Book Review: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Is the bond of marriage strong enough for the married to overcome every struggle thrown in their way, no matter what? Get ready to find out how far "till death do us apart" can go under An American Marriage's extenuating circumstances. Winner of the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction, Tayari Jones' heartfelt novel tells a story that, unfortunately, we all are accustomed to hearing – one which tests the limits of love, loyalty, and justice in the post-integration America.
An American Marriage is the story of three friends and their journey to finding (and losing) love, family, status, and lifelong dreams. Roy and Celestial have only been married for 18 months when Roy wrongfully gets convicted to 12 years in prison. Before the incident, both Roy and Celestial were on their way to making it big with Roy's executive position and Celestial's unique career in dollmaking in Atlanta, where they happily resided. As for Andre, he is the reason Celestial and Roy met back in college, where Celestial and Andre continued a tight friendship after being neighbors all their lives. The three amigos believed that they had it good until fate tore them apart.
As their lives turned upside-down overnight with the failure of justice, Roy and Celestial try to adjust to their new, respective realities. However, they both struggle to cope with life without each other. Away from Roy, Celestial turns to her fast-growing business and the best man at their wedding, Andre, for support in every aspect of her life. Meanwhile, Roy finds some comfort in his unanticipated friendship with his cellmate, "Ghetto Yoda." This development comes as a revelation one might characterize as cliché, but undoubtedly essential to the story that successfully depicts not-so-ordinary family struggles anyone might encounter in their lives.
To the readers' surprise, a good chunk of the story consists of letters exchanged between Celestial and Roy from the day he gets locked up until his release (made possible by an out-of-state judge who overturned the initial court order five years after his conviction). The letters serve well in the story's flow, making it possible for the readers to observe Celestial and Roy's everchanging relationship through the years from an outsider's standpoint. As time passes, the change in the tone and the letters' frequency is only a foreshadow of the make-or-break point Celestial and Roy are bound to have.
Aside from the letters, what makes this novel even more overarching is that the remainder of the book is split between three narratives - those of Roy, Celestial, and Andre's. This multifocal perspective gives the reader a chance not only to understand Roy and Celestial but Andre and his side of the story as he becomes a prominent person in the couple's lives following Roy's arrest.
With the years passing by against their favor, Roy and Celestial must fight their inner battles as they figure out the extent of their obligation to one another that started with their wedding vows. And in due course, they must come to answer one question: "Is it love, or is it convenience? ... She explained that convenience, habit, comfort, obligation – these are all things that wear the same clothing as love sometimes." There is undoubtedly something left inside them for one another, but is that love or an irrevocable sense of obligation? This question, it turns out, will be a tough one to answer.
All in all, it was a bumpy ride watching Roy and Celestial find their places in life again, together and separately. Still, their relationship is so easily relatable in many ways that any reader can find themselves heavily invested in their story from the first page. While I found myself able to empathize with all characters throughout the story, not particularly feeling closer to one than the others, I must confess that there was only one denouement that I had secretly been rooting for all along – the exact one that concluded Jones' story.
My only criticism for the book is that unlike the letters exchanged, the dialogues between characters, at times, felt slow-building and inadequate in provoking strong emotions in the reader. Nonetheless, Tayari Jones' storytelling captivates the reader.
In closing, it is safe to say that An American Marriage defies the boundaries of family ties and traditions as we consider them appropriate. The story is a kind reminder that there isn't only black and white in life. While gracefully dealing with the inevitable racial issues that have disturbed so many lives globally, the author does an outstanding job of reminding the reader that what happened to Roy and Celestial could have easily happened to anyone. For those who enjoy domestic fiction masterpieces, some drama, and a thought-provoking narrative, this book will become a page-turner that you can't let go of until the very last page.
