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A review by jasminesimone
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
3.0
I read a lot of mixed reviews on An American Marriage, so I decided to read it for myself. This book was a quick read and definitely had its interesting moments, but I believe that there was too much action with hardly any build up.
Tayari Jones did a great job at bringing in complex ideologies of being a successful African American. Roy was a successful businessman and Celestial grew up in a well off family. Thanks to Roy's want to "sit his wife down", Celestial was able to focus on her passion, doll making. Unfortunately, success does not keep African Americans out of the grasp of wrong place and time. His marriage to Celestial and his career are all taken away from him after he is arrested; another case of mistaken identity. The reader definitely gets a glimpse of how this affects Roy, Celestial, and their families. I did connect with the characters and I could feel their pain, somewhat.
What I wasn't very fond of was how quickly everything seemed to happen. I wanted to know more from Roy's perspective about what was happening while he was in prison. The story gives glimpses through his letters and through his sections, but it was not enough for me. Also, it seemed like things with Celestial happened quickly as well. The Dear John letter that she wrote came out of nowhere to me. There was a lot to unpack, but I feel like there was not a lot of build up or story.
Overall, I thought that this book was great for a short read in-between my larger books. I wish I could have connected to the story more on an emotional level, but I needed something extra in there.
Tayari Jones did a great job at bringing in complex ideologies of being a successful African American. Roy was a successful businessman and Celestial grew up in a well off family. Thanks to Roy's want to "sit his wife down", Celestial was able to focus on her passion, doll making. Unfortunately, success does not keep African Americans out of the grasp of wrong place and time. His marriage to Celestial and his career are all taken away from him after he is arrested; another case of mistaken identity. The reader definitely gets a glimpse of how this affects Roy, Celestial, and their families. I did connect with the characters and I could feel their pain, somewhat.
What I wasn't very fond of was how quickly everything seemed to happen. I wanted to know more from Roy's perspective about what was happening while he was in prison. The story gives glimpses through his letters and through his sections, but it was not enough for me. Also, it seemed like things with Celestial happened quickly as well. The Dear John letter that she wrote came out of nowhere to me. There was a lot to unpack, but I feel like there was not a lot of build up or story.
Overall, I thought that this book was great for a short read in-between my larger books. I wish I could have connected to the story more on an emotional level, but I needed something extra in there.