Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

75 reviews

brokenspines_'s review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion

annreadsabook's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book...I am not okay.

I loved An American Marriage but I didn’t *enjoy* it. Do you ever get that feeling after finishing a book? Tayari Jones is such a talented writer, and it shines through in this novel; it is Black through and through, and while it has plenty of pain, it also has a generous heaping of Black love (I also don’t say this often but I wouldn’t mind seeing a film adaptation of this book).

This book stood out to me for how it underscores the ways in which the US prison industrial complex harms even the most intimate of relationships in the Black community. Throughout the novel, the question is asked, in various forms: “what are Black men and women in this country owed?”

An American Marriage is a challenging, provocative read that I thoroughly recommend. Not gonna lie—it’s also EXTREMELY messy. None of the characters are particularly likable, so I would recommend getting into the appropriate headspace before reading...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abortion

becksreadsbooks's review

emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Abortion and Suicide

jojo_'s review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, and Rape

kpdf's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion

hodgeonlucy's review

emotional reflective sad slow-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

Whilst I admire Jones' formidable writing ability, this book was just not for me. It was a little slow, focusing on (purposefully) flawed characters. I understand the pace was meant to match Roy's incarceration and his release, but it felt sluggish and then suddenly very fast in the last couple of chapters. I also didn't really enjoy the section with the letters; again, Jones' ability to write in the characters' voice and make the letters believable was impressive, but they just came across as convenient plot-pushers. I did really like the epilogue, both the culmination of the plot felt right and the return to letter-based prose tied it into the rest of the book. Overall, I do think this book is beautiful and moving but it has a certain melancholy and slowness that you have to be in the mood for. Unfortunately, I was not.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Suicide, and Violence

renjamin's review

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

i love how much i hate these people

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content

Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Racism

Minor: Rape

whimsylindsey's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Abortion

annamontg's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

Not a book I felt particularly qualified to review - as a white Irish woman, I can never understand or experience what happens in this book. An insightful novel, the characters really show the impact of the racist justice system in America on those wrongfully imprisoned, and on their loved ones on the outside. Very powerful book. Not giving this a star rating as I don't think that's appropriate here.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Abortion

sonyareadsbooks's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Cancer, Violence, and Sexism

Minor: Police brutality, Death, and Death of parent