Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - An American Marriage

Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

32 reviews

leahthebooklover's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense

3.5

An intimate look at how one marriage is affected by a miscarriage of justice and incarceration. Told from alternating points of view. It was a 4 star read for me until the ending, when all the conflict seemed to resolve a little too conveniently.

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moriahleigh's review

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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sar_willow's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I should’ve slept, but I needed to finish this book more than I needed to dream. The circumstances probably happen over and over again across the US, mostly to Black men, but the outcome of being released fells less realistic. But that’s where the story pivots, and without it, there wouldn’t be a story to tell.

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bookworm_ran's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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ljtademy3's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A very entertaining premise for a story. This book was a quick and easy read. The twists kept me wondering what would happen next, though I can’t say I was always itching to get back to the book. I enjoyed the drama of it all and feel there was a happy ending (or rather the happiest ending available given the context). I also appreciated the inclusion of how race and socio-economic status impacted the characters without that being the whole focus of the book. They were key factors in driving the plot, but i felt the book was ultimately about the relationships between the characters. Overall, I found the book engaging but not exciting/thrilling. It was thought-provoking though! I would recommend this book to a few people.

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lautodd_'s review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely loved and loathed this book all at once. It frustrated me how much I couldn’t have an ending or characters I’d wanted or dreamed of wanting in the course of my reading— and that made it all the more brilliant and adventurous, in the most heartbreaking and embarrassing of ways. I find it clever when authors force their readers to relinquish control, when readers cannot satisfyingly imagine beyond what is in front of them, or replace and weave narratives or conclusions, away from the narrative presented, of their own personal ideas and fantasies. When I am met with the reality of relinquishing my own delusions of a story, submitting to the reality in front of me— so much like the actual lives we each live— I am most impressed and defeated all at once.

From the three-pronged and rotating perspective of 3 different but fatefully connected and indelibly imperfect and spiteful characters, Tayari causes to life a story about people, race, justice, love, and family— and the complexities each function weaves into and throughout a Westernized plane of relating— so masterfully it leaves you sober and wanting.

One of the most favorite and most marking stories I’ve known to-date.

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