-turner” would be an adequate category for An American Marriage. That’s why it reminded me of Icelandic yogurt. It has all of the elements of juicy genre fiction; forbidden romance, dramatic reveals, a heightened sense of urgency that kept me turning pages like a fiend. But at the same time, the story provided a thoughtful and important meditation on the institution of marriage and on the far-reaching impact of a racist criminal justice system. It’s no wonder Oprah not only selected this book for her book club, she’s also adapting it into a film.

I’m sure the Oprah movie version of An American Marriage will be wonderful, but I urge you to read the book. It’s just that good. The story is urgently relevant to the times we’re living in now, the characters feel familiar yet wholly unique and the emotion provoked in the telling will leave you breathless. All in all, An American Marriage is an excellent story well told.

Has anybody else read, An American Marriage? What did you think? I’m totally listening.

Peace!