TITLE: AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE
AUTHOR: TAYARI JONES
GENRE: DOMESTIC FICTION
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
Newlyweds, Celestial and Roy, are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she is an 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.
MY REVIEW:
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones won 2019 women’s prize for fiction, tells the story of a couple Celestial and Roy who have been ripped apart by an unfortunate incident in their life. It is a rare piece of a literary feast that happens once in a while, that lets you think from a different perspective and sometimes tends you question your beliefs.
We all follow a monotony in life – whether consciously or not. We are never ready to rethink or break the stereotype, because it may lead to ripples in the calm river of life which we avoid by default.
I often think, why people want to follow a crowd? Have they ever thought of taking a different path? What does one thing that pulls them back – fear or uncertainty?
I could not pick a protagonist for this story – it’s my opinion – the story itself has taken the crown. The book talks about two issues – wrongful convictions of African-American and as the title – marriage. Both have been portrayed well, Jones’ has put together in the book every difficulty a young couple may face in their life and how the repercussions of wrongful conviction affect the whole marriage.
Though American culture is alien to me, I realised in every culture women have been portrayed as a person who has to make sacrifices no matter what their circumstances are. The pressure upon Celestial to save her marriage when Roy being imprisoned is a lot more than what happens otherwise. When she moves on with her life, everyone including her dear father blames Celestial for betraying her husband.
This is how our society functions, we consider society more than our will. You cannot do this, because society is not seasoned for this. But why we should sacrifice for society? A society is not a place remote to us, but we are also included in it.
I cannot blame Roy too, because he is so adapted to the general norms that he believed was right. I liked the way Tayari Jones’ portrays the character of Andre. Andre’s relationship with Celestial is so delicate to handle, hence cannot be overdone. Because the line between right and wrong for Andre’s character is quite blurred.
Jones’ has got a unique writing style, and the story narrates in different POV of Celestial, Roy and Andre.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone. A must-read.
